Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham

82 reviews

beccabae's review

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adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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bookishchaos's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I finished this in two days. I was hooked up until 60%, then it became super obvious who the killer was. I guessed correctly who it was but I also read lots of thrillers lol. This wasn't GREAT but it wasn't terrible. It kept me entertained and didn't drag too much. I think it was just fine. 
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lara_pavlick's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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serenaann's review

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dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

4.5

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abireadthat's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Wowwwww. Just wow. Honestly so very impressed with A Flicker in The Dark. Willingham truly had me in a complete chokehold with this story.

With being a big thriller and mystery reader anyway, I was fully convinced I had figured out the twist and the way this story had gone but my goodness was I wrong. Stacy needs applauding because I was totally blindsided by what happens.

We meet Chloe Davis, a psychologist who like her patients, suffers from mental health issues. Her father was jailed a twenty something years ago for the murders of some young girls in their home town. All paths lead to him and the man was put behind bars, leaving Chloe and her brother with some psychological trauma, including their poor mother.
Chloe goes down the psychology pathway to help children and teenagers who like her suffered.

I admired her bravery and resilience and noticing smaller things that the detectives had missed, or simply that she didn’t know.
Like with a lot of protagonists in thrillers and mysteries, Chloe decides to stick her nose in once one of her patients goes missing.

I loved how fast paced the story was, and how Stacy had been sneaky with some bits and pieces. It was almost like listening to an unreliable narrator, hence why I was fully convinced my theory was right.

It’s small town, it’s fast paced, it’s twisty and it’s creepy and it truly is the best page turner I’ve read so far this year. 
As a debut novel by Willingham, I am truly impressed with how this book unwound and how the story developed. 

I cannot wait to read more of her works!
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sydthewitch's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I love thrillers and I love trying to guess the twists. I did guess the main twist/reveal on about page 72, but even so, there were even more twists and revelations that I absolutely didn't see coming! As each aha is revealed, the clues and foreshadowing earlier in the book fall into place and make total sense, every detail accounted for. 

The characters aren't nece sarily lovable but are deeply imperfect in a relatable way. The author does a great job of depicting CPTSD and other mental health issues. 
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hollydyer328's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

My first time reading Stacy Willingham and loved it! This book gets the blood-pumping-in-your-ears feeling that you want with a good thriller! I was half-right by the end, which showed that Willingham cared not only about the who-dunnit but also the HOW-dunnit. Will definitely pick up her other books in the future!
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kaynisonger's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

3.75

I had a guess (and was confident) how this book would go, then it was going somewhere I didn’t want, then back to what I originally thought with a little twist. 

Overall, loved the storyline and little twists, but it was so predictable from the beginning. 
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dismantlethepatriarchy23's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Plot twists all the way up till the end. I couldn’t put the book down, it was consuming, and those are the best books to read. 
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agapemanning's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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