Reviews with content warning for Murder - A Flicker in the Dark

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham

318 reviews

jjyork's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-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

4.25

Lots of twists and red herrings, but I wanted the main character to be more active in solving the mystery and experience more growth by the end.

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linze18's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I thought I knew the whole time and I never expected the big twist at the end.

I do have a bone to pick with the author. I was immediately turned off by the big twist when the fiancé talked about how he was meeting with her dad because how could he do this but also protect his daughter. And then the main character was like I have always felt this way, that it never aligned with who I knew as my dad. Has the author ever heard from the family & friends of someone who murdered someone or abuse or assault??? It is very common for these people to be active in their communities and people usually love them or at least the version that they knew. I got really caught up in this and it distracted me from the ending real bad. I think the author could have gotten to the same ending and just have tweaked how the fiancé figured it out.

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bookstoregirl2143's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? No

4.0

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efulton's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective tense fast-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

4.25

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brookey8888's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This was enjoyable! I was correct with who I thought did it and felt like it was so obvious. This book just felt so similar and like I’ve read it before. I can’t think of the book, but I read another book with the same plot basically.
I did not see one thing coming, but I feel like that wasn’t the biggest reveal. This kept me entertained, but it was nothing amazing. The main character was kind of annoying and made stupid decisions. I also didn’t love the ending.

I think if you’re new to thrillers this one is good, but if you’re read a few or a lot this would be nothing special.

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lindsayvale's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.25

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re_coates's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Loved the overall premise of this book. The trauma of the main character is the reason behind her not figuring out the killer from the beginning. The author highlights the main characters inability to trust and her blinding love for her brother and fiance. I would have rated it higher, but it was a bit predictable. And, while I really liked the main character, she made a lot of frustrating choices considering her profession.

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amanda_reads13's review against another edition

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tense fast-paced

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

4.0

When Chloe is 12, her father is arrested for the murder of 6 teenage girls in their small town. 20 years later, Chloe is engaged and working as a psychologist. Her life is thrown back into turmoil when local girls start to go missing again.

Our narrator, Chloe, is super unreliable. She has PTSD, mental health and trust issues, and has a tendency to mix alcohol and prescription drugs. The entire time I was questioning everything she said and believed to be true. It was pretty clear pretty early on that her focus was going to be on Daniel, but everything seemed to be too convenient.

Her trust issues mixed with this couples lack of communication makes me understand why her focus went straight to him. Men let her down, they always have let her down, why would Daniel be any different? Had they just been open, honest, and communicated with each other, they probably would have caught the killer much earlier.

Daniel

is such a genuinely kind and sweet man. He loved Chloe so much, but was not completely honest with her. Yes, he did it for an understandable reason, but if you can't tell your fiance everything about yourself, who can you? It turns out that his sister who "disappeared" when she was 13, was actually alive and well. Their father was an abusive drunk and to save her from his abuse, Daniel arranged for her to "run-away" from home. He keeps this a secret from Chloe.

Cooper

was the obvious suspect from the start. He seemed a bit off from the beginning. We find out that it was actually him from the beginning. His father took the fall for him. In the present he manipulates a local man to impersonate a reporter in order to get close to Chloe. He manipulates and gaslights Chloe into believing her fiance is a killer by planting evidence and targeting girls close to her. He hates that Daniel is taking his sister's attention from him and wants him out of her life. Creepy.

Overall, it is a gripping a twisty thriller with an unreliable narrator. You never really know where the story is leading.

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boop123's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense

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

4.25

It was predictable but I still had a good time! The story was easy to read and follow. The main character was kind of unbearable at times but it was understandable given her past (which the media will never let her forget). I am also a fan of thriller books that I can’t help but theorize, it makes me feel more immersed in their story and somehow interactive, so that was a huge plus. Overall, a great book to read for something not difficult to follow but also can’t help but feel frustrated with what’s happening.

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your_geekygf's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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