rose3reads 's review for:

A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham

2.75

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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There were things I liked about this book. I thought the twists stacking up on each other on the end mostly worked because they had clues setting them up. At one point I was like, I guess I don't know who did it because I have like 3-4 theories, and then like all of them were correct, lmao. So I don't know if that counts as a good plot but I don't know, I think it's fun! I do feel like this book needed an editor, both in terms of plot and in terms of writing. Some plot threads really went nowhere or could have been cut, and the main character was lowkey insane the way she would just jump to wild conclusions or infer things with absolutely no rationale - and half the time she was right?? Lazy work to get from point A to B in a book that actually does have a thoughtful overall plot, so again - an editor would help with this. The writing was also super repetitive. She loves a simile. "His smile was warm, like a sunny day" - that sort of thing. At one point I counted 4-5 similes within a single page. Again, god bless, we all love similes, but this is why publishers need to pay competent editors. They help refine stuff like this.

So I dunno. It's certainly better than most of the summer thrillers I've struggled through recently, but maybe just get it from your library.