Book Reviews

A common trope of the mystery genre is that there always must be a “gotcha!” moment – a point in the story where everything that every conclusion on the reader’s part is proved wrong. Virtually every novel in the genre has this moment, but only the best in their class introduce their plot twists without falling into cliché or predictability. A Flicker in the Dark, Stacy Willingham’s debut novel, proves that there’s a lot of room for the thriller genre to evolve beyond the need for mere shocks and twists. Using familiar tropes – like the well-trusted unreliable narrator seen in so many noir novels – this novel manages to be both refreshing and familiar to fans of the genre.

Granted, no novel is without its flaws – certainly not A Flicker in the Dark – but, for what it is, the book succeeds as an engaging mystery, one that doesn’t rely too heavily on shock value and keeps you engaged all the way through.