Forget Me Not by Stacy Willingham
One of the best pleasures about reading is that you naturally just come across stories that are simply unforgettable. Forget Me Not by Stacy Willingham is an unforgettable novel that intertwines forbidden love, grief navigation, and crime in this coming-of-age atmospheric thriller.
The Past Resurfaces in a Gripping Family Thriller
One of my favorite genres to read this year has been thrillers because they take you on such an exciting experience where you just can’t put the book down. Stacy has an expansive catalog of thrillers that you have probably seen or read before, but this is one that you will want to add to your TBR. It feels like the perfect fall read.
Forget Me Not follows Claire Campbell, a struggling 20-something-year-old New York journalist with a past, including family, that she has tried her best to forget. One day, while celebrating with an old friend, Claire receives a phone call from her father about her mother’s recent accident and is asked to go to North Carolina — to her childhood home — to help out around the house.
As soon as she steps inside, Claire enters this metaphorical time machine — right back to the past she has tried to escape. Her sister went missing when Claire was 11, and she hasn’t quite forgiven herself for not confessing about hearing her sneak out the night she disappeared. After her sister’s disappearance, Claire’s mother became distant, forcing her to become more independent and self-sufficient in many areas throughout her adolescence. Eventually, this set the dynamic of their relationship as it carried into her adult life, as she lived a new life she created intentionally void of her past.
Where Forgotten Memories Meet Unimaginable Secrets
While unpacking to settle into her old childhood bedroom, Claire decides to open her sister’s bedroom door for the first time in 20 years. She eventually uncovers a box of old pictures and a mysterious roll of film that was never printed. Claire’s nature for research naturally lands her at the old Vineyard, where her sister worked before she went missing.
Once she arrived on the property, she ran into one of the workers who mistakenly thought she was there for the unposted job opening. Claire then decided that this was her moment to figure out just what her sister loved about this Vineyard and why everything changed once she started working there. Soon, she would pick the grapes, care for the property and learn more about the mysteriously odd vineyard owners.
The unraveling of this novel was phenomenal. Just when I thought I knew what was going on, I was thrown for a loop — I even took a moment to gasp because the reveal was so shocking.
An Unforgettable Thriller Rooted in Memory and Meaning
I loved the parallel timeline narrative crafted between the characters, which gave the reader a front seat to the story of Claire and Marcia, the owner of the vineyard, and the mysterious secret journal Claire found buried in her cabin’s AC vent. Having read quite a lot of thrillers in the past, this one is monumental in the genre.
The symbolism and subtle hints make this story perfect for the title. As the flower, Forget me Not, was briefly mentioned at the end, I was inclined to think deeper into the meaning of the title of this book. The tiny blue flower symbolises love, remembrance and fidelity. They also represent enduring love and loyalty, and the promise to always remember each other even after being separated.
Claire goes through this heart-stopping, mind-shattering adventure that is sure to have you on the edge of your seat as you discover what happened to her sister and this mysterious vineyard. Claire’s journey is gripping and full of adventure as the story unfolds layer upon layer. This unforgettable thriller is sure to keep you interested and intrigued to know just what happened.
About Stacy Willingham:
Stacy Willingham is the New York Times, USA Today and internationally bestselling author of psychological suspense. Her books include A Flicker in the Dark, All the Dangerous Things, Only If You’re Lucky and Forget Me Not. Her debut, A Flicker in the Dark, has sold over one million copies in North America alone. It was the winner of Strand Magazine’s Best Debut Award and a finalist for the Book of the Month’s Book of the Year award, Goodreads Choice Best Debut award, Goodreads Choice Best Mystery & Thriller award, and ITW’s Best First Novel award. Her work has been translated in more than thirty languages. Before turning to fiction, Stacy was a copywriter and brand strategist for various marketing agencies. She earned her B.A. in magazine journalism from the University of Georgia and M.F.A. in writing from the Savannah College of Art and Design. She lives in Charleston, South Carolina, with her husband, daughter, and dog.
