Author: Stacy Willingham
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Genre: Mystery & Thrillers
Format: Kindle ARC
No. of Pages: 325
Date of Publication: August 26, 2025
My Rating: 4 Stars
DESCRIPTION:
A pulse-pounding new Southern thriller from the author of the runaway bestseller A Flicker in the Dark.
Twenty-two years ago, Claire Campbell’s older sister, Natalie, disappeared shortly after her eighteenth birthday. Days later, her blood was found in a car, a man was arrested, and the case was swiftly closed. In the decades since, Claire has attempted to forget her traumatic past by moving to the city and climbing the ranks as an investigative journalist... until an unexpected call from her father forces her to come back home and face it all anew.
With the entire summer now looming ahead—a summer spent with nothing to do in her childhood home, with her estranged mother—Claire decides on a whim to accept a seasonal job at Galloway Farm, a muscadine vineyard in coastal South Carolina less than an hour away from where she grew up. At first glance, Galloway is an idyllic escape for Claire. A scenic retreat full of slow-paced nostalgia, as well as a place where her sister seemed truly happy in that last summer before she vanished, it feels like the perfect plan to pass the time. However, as soon as Claire starts to settle in, she stumbles across an old diary written by one of the vineyard's owners, and what at first seems like a story of young rebellion and love turns into something much more sinister as it begins to describe details of various unsolved crimes. As the days stretch on, Claire finds herself becoming more and more secluded as she starts to obsess over the diary's contents… as well as the lingering feeling that her own sister's disappearance may be somehow tied to it all.
Galloway was supposed to be a place to help her move forward, but instead, Claire quickly finds herself immersed in her own dark and dangerous past.
Twenty-two years ago, Claire Campbell’s older sister, Natalie, disappeared shortly after her eighteenth birthday. Days later, her blood was found in a car, a man was arrested, and the case was swiftly closed. In the decades since, Claire has attempted to forget her traumatic past by moving to the city and climbing the ranks as an investigative journalist... until an unexpected call from her father forces her to come back home and face it all anew.
With the entire summer now looming ahead—a summer spent with nothing to do in her childhood home, with her estranged mother—Claire decides on a whim to accept a seasonal job at Galloway Farm, a muscadine vineyard in coastal South Carolina less than an hour away from where she grew up. At first glance, Galloway is an idyllic escape for Claire. A scenic retreat full of slow-paced nostalgia, as well as a place where her sister seemed truly happy in that last summer before she vanished, it feels like the perfect plan to pass the time. However, as soon as Claire starts to settle in, she stumbles across an old diary written by one of the vineyard's owners, and what at first seems like a story of young rebellion and love turns into something much more sinister as it begins to describe details of various unsolved crimes. As the days stretch on, Claire finds herself becoming more and more secluded as she starts to obsess over the diary's contents… as well as the lingering feeling that her own sister's disappearance may be somehow tied to it all.
Galloway was supposed to be a place to help her move forward, but instead, Claire quickly finds herself immersed in her own dark and dangerous past.
MY THOUGHTS:
The police had long since closed the case of 17-year-old Natalie Campbell’s disappearance, citing evidence and that led to an arrest. However, even though decades have passed, Claire is still shaken by her sister Natalie’s disappearance and the declaration of death, and she has always felt that the case was not fully resolved.
Claire, an investigative reporter, has a fulfilling job. However, she is called back home after her mother is injured. Despite their estrangement since Natalie’s disappearance, she responds to her father’s appeal to be there for her mother. When a seasonal job opens up at a muscadine vineyard, Claire thinks it might be the perfect distraction for a summer that she just knew would be overly stressful.
One day at the vineyard, Claire stumbles upon an old diary that holds more significance than she could have ever imagined. As she delves into its pages, she uncovers a captivating story that intertwines with the events surrounding Natalie’s disappearance. If you enjoy Southern drama that creates an incredible amount of tension, this dual timeline story definitely delivers.
As Claire reads more into the journal, this book, with its excellent pacing, sets the reader into an atmospheric setting rife with family drama as Claire’s determination to find closure just might be what she finds.
Many thanks to Minotaur Books and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.
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.
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.
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