Forget Me Not

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Synopsis

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 on 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.

Synopsis source: StoryGraph

Review

Genre(s): Contemporary Fiction, Mystery/Thriller
HB&W Rating: 4 stars
View on StoryGraph | Goodreads
Buy on Barnes & Noble, Amazon
Release Date: August 26, 2025

Wow! This slow-burn thriller (that sounds like an oxymoron!) is called a southern gothic but other than a few references to southern manners, the setting feels pretty generically rural. It didn’t feel specifically southern though the atmosphere and pervading sense of dread was on point. It gave me Into the Light by Aleatha Romig vibes with a dash of The Girls by Emma Cline.

It was a little predictable. I had theories and was right on everything I guessed though there were still some surprises. I think if you only get your enjoyment from thrillers when they surprise you, you might be let down, but if you go into it to just be entertained, you can easily get caught up in the story.

It was pretty slow to start but I knew this author to be a slow-burn so I stuck with it. Even early on, there are moments of unease that feel menacing and sinister as she starts to expertly build that tension and dread. But once it started to come together, it grabbed me and I stayed up past my bed time to finish it. It even gave me creepy dreams!

Definitely a thrill ride, you just have to hang in there for it!

Thank you Minotaur Books and NetGalley for an eARC of this title in exchange for my honest opinion.

Until next time,

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