Another great mystery from Stacy Willingham to get the year started!

After the death of a college student, Lucy Sharpe is missing. Her larger-than-life personality is what drew Margot to her at the end of her freshman year at Rutgers. Finding herself living with Lucy and two others (Sloane and Nicole) in an off campus house the summer before her sophomore year will change Margot forever and will also make her face the death of her best friend Eliza, which has haunted her since before she left for college.

I primarily listened to the audiobook and the narration is fabulous. Karissa Vacker is quickly becoming one of my favorite audiobook narrators. Even though I’d just listened to her narrations for two of Kate Alice Marshall’s books, I find she does such a great job of bringing characters to life with a unique sound for each.

I enjoyed Willingham’s debut A Flicker in the Dark and then really enjoyed All the Dangerous Things earlier this year but this one is my favorite so far. It does have a more YA / New Adult vibe to it, which I attribute to the college atmosphere and settings. However, with references to more sensitive topics such as: domestic violence, anorexia, and toxic friendships, it’s definitely not for a younger audience. I found that Willingham did an excellent job of portraying the need to ‘belong’ that teenagers and college students tend to feel.

I can honestly say I wasn’t expecting the ending and while the pacing was a bit slower than her previous books, I still found myself hooked. If you enjoy dark academia stories and unexpected twists than this book is perfect for you.

Flicker in the Dark Review | All the Dangerous Things Review

AMAZON | GOODREADS |★★★★★

Only If You’re Lucky comes out January 16, 2024. Huge thank you to Minotaur Books and Macmillan Audio for my advanced copies in exchange for my honest opinion.  If you liked this review, please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my Instagram @speakingof.books.