Forget Me Not

In Forget Me Not, Stacy Willingham makes you feel like you are right inside the main character, Claire's, head. You find yourself questioning every memory and motive right along with her. The story follows Claire as she returns to her hometown and impulsively takes a job at a vineyard where her older sister, Natalie, worked just before she mysteriously disappeared 22 years earlier. Claire is an investigative journalist, and when she uncovers an old, hidden diary detailing unsolved crimes, she becomes obsessed with proving that the vineyard's secrets are connected to her sister's case.

She's not perfect (which I love); she's reckless and makes some frustrating choices, but you totally understand why-she needs to finally solve the mystery of her missing sister.

This book is not just a whodunit or what happened; it's also about dark secrets that haunt families for generations. If you like thrillers where the characters are deeply flawed and everyone feels suspicious, give this one a try.

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.

From the publisher

Macmillan/Minotaur | August 26,2025 | 336 pages | ISBN:9781250887979 | Thriller

1. Forget Me Not begins with an epigraph from Susan Atkins, about Charles Manson: "It was like I was a tool in the hands of the Devil. " How does this quote relate to what took place at Galloway Farm? Would you compare Mitchell Galloway to a Charles Manson figure? Why or why not?

2. Claire's sister died twenty-two years ago. On page 20 she says, "Grief is not a rational thing. " How does Claire face her grief? How does she avoid it? How does her summer at Galloway affect her grief?

3. Claire returns home for the first time in years. On page 25, she says, "I know I'm close by the scents seeping through the open windows: salt, mud, the sticky film of the air itself gripping to my skin like drying glue. " What scents, tastes, and feelings instantly remind you of home?

4. On page 73, Marcia writes in her diary, "My name feels like the only thing that's mine." What does she mean by this? How has she lost herself at Galloway? Has she lost herself even before she arrives at Galloway? Do you think the same happens to Claire?

5. Mitchell says to both Claire and Marcia at different times, "I want you to think of this as your home now. " Why do you think he told both of them this? What does he mean?

6. How do the different forms of media, like Marcia's diary and various articles, play a role in Claire unraveling the secrets of Galloway? How does Claire's background as a journalist help her?

7. Claire hasn't returned home in many years, Marcia runs away from home, and Mitchell tells the girls to consider Galloway like their home. What role does the theme of "home" play in the novel? How do different characters view home?

8. Are there any parallels between Marcia, Natalie, and Claire's experiences at Galloway?

9. What do the girls from Marcia's past, like Lily, Katherine, and Annie, have in common? How are they different? How do they relate to the greater theme of sisterhood?

10. What did you think about the ending? Do you think Mitchell was the only villain? Do you consider Lily a villain or a victim?

Book Club Talking Points:
"Forget Me Not" by Stacy Willingham is a great book club choice! It's suspenseful and emotionally profound, sparking conversation. The story follows a mom as she navigates her daughter's disappearance and her daughter's questions about memory and truth. It's fun for group talks since it explores themes like grief. Plus, it's a fast-paced thriller that will have everyone guessing!

"Once again, Willingham (Only If You're Lucky) delivers a gripping thriller packed with twists that will keep readers on edge until the final page... Fans of Sally Hepworth and Kate Alice Marshall will enjoy the novel's Southern heat, slow-burning tension, and suspense." -Library Journal

"[This is a] compelling suspense ride, full of twists and turns avid followers of her couldn't even imagine. Much like the diary in Willingham's current book, Forget Me Not is hard to put down after you've read the first few chapters. Totally consume yourself in this southern suspense novel."-Charleston.com

"Absolutely riveting. Simmering tension and genuine shocks make Forget Me Not a thriller I'll remember for a long, long time."- Riley Sager

"Stacy Willingham beguiles with her magnetic writing and atmospheric setting, drawing readers easily into a decades-old mystery where a constant sense of danger and unease brews beneath the surface. Shocking and totally twisted. Totally unique, I've never read anything like it."- Mary Kubica

"Stacy Willingham does not miss! I was immediately drawn into this eerie and captivating story, and could not put it down. A perfect thriller for summer reading." - Samantha Downing