In Forget Me Not by Stacy Willingham, readers follow Claire Campbell as she wrestles with her traumatic childhood after the disappearance of her older sister. Claire’s older sister, Natalie, disappeared shortly after her eighteenth birthday over twenty-two years ago. Her family was destroyed in the aftermath. Authorities quickly closed the case after Natalie’s blood was found in an older man’s car. He was soon arrested and sentenced to prison for her death. Claire has spent the two decades since trying to move on from her past. She moved away from her family, hasn’t visited her hometown since, and started working as an investigative journalist. After she is passed up for a promotion, she quits her job, deciding to freelance instead. With an empty summer looming in front of her, Claire is shocked when her father calls to summon her back home.

Claire heads back home, much to the surprise of her mother. Convinced she’ll have nothing to do while stuck in her childhood home with her mother, Claire pivots and heads to Galloway Farm, the vineyard where Natalie worked the summer she went missing. When she arrives, Claire is shocked to be offered a seasonal job picking muscadines and helping with other farm tasks. At first, Claire finds this experience relaxing and idyllic, but something seems off at Galloway Farm. As she settles into the guest house, Claire discovers an old diary hidden in the floorboards written by one of the vineyard owners. The stories written are of love and rebellion, but quickly turn bad. The more she reads, the more drawn into the past she becomes. Are their connections between the people and stories in the diary to present day? Claire is soon immersed in a world of danger and intrigue as she obsesses over the truth.

Stacy Willingham kept me on my toes the entire time I was reading this title. I was engaged from start to finish in this witty, twisty story. An eerie feeling kept me on edge and filled with tension as the story progressed. If you like isolated settings, southern thrillers, domestic suspense, and family dramas with true crime vibes, give Forget Me Not a read.

This title is also available in large print and CD audiobook.