My only quibble is that sometimes the emotion is Isabelle’s voice could’ve been reigned in just a teeny tiny bit, but that’s just personal preference. In our story’s “past” timeline, readers travel back into Isabelle’s childhood, to a hazy July in the South, where Isabelle’s childhood home—a vast estate—becomes the site of a terrible tragedy.

I'm glad because "missing without a trace" is my favorite trope if done right, and this one had a good exposition and explanation. Perfect along with the short chapters for creating the tension and suspense that kept me hooked to the end despite working out the plot too early. Isabelle has barely slept in the last year, meaning extreme sleep deprivation makes it hard for her to function, to trust her own thoughts - did she do something wrong on that dreadful night that Mason went missing, she knows that the detective investigating the case looks on her as a suspect. I really enjoyed Willingham's earlier release, A Flicker in the Dark, and personally, I think this one is even better. I can see how many loved this book, but for me, I know I am not a good fit for this authors’ writing style.Stacy Willingham has knocked it out the park and then some with this stay up long into the night read which is appropriate owing to Isabelle’s insomniac state. The gripping A Flicker in the Dark sets a terrific course for the new year, shining a bright light on a new author to savor in Willingham. His incessant questioning paired with her severe insomnia has brought up uncomfortable memories from her own childhood, making Isabelle start to doubt her recollection of the night of Mason's disappearance, as well as second-guess who she can trust. This aspect of the novel is done incredibly well as the author makes you feel the mental and physical toll it has taken and you totally get her obsessive pursuit of the truth.

She isn't sleeping at all and she goes to different true crime conventions in the hope that she can get the word out about her son. The book is very fast paced and the reveals to the different parts of the mystery come at regular intervals that allowed me to remain engaged with the story rather than getting bored.

Now Ben has moved on and Isabelle has not slept since she read her son a bedtime story and tucked him in for the night.