A tense Southern Gothic present-day thriller, A Flicker in the Dark follows a Baton Rouge psychologist whose childhood was shattered when her father confessed to killing local girls. Twenty years later, new disappearances resurrect old fears, forcing the characters to relive the past and reveal the secrets they’ve kept. The cast is bound by blood, deception, and the perilous pull of memory—relationships that both protect and destroy.
Main Characters
Chloe Davis
Chloe Davis is the novel’s protagonist and an unreliable narrator, a Baton Rouge psychologist whose life is defined by her father’s conviction for a string of murders in Breaux Bridge. Anxious, traumatized, and prone to self-medication, she embodies the theme of Memory, Paranoia, and Unreliable Narration, constantly doubting her perceptions as new killings mirror the past. Torn between the comforts of her fiancé, Daniel, and the gravitational pull of her older brother, Cooper, her investigation forces her to suspect those closest to her. Her arc confronts The Lingering Trauma of the Past, culminating in the revelation that Cooper—not Richard—was the true killer, and in her decision to expose the truth despite the cost to her fractured family.
Cooper Davis
Cooper Davis is Chloe’s older brother and the story’s ultimate antagonist, the real murderer behind the Breaux Bridge crimes. Charismatic and controlling, he weaponizes intimacy—presenting as protective while subtly isolating Chloe and manipulating her memories—to exemplify Deception and Appearance vs. Reality. He grooms Tyler Price into copycat killings to frame Daniel and keep suspicion away from himself, all while relying on their father’s sacrifice to shield him. His “arc” is one of revelation rather than change: a slow unveiling that culminates in his recorded confession at the climax, as detailed in the Chapter 46-48 Summary.
Richard Davis
Richard Davis is Chloe and Cooper’s father, convicted of the original murders and serving as a haunting red herring for most of the novel. Quiet and enigmatic, he confesses to harboring a “darkness,” yet his defining act is a catastrophic sacrifice: taking the blame to protect his son. His choice captures Family Secrets and Dysfunctional Loyalty, destroying his family to preserve it. Though largely present through memory and absence, he achieves a bittersweet, posthumous exoneration when Cooper’s guilt is finally exposed.
Daniel Briggs
Daniel Briggs is Chloe’s fiancé and a carefully placed red herring whose secrecy conceals not malice but devotion. Seemingly perfect—steady, attentive, and protective—he becomes suspicious due to a murky past tied to his sister, Sophie, frequent travel, and coincidental proximity to the case. Ultimately, the truth reframes him: he helped Sophie escape an abusive father, Earl Briggs, and suspected Cooper long before Chloe did, acting to shield her even when it made him look guilty. His character challenges assumptions about concealment, reinforcing Deception and Appearance vs. Reality by showing that secrets can be instruments of care.
Aaron Jansen / Tyler Price
Tyler Price masquerades as reporter Aaron Jansen and serves as the present-day copycat killer—a volatile nobody desperate to matter. Raised on the mythos of the Davis murders, he fixates on the case and insinuates himself into Chloe’s life to relive and amplify the original violence. Cooper exploits his insecurity and hunger for recognition, guiding him to commit murders that echo the past and implicate Daniel. Tyler’s obsession escalates into a violent showdown at Chloe’s childhood home, where she fatally shoots him in self-defense, severing his imitation of evil at its source.
Supporting Characters
Lena Rhodes
Lena Rhodes is one of Cooper’s first victims and the spark that ignites the novel’s history; her disappearance is a core memory for Chloe. A bold, magnetic teenager who knew what Cooper did to Tara King, her taunts made her dangerous to him—and doomed. Lena’s charisma and edge haunt Chloe, who remembers her as both alluring and frightening.
Lacey Deckler
Lacey Deckler is a fifteen-year-old patient whose vulnerability makes her a target for the copycat killer. Her disappearance immediately after leaving Chloe’s office, as seen in the Chapter 1-5 Summary, thrusts Chloe into the investigation and intensifies her guilt and urgency. Lacey’s case becomes the emotional fulcrum of Chloe’s professional responsibility and personal trauma.
Bert Rhodes
Bert Rhodes is Lena’s grief-stricken father and a prominent red herring whose rage and volatility make him look capable of revenge. His affair with Mona Davis deepens the tangle between the families and fuels his harassment of the Davises. Bert’s pain is palpable, but his menace is misdirection—he is broken, not monstrous.
Minor Characters
- Mona Davis: Chloe and Cooper’s mother, devastated by the truth of Cooper’s crimes and Richard’s lie; a suicide attempt leaves her minimally conscious, and she struggles to warn Chloe from assisted living.
- Aubrey Gravino: The copycat’s first victim; her family’s Cypress Stables—also Chloe and Daniel’s planned wedding venue—creates the clue-laden overlap between past and present.
- Shannon Tack: Chloe’s best friend and fellow medical professional whose daughter, Riley, is abducted by the copycat and ultimately rescued, raising the stakes of Chloe’s search.
- Detective Michael Thomas: Lead investigator on the new murders, initially skeptical of Chloe’s reliability given her history with the case and prior false accusations.
Character Relationships & Dynamics
The Davis family sits at the story’s fault line. Richard’s catastrophic loyalty to Cooper—sacrificing his freedom to protect his son—shatters the family and warps Chloe’s identity. Mona knows too much and is destroyed by it, while Chloe, raised in the shadow of a supposed monster, learns that the real threat has always been the brother who positioned himself as her guardian.
Chloe’s closest bonds become traps. With Cooper, she confuses protection for control, letting his “care” isolate her and distort her memories. With Daniel, she seeks safety but reads his secrecy as danger; their relationship charts her struggle to distinguish real threats from trauma-fueled paranoia. Tyler’s calculated intrusion completes the circle of deception: he plays the ally as “Aaron Jansen,” while actually functioning as Cooper’s instrument.
Alliances and antagonisms map cleanly across two fronts. On one side are Chloe and Daniel—imperfect but ultimately united in their effort to stop the killings and protect Sophie’s secret past. On the other are Cooper and Tyler, a predator and his proxy, using staged narratives and planted clues to misdirect suspicion. Around them, the community—embodied by Detective Michael Thomas and the grief-stricken Bert Rhodes—reacts to violence with skepticism, anger, and the human urge to find simple answers, even when the truth is buried inside the family itself.
In the end, the web tightens back to its origin: family. Chloe’s choice to expose Cooper, even at the cost of unraveling the last thread of familial protection, breaks the generational cycle of secrets and asserts a hard-won clarity—seeing the monster clearly, and refusing to become one.