This book was so good! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I could not wait to dive into this book. A flicker in the dark was one of my favorite books this year and I just couldn’t wait to see what this one was all about.

Isabelle Drake lost her son Mason a year ago. When she went into his room to wake him for the day, he was just gone, no sign or trace of anything has been discovered within the last year. Within this last year Isabelle has barely gotten any sleep, which is much different from her normal, when she was younger she was such a deep sleeper that she often sleepwalked. This isn’t the first tragedy she has faced in life, when she was little her sister Margaret had a terrible accident, but Isabelle still isn’t sure exactly what happened to her or if she had anything to do with it. Her life is quite a mess, her husband has since left blaming the dissolution of their marriage on mason being missing. Soon Isabelle learns she never really knew her husband at all. Who took Mason and what exactly happened to Margaret all those years ago?

I gave this five stars because although it had a slow burn, I was still intrigued to learn what happened. The ending came out of no where and I can honestly say I didn’t see it coming at all. I also really liked the change in timelines from the present to when Isabelle was younger and discovering what happened to her sister. This is a great read if you’re into thrillers. I can’t wait to see what else Stacy willingham comes up with.

💜𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲💜
ALL THE DANGEROUS THINGS
🤍𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗿𝗲: psychological thriller
𝗠𝘆 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: 4.5 ⭐️ 💫
📖 326 pages

Thank you @minotaurbooks @stmartinespress & @stacyvwillingam for this #gifted digital arc!

Wow, just wow! I really enjoyed this one. While it had a slower start, the pace quickly picked up. I had my hunches but was never quite sure what was going to happen & I still didn’t call that ending 🤯. Between the unreliable main character and her ambiguous past, it was hard to know who to trust.

With a story full of suspicious characters and a plot so compelling, I really couldn’t put it down. Even on an airplane jet lagged & exhausted with crying toddlers behind me 😵‍💫 haha 😂 I was very much hooked!

The story follows Isabelle who present day is still searching for her missing son who was taken out of his crib one night. The case has gone cold but Isabelle is determined to find him, even without the help of her estranged ex husband, Ben. She befriends Waylon who has a true crime podcast and wants to help. But who can she really trust if she doesn’t even trust herself? Told from alternating timelines from present day to 1999 from Isabelle’s cryptic past, this plot will keep you interested until the very end.

@stacyvwillingham is an #autobuyauthor for me! I loved FLICKER IN THE DARK s’much too!

TW ⚠️: loss of a child, divorce, suicide

"What would it feel like to be trapped inside of a mind of a sleep deprived mother, who deep down, believed that the disappearance of her child was somehow her fault?"

In the market for a well-paced, unsettling psychological thriller? This story is about a missing child and his mom, Isabelle, with a troubled past. Isabelle suffers from insomnia and sleep walking.

I am not a huge thriller reader. Every once on a blue moon I pick up one. If a thriller keeps me at the edge of my seat and I don't see the twists coming I consider it a good one. And according to my "very detailed rubric (!)" this was a decent one.

I cannot say I liked Izzy. How she rationalized her life choices and I wanted to tell her "sweetie, what goes around comes around" (because I talk to my fictional characters🤭 ) But I felt so bad for her. She was living the biggest nightmare imaginable for a mom.

The author kept the tension up the whole time going back and forth between present day and Izzy's childhood.

All in all this thriller kept me intrigued. It was a quick read. It also made me wake up in the middle of the night and check whether my son is sleeping in his bed.🥺

So many twists and turns as Izzy tries to find out what happened to her son. A bit draggy in the middle but then it picks up rapidly, you’ll be surprised by the ending.

I really enjoyed this author's first novel, A FLICKER IN THE DARK. This one was also good but not my favorite between the two. It took a while for it to grab my attention. I guessed one of the twists early on, and reading it had an eerie feeling with some of the stuff going on in the news. I also am curious if it's really possible to go a whole year without sleep.

If you enjoy a slow build with an unreliable narrator, this is your book!

Definitely a great read. .There were plenty of twists and turns and when I got to the end, it was a WOW factor. This book kept me interested the entire time.! The characters were so real perfectly written into the story. Loved this book!

I have not yet read this book, as I am almost 8 months pregnant with a 2 year old daughter at home. The content is proving to be a bit too much for me at this moment with all of my hormones flowing. But I loved Willingham"s "A Flicker In the Dark," so I have purchased myself a copy of this book to read at a later date when I'm not so sensitive to the themes and plot points in this book. Review to come.

Immediately draws you in. The middle can get a bit long but the ending and the multiple twists quickly make up for that.
Overall really enjoyed this sophomore book by the author and excited to read what is next.

*Thank you to St. Martin's Press/Minotaur, Stacy Willingham and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

I have mixed feelings about Stacy Willingham. In her first book, I felt like something was missing but the writing was amazing. This book had a great plot with the same spectacular writing but I still felt it was missing something. That being said, I enjoyed this much more than her first book.

Isabelle and Ben's young son Mason has disappeared from his crib in the middle of the night one year ago. Their marriage could not survive the loss and Ben has moved out but Isabelle is still obsessed with Mason's disappearance, convinced he is alive. She travels to different true crime conventions to talk about Mason and get the word out, then she pores over the list of attendees to see if any names stand out. The novel is told in two different timelines - Isabelle's past, when she is a deep sleepwalker and she is convinced she is responsible for the death of her sister. But what about Mason? Is she responsible for his disappearance?

I enjoyed this. Especially because I was wrong about two major plot points. I thought I had it figured out. Can't wait to read more from this author!

All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham is a thriller about the disappearance of Isabelle Drake's son. Her toddler Mason disappeared in the middle of the night, and she hasn't been able to sleep since that terrible discovery. Isabelle agrees to be interviewed by a podcaster, and she starts to remember things from her own childhood. The reveals in this book were very twisty, and I really enjoyed this read. Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

Isabelle Drake was leading a charmed life….great husband, beautiful son, and just getting back into the work she loves…until a year ago, when her son Mason was taken out if his crib in the middle of the night while she and her husband were asleep in the next room. Unfortunately, there was not a lot of evidence to go on so the trail went cold rarely quickly. But Isabelle won’t rest until she finds out what happened to her son….she hasn’t slept more than a catnap or blackout over the last year. She’s even decided to give talks at true crime conventions and is going to do a podcast. Through giving interviews with the podcaster, things from her past come back up which makes her question everything…who can she trust…what really happened the night her son went missing….and what happened on that night long ago.

Stacy Willingham is a mystery/thriller genius. This story captured me from the beginning and kept me guessing until then end with many “What!!” moments in between.

I received this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

A flicker in the Dark is one of my favorite books ever and I knew I had to give this author another chance. This book pulled me in from the beginning with the perspective of the unrested mother. I was never sure where this book was going and I was along for the thrilling ride! This is a deep and shocking book with many topics to discuss but in the most fun way!
5/5 ⭐️!

A domestic thriller story that gives thrills and chills. An exciting rollercoaster ride that kept me engrossed in the story. The author throws in some curve balls and twists the keep the story interesting. Count me in as a new fan.

Disclaimer: Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for this review copy and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I read this in like 12 hours, it was so easy to tear through. the end twist was pretty good and unexpected. Izzy is an unreliable narrator which is a very tired trope at this point, but I found her a pretty likable main character and was really rooting for her. overall, a solid thriller, and I found this to be on par with @stacyvwillingham ‘s first novel

A woman lost her son a year ago. He was taken from their home sometime in the night. Her husband left her and is with a new woman who looks like her and also looks like his previous wife, who is now deceased. Two-thirds into the book, it’s revealed that the police and mostly everyone else suspects that the kidnapper was someone inside the home. The uncertainty of whether or not the main character can be trusted or if she’s unreliable makes it more interesting and I thoroughly enjoyed the ending, 4 stars!

This thriller had me on the edge of my seat. I did not guess how this was going to play out. I haven't read her other book Flicker in The Dark yet…so now I definitely gotta do that!! The MC in this one is Isabelle Drake. Her son has been missing for a year, taken from his room in the middle of the night. There are no leads and no clues. She hasn't slept for that year other than small bouts and catnaps. All she wants to do is find out what happened to her son. She agrees to work with a podcaster who says he wants to help, but now she's wonder what his objective really is. She has a troubled past, and she's starting to think she can't even trust herself. Who CAN she trust??


Omg SO GOOD!! Flew through it, couldn't put it down. You will wonder about every character in this book. So we'll written and unpredictable!! I can't wait to read more by this author.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the gifted copy. Out January 10.

Wow wow wow. This was so good. 4.5 rounded up. Enjoyed it even more than Stacy‘s debut, A Flicker in the Dark! The audiobook for this one was absolutely phenomenal; this narrator is one of the best I have ever listened to! The narrator truly made this experience that much better. Absolutely loved all of the twists in this one, and that everything wrapped up nicely in a perfect little bow at the end. I did have some questions, as there were multiple twists that didn’t seem related at times, but I was so pleased to see how everything connected. I did not foresee the biggest list coming, which is my favorite part about reading thrillers!
So good!!! Highly recommend. Cannot wait for more from Stacy!
Cannot wait to write my full review on IG, @chandlersbooknook.

Loved reading this! Isabel and husband Ben have their baby kidnapped. They both look guilty because there is no evidence of a break-in. A year has gone by and still Isabel is speaking and posting, trying to find her son. Husband Ben cannot tolerate her absorption into discovering her lost child. Isabel has been told to ‘leave it’ to the law to investigate, but she is relentless in attempting to find her son, Mason. Due to her sad childhood, a death of her younger sister, that she always wondered if she was responsible. Perhaps she had unknowingly harmed her child - but cannot remember. A great adventure thru the clues to solve or give closure to her grief.
Highly recommend!

I was unsure about whether to pick this one up because I did not love her first book, but this one was great. The twists and turns are very well done, and it is not too dark but just dark enough. Well worth the read.