Nothing can be more terrifying than waking up and finding your son missing, that's exactly what happens to Isabelle Drake. Isabelle gives talks on how her son went missing in hopes to find clues on his whereabouts. On a flight back, Isabelle by chances meets a true crime podcaster that wants to help locate her son. Over time Isabelle grows wary of him as he starts to uncover her past.

This is a fast paced page turner that I really enjoyed.

An absolutely fantastic read about a mother facing the unthinkable. Her child has gone missing from his crib, and she’s afraid she had something to do with it.

What followed was a well-crafted mystery/thriller told in dual timelines, introducing us to a woman that has believed to be dangerous for her entire life. Isabelle lost her sister at a young age, and now her son is missing. Her marriage has fallen apart in the aftermath and she hasn’t slept in a year. She spends her all her time following leads and trying to keep the case alive.

The author did a great job at creating the perfect swampy atmosphere to set the story in. It was a bit of a slow-burn at the beginning, but once things started to move there was no pulling over!

I’ve already gone ahead and bought this author’s previous book and I look forward to reading it soon!

*Received an ARC with thanks from Netgalley and the Publisher in exchange for my honest thoughts*

3.5 stars but rounding up for review purposes. This was a case of a super hyped book that just didn't quite live up to the expectations for me. It was still a very good book, and the end chapters redeemed it for me, but I didn't love love it like so many others seemed to. It follows Isabelle, a mother whose toddler son was kidnapped from his nursery one year prior, as she pleads her case to the true crime convention circuit, trying to crack the case that has gone cold. Her husband, Benjamin, has left her, and she suffers from insomnia, slowly starting to question if maybe she was the one to do something to her son in her bouts of sleepwalking, a parallel to her traumatic childhood. For most of the book it seemed like the obvious direction, and I was really hoping that it wouldn't go that way, so was happy when some twists started occurring. However, the fallback domestic thriller twist was utilized, to a degree, so that was frustrating for me. I did like that this book ended on a "happy" note, which is rarely the case. Moms, check your TW, because this one touches on child loss/kidnapping, postpartum depression and psychosis, and all the guilt and feelings of worthlessness society dumps on us.

•It was soooo slow until about 40%.
•Some of the twists toward the end were pretty surprising and kept me interested. I guessed bits and pieces of things, but not the way it all tied together.
•Really over of authors using suicide and overdoses as any kind of “twist” - it’s predictable at this point and just seems like lazy writing. Not to mention it doesn’t do anything to help remove the stigma.

First I’ll start off by saying that I neglected all my responsibilities to read this book after I hit the halfway point. I had to know what happened! I was hooked!

I thought it started too slow and it took me a week through the first half. I felt like we were on repeat for a little long with details of things (that were later relevant). But once I got beyond that- the book took off and I really liked it.

It’s been a year since Isabelle and Ben Drake’s son was kidnapped from his crib in the middle of the night. Since then, Isabelle has only been able to sleep in small snatches and her marriage to Ben has fallen apart. But, Isabelle is determined to keep the kidnapping front and center, trying to solve the mystery of what happened to her toddler while also dealing with murky memories of her own childhood.

I thoroughly enjoyed Stacy Willingham’s first book, Flicker in the Dark, but this one was different. There were times I didn’t like this book very much and then it would turn around and I found myself enjoying it immensely. However, for the most part, All the Dangerous Things was not that suspenseful for me and at the beginning the pace of the story was rather sluggish. There are several twists that make the story more interesting as it moves along and that was why I sometimes liked it and sometimes didn’t. Finally, I was not really happy with the ending and how issues were resolved. It just didn’t seem right.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

📖 BOOK REVIEW

BOOK: All the Dangerous Things
AUTHOR: Stacy Willingham
FORMAT: Audiobook
GENRE: Thriller
DID I CRY: No
PUB DATE: 1/10/23
RATING: 8/10
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you so much @minotaurbooks for my #gifted advanced physical copy and digital copy via @netgalley and @librofm for my advanced listeners copy, out now!

MY THOUGHTS

After loving Stacy’s debut A FLICKER IN THE DARK, I was so excited to pick up her newest thriller, and while I didn’t love it as much, it sure came close!

I was invested in this book from the very start. We are instantly pulled into the story and my attention was kept from beginning to end. I was entertained the whole way through. With the true crime podcast element, the story felt modern & real which I enjoyed. The characters were pretty good for a thriller (sometimes I find them to be so unlikable because thrillers are pretty heavily plot-driven). The writing was great, as it was in her debut. As mentioned, it held my interest and wasn’t too wordy which I always appreciate. The dual timeline also was a fun addition to this book & helped the reader develop theories along the way. With an unreliable narrator being a trope I don’t usually enjoy at all, I can honestly say that this one was well done & it didn’t necessarily take away from the book for me.

My qualms are primarily with the ending. I wasn’t wowed by the twist. I definitely had high expectations with the insane ending of A FLICKER IN THE DARK & the whiplash that it gave me. I’m not sure the ending fully met my expectations. I also felt like the middle 50% was a little bit slow for me for a thriller. And finally, this is minor but I did not like the relationship between the MC and law enforcement. This was a problem for me with AFITD as well & it’s something that I remembered and it bothered me all over again. I know it’s so small but it gets so far under my skin when law enforcement don’t take the MC seriously & treat her like she’s crazy.

All in all a suspenseful, edge-of-your-seat thriller that was fun & quick. Definitely recommend!

This is one of the best books I’ve read in a while! Isabelle’s son has disappeared. Her husband left her. And she has insomnia. It all sounds like a terrible nightmare. She can’t move on and as a mother I definitely cannot blame her one bit. Her quest for answers leads her down a path to her past, as well as realizing what’s been going on in her life for years. An interesting and attention grabbing story!

Stacy Willingham's first book was a very good debut, but the second one completely stole my reading heart. I am delighted with her storytelling style, amazing atmosphere, and complexity of the plot and characters. Wow, wow, wow from now on I blindly buy each of her next books.

Solid thriller with two twists I didn’t see coming. what I love the most is that the author sprinkled clues throughout the story that made so much sense when those twists happened. This is my second book by this author and I can’t wait to see what she does next.

Isabelle's son has been missing for a year, no new breaks in the case and she hasn't slept since he went missing. Now Stacy Willingham writes a pretty damn good unreliable character, cause I thought right at the beginning that Isabelle had kidnapped her own son, she was just so flakey and the dual timeline into her past just made her whole story rocky.

But then Isabelle, is convinced someone broke in, she goes to true crime conventions to tell her story and follows up on all attendees. Then she basically lets, Waylon, a complete stranger into her home to stay and record her for his true crime podcast. It was all very moody, dark, sketchy and concerning. Not only was Isabelle unreliable, but so was Waylon and several other characters.

I did like this one a lot more than A Flicker in the Dark, it's a bit slow at the beginning, it really picks up

WOAH! First of all, I loved that the main characters name was Isabelle Drake. If you’ve read give me more in the salacious players club series you’ll understand haha. I had no idea how this book was going to end but that’s what made it so awesome for me. I felt the same kind of on the edge of your seat feeling with this book as I did with the authors debut novel - a flicker in the dark. The one thing that stood out to me in this book is how everyone in Isabelle’s life did something to feed into this false narrative she had of herself being this evil woman in her sleep. Her parents let her believe that for so long and that just lead to everything else bad that happened being linked to her sleepwalking. I think the characters in this novel were interesting and I loved that the ending didn’t feel so out of left field. I felt like if I went back and read through I could find little clues now that I know what to look for. I really can’t wait to read more books by this author!

This book has a great amount of suspense. I was left wondering what was going to happen as I flipped the pages. It features a strong woman and does deal with a missing child. So beware if that is triggering for you. I highly recommend this book

After really not liking her previous novel, I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I was gripped right from the beginning and couldn't put it down. I enjoyed the many different parts of the novel and up until the end, was quite in the dark about how everything would shake out. I thoroughly enjoyed! Will definitely recommend to thriller fans. 4.5 stars

Absolutely loved this! Better than her debut! This story was more of a domestic thriller about motherhood.

Stacy Willingham has an amazing way with words. A bit too many at times but still she has you so involved in the story and the characters. All the Dangerous Things was a fantastic read, and the ending was riveting. I would read everything written by this author.

This is my 2nd book from Stacy Willingham and it was BETTER than the 1st one. I feel like a lot of times authors have a hit with their first book, but then the second book falls flat. This is NOT the case for Stacy.

She is my new auto buy author. Unlike Flicker in the Dark, where I actually guessed the twist, I DID NOT guess 1 single twist in this book.

Isabelle loses her son after he’s kidnapped, her marriage falls apart, and her troubled past keeps coming back to her mind.

She’s sleepless with a history of sleepwalking. This book will have you thinking everyone is a suspect, but I guarantee that you will NOT get the twist and if you do, kudos to you!

I absolutely loved the dual timelines which Stacy wrote in perfectly since both timelines have some sort of case to solve.

Read this if:
😴 You like dual timelines
😴 You like thrillers were everyone seems like a suspect
😴 You want to second guess every theory you come up with until the twists are revealed!

OK Willingham hit it out of the park with this one!

I read A Flicker In The Dark last year and was totally underwhelmed. I know I’m in the minority and when I read it before pub date and before any of the hype, I knew that would be the case. Therefore, to say I was hesitant to pick up All The Dangerous Things is an understatement. But boy, am I glad I did!!

This book kept me on the edge of my seat. The pacing was awesome, I had no idea what to believe or who to trust, and even though I guessed part of the mystery, I was way way off base for other parts so that was spectacular.

I have a 19 month old son and man oh man did some of the abduction parts hit me hard. I was honestly sobbing at times!

I did the audio for this novel and it completely enraptured me. The narrators were great and it was so was so well executed I sometimes felt like I was watching a film, not listening to an audiobook!

It’s safe to say Willingham has redeemed herself for me and I will without question be picking up her next novel.

Thank you to Libro.fm, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Thank you so much to Minotaur books for sending me an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Although I did not read this book prior to its publication date, I did finish it this week.

I absolutely loved this second novel by Stacy Willingham. Our main character, Isabelle, is actively working to find out what has happened to her missing son, Mason, one year later. She kinda becomes obsessed with finding answers, that she starts to doubt her own memories and everyone around her.

What I loved:
-super engaging
-unreliable character
-the author keeps you guessing up until the very end

There isn't anything that I didn't love about this book. The author has a way of writing that sucks you into the story. You begin to think like the main character and she keeps you guessing. I didn't figure out the major twist until right before it was revealed and even then ,I wasn't sure that was the big twist.

Overall, this was a well written novel. It was hard to put down; I could have binged it in one sitting, but work and adult duties call :)

I gave this one 4.5 stars. I definitely recommend this one to everyone and I am looking forward to what Mrs. Willingham puts out next!

All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham

A year has passed since Mason was taken from his crib and his desperate mother Isabelle, turns to anyone who will listen. She turns to True Crime enthusiasts and now has turned to a podcaster who wants to help her. Due to her sons’ disappearance, Isabelle is experiencing sleep deprivation. While she is hiding secrets, so too are the people in her life. Do the police believe that she had nothing to do with his disappearance? Does her estranged husband? Does the podcaster who wants to help tell her story?
Isabelle grew up in a family that was distant from each other. Her father is in government and never home during the week, her mother is an artist, working up in her studio. Isabelle and her younger sister Margaret are often left on their own to make their own food and keep themselves busy. Isabelle is like a mother to Margaret, until she wakes up one day to find her missing.
This story is told from Isabelle’s point of view and uses two-time lines, then and now. It was easy to follow them along and gave the reader more information from the past. The author uses such beautiful descriptive language “The way the oak trees have formed a giant archway over the Bluff, their limbs getting mangled together in time like the lacing together of arthritic fingers”. While the story is a mystery thriller, she made the story so enjoyable to read.
This book took me on a roller coaster of emotions as I was reading it. My feelings towards Isabelle were constantly changing. Is she innocent or guilty? What lies do we believe?
All the Dangerous Things is an incredible thriller. Just when you think what will happen next, everything shifts again. She is a smart writer, keeping you guessing all the way to the end! I can’t wait to read the next Stacy Willingham novel.
Trigger warnings for postpartum depression, infant kidnapping and missing children.
Many thanks to both NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read an ARC of All the Dangerous Things in exchange for my honest thoughts.