If you haven’t read one of Stacy's thrillers yet, you are definitely missing out. She writes literal perfection.

In this story, Isabelle Drake’s life changes forever when her son, Mason, was taken from his crib in the middle of the night. The was no break in, the dog didn’t bark and they didn’t wake from their bedroom next door.

No one knows what happened and the police have zero leads. If you are a mother and something happened to your baby, obviously you would do whatever you could to try to figure out what happened.

As her marriage derails, she begins speaking at true crime conventions to get her story about her son out there to the public. And because of this, she is approached by a podcast producer that wants to help her investigate and tell her story.

Throughout this investigation, the twists and turns literally take you for a whirlwind. I thought I had it all figured out in what happened to Mason, but then I would change my mind and think something else.

This book was an absolute thriller gem and the perfect read to start of the new year with.

Isabelle Drake is living a mother's worst nightmare. As the first anniversary of her son Mason's abduction from his crib approaches, she speaks at true crime conventions to keep his story in the forefront as the police offer no new clues to solving the case. And to make matters worse, Isabelle hasn't been able to get any real sleep since the incident. With her frustration growing, she agrees to cooperate with a true crime podcaster who she soon uncovers knows a great deal more than she initially suspected. This includes a tragic past that she has tried to put behind her. Could the events of her childhood have a connection to her son's disappearance?

Author Stacy Willingham made quite an impressive debut with last year's A Flicker in the Dark. Now, with All the Dangerous Things, I've added Willingham to my must-read list and I'm sure many mystery/thriller readers will be doing the same. The suspense is heightened by the book's intense atmospheric descriptiveness both in the present as well as flashbacks to Isabelle's historic childhood home with a creepy marsh behind it that you can almost feel and smell. This tense book will keep you on your toes trying to figure out what truly happened in the past and the present with its many complicated, flawed and interesting characters. And moms, check those batteries on your baby monitors!

Review of All The Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham

Overall, I enjoyed this thriller. I listened to it on audio and it was a quick read for me. I really felt for the main character Isabelle. I enjoyed the dual timelines and preferred in some ways the past one. There were a few parts that kind of dragged for me and I will say I enjoyed A Flicker in the Dark a bit more.

Quick synopsis: Stacy hasn’t slept since her toddler son Mason vanished from his room. Her life is in shambles and she and her husband are separated. She travels on true crime circuits to get the story out there but more importantly to look for any suspicious people herself. On a plane home from one event she meets a podcaster. She ultimately decides to team up with him to see if they can find out the truth about what happened to Mason. This timeline alternates with one from Stacy’s childhood but I don’t want to include details about that for potential spoiler reasons.

I definitely will keep reading this author.

Oh this was the definition of an unreliable narrator! I thought I had the twist figured out, but I definitely did not. I really enjoyed the well formed characters, and thought the plot moved at a steady pace. Highly recommended!

I (ironically) picked up All The Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham at 2am, after tossing and turning, not able to sleep for well over an hour early one morning. I also ended up finishing this book in the dark, as I neglected to turn the room lights on, in order to jump back into the story quicker.

As Isabelle is unable to sleep after her young son was taken in the middle of the night, her narration is unreliable as even she questions her sanity. Now that Mason's missing person case has gone cold one year later, Izzy has taken it upon herself to solve the crime, in a state of utter desperation.

In a word, this book is incredible. Similar to The Push, but instead of pointing the finger elsewhere, the finger firmly points at oneself. It's sleep deprivation, it's a mother's guilt and it's the tangled mess of thoughts that you can find yourself in during the hours when the rest of the world seems to be asleep.

I'm finding it difficult to say exactly what I loved, because I feel that it wouldn't take much to steer a reader one way or another, and I think it's better to go in without preconceived notions of this plot! But know that I was blown away by every aspect of this novel.

But know that there was twist upon twist upon twist that kept blowing my mind, leading me to the book's completion. I've never read a thriller where all the loose ends were tied up so nicely, and the many layers, and unique aspects so well done. The epilogue itself brought up so many moral questions, that as a reader I had already wondered; this was such a distinct conclusion, which I found would lend itself into fantastic book club discussions.

In the author's note, the "why" behind this novel is explained, which is an incredibly fascinating and a brilliant basis for a book. Willingham delves into areas of motherhood so well within this novel, statements that I connected and related to, that I would have never guessed that she is yet a mother herself.

I'm just going to go ahead and say it, this thriller ranks up there with the likes of Gone Girl (which is the top tier thriller that I compare all others to). You can bet I'll be reading everything Willingham writes, including A Flicker In The Dark, which was published last year.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Minotaur Books for the complimentary copy to read and review.

Stacy Willingham has quickly become one of my favorite thriller authors. Her latest novel is very similar in tone to her debut, which makes it all the more worth reading.

This is a novel for the people who need twist after twist, and a very high stakes and character-driven story. I enjoyed the easy writing style and way things were described which hooked me with her last book as well. It was intriguing to see what Isabell went through in her past, and how it might possibly connect to her present situation, but I also wanted a little bit more from the main premise of the story with her sons disappearance. I do feel like there were some missing pieces, and ends that needed to be tied to really make this novel stand out above the rest. But at the end of the day this novel has it all: intrigue, suspense, betrayal, and twists. I would recommend this to anyone seeking a story that will hook them and keep them guessing until the end.

3.5 stars (rounded to a 4)

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for my copy.

Five Happy Dance Stars 💃💃💃💃💃


Mason was kidnapped one year ago. His case is still unclosed. Its every parent's nightmare. He was taken at night from his crib while his parents were sleeping.
Isabelle has always had insomnia and she always walks in her sleep.
She can't rest at all now until Mason is returned to her.
Her insomnia gets worse and she is having some uncomfortable memories from her childhood.
Her husband, Ben has cheated on her and they are no longer a couple.
She does not know who she can trust.

This one had a little slow burn in the beginning but I was never bored.
I loved loved loved this book. It was so good. I guessed every character and I was wrong every time. All the characters seem to be untrustable.
There are lots of jaw dropping moments and loved all of the twists. I could not put this book down after the beginning. I kept on flipping the pages to see what was going to happen next. It gave me a five star high. It kept me on the edge of my seat. This book was just so crazy. It had everything that you want in a thriller. This one is not a predictable read. It was mind blowing!

I want to thank Netgalley, Minotaur Books for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. (

I absolutely binged this book. It was a one-sitting whirlwind and I simply couldn’t stop. I enjoyed Flicker in the Dark, but Stacy Willingham has one upped it with All the Dangerous Things. I didn’t see a fair amount of the twists coming and thought the MC’s background was well done. I did wind up guessing whodunnit, but the story was so well plotted and entertaining that it didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment to not be totally shocked.

This book is a parents worst nightmare. Written so remarkably and compulsively readable. I wasn't prepared for the amount of highlighting I did on my kindle in this book. It feels real. It doesn't feel like another book that came out last year about the Ramsey case that I absolutely despised, it felt like this was a truthful kidnapping case and the mother wanted her kid back. The unreliable narrative works because we've all gone without sleep. It's absolutely genius plot device. Love it. Recommend it.

I thought this book had good twists and was atmospheric but it just contained tropes that I really don’t care for very much. I think this author has talent and does a good job of writing unlikeable characters

This is the authors sophomore novel, and I truly didn't want to put this one down. I'm usually not the biggest fan of the insomnia trope but now she has me loving it. Guessing what happened, if you don't sleep enough. Its not the entire focus and I loved that. It also goes back to her childhood and things that happened back then haunting her now as an adult. I was sucked in and invested to what happened to Mason, did someone in the family have anything to do with it or did someone come in and take him. The twists and short chapters have you flying through it.

Thank you to Minotaur Books and Netgalley for my review copy

A wonderful suspense that takes its time to develop as it steadily weaves its way through many twists and turns. Absolutely loved how Willingham meticulously peeled back layers of the story and characters. Enjoyable and entertaining.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC of #AllTheDangerousThings which was read and reviewed voluntarily.

Hold onto your hats, readers, for this one!
A little boy has been missing for one year and his mother, Isabelle, is desperate and obsessed. She cannot sleep.
I can Relate with insomnia since I’ve dealt with chronic insomnia for many years, but nothing to the extent like Isabelle suffers. Portions of her past are sifted out as she continues to suss out clues about that night.
Years Of reading both fictional crime and true crime as well as watching crime shows have paid off because one suspect leapt out immediately and turns out I was right on target.
I didn’t particularly like any of the characters, except Rufus the dog, but I enjoyed solving the case.

Just finished listening to the audio and highly recommend this book!! Thank you Minotaur for the advanced reader’s copy and the listening copy.

All the dangerous things is a slow burn thriller but its very captivating and intriguing! If you liked Flicker in the dark, you WILL enjoy this book.

Thanks to @minotaur_books and @netgalley for my gifted copy of All the Dangerous Things, by Stacy Willingham! This book comes out next week (on the 10th), and should be very highly anticipated by thriller and mystery readers. Willingham’s first book was fantastic, and this one was no exception!

In All the Dangerous Things, we meet Isabelle Drake, a woman who’s son went tragically missing the year prior. She’s been trying to investigate what happened, and is returning from speaking at a true crime convention when she runs into a podcast host named Waylon. And Waylon is very interested in her story…

I will officially read anything Stacy Willingham writes! I loved the buildup in this one, along with the details that were in the book. It was very descriptive, which made the buildup even better. The only thing I’d change was the ending, and to be specific, the last thirty pages. Everything felt very rushed, and could’ve been drawn out a bit more.

There are trigger warnings for this one, so DM me if you want to chat.

At first glance, All the Dangerous Things seems like a story about a mother’s desperate need to find her child, which is, of course, true but it is also so much more than that. All the Dangerous Things is a story about the complexities of motherhood, the lengths we’re willing to go to protect the ones we love, the way we’re affected by childhood grief and trauma, and the dangers of secrecy.

This story is told in two separate timelines — “then” 1999 in Beaux Bridge, Louisiana and “now” in Savannah, Georgia. I love alternating timelines, especially when the past is so tightly woven with the present. My favorite thing about alternating timelines within mystery stories especially, is being able to see how one event can influence another, which I think Willingham did a great job of conveying. It was easy to see how situations from Isabelle’s past would make her react a certain way, or why she would suspect one thing based on prior experiences. I felt that the alternating timelines really added to the mysterious atmosphere and the unreliability of our main character, Isabelle.

I love an unreliable narrator in a mystery novel, and really, I had strong doubts about Isabelle throughout the entire book. Obviously, I could fully sympathize with the fact that Isabelle was a mother grieving over the loss of her child, and that she was desperate to get answers. I can’t even imagine the grief and fear that she was going through, so I really felt for her. However, there was never one moment where I was one hundred percent positive that she didn’t somehow have something to do with his disappearance, especially as more information was revealed throughout the story. The addition of her sleepwalking and general sleep issues really added to that uncertainty and had all the things I’m looking for in a book with an unreliable narrator.

In my opinion, Willingham once again crafted a well thought out and interesting novel that kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. She’s definitely become one of my go-to authors for the adult mystery/thriller genre and I’m looking forward to whatever it is that she writes next.

A mother who’s baby was stolen from his crib and has been missing for a year with no clues, deals with insomnia and sleepwalking issues since childhood and her husband and her split from the trauma. Who took her baby? Does she trust herself to know she has nothing to do with it? Has her past happened again?

Spoilers⚠️

Half unoriginal. A grieving mother doesn’t trust her self and everyone thinks she’s crazy. The dead beat man who is always moving on the best new shiny woman and conveniently has a wife die and a baby missing and a new mistress. Like come on it was so obvious.
The only twist the made sense was that the old man saw “her” with the baby and it was the mistress while stealing the baby and they looked a like. That was the big holy crap moment and it still wasn’t huge!
The short chapters kept me pulled in and I read it super fast,
But i could have called it from the first 3 chapters…

This is the first book of Willingham’s that I’ve read and it did not disappoint! Isabelle Drake’s 18-month-old son, Mason, went missing from his bedroom one year ago and since then Isabelle hasn’t been able to sleep. She finds herself speaking at true crime events in an effort to seek out clues as to what might have happened to Mason. The trauma of his disappearance also dredges up a tragedy in her past that she can’t help but wonder is linked to Mason’s disappearance. Alternating between the current life of Isabelle and her childhood, I found the story fast-paced and keeping me in suspense. While I did figure out one of the twists earlier than it was revealed, I was ultimately left surprised at the ending.

This is the first book I have read by this author and it was a good one! This was a fast paced book that was very difficult to put down. The story was every parent's worst nightmare - a missing child. The MC had an unusual medical condition and her sleep deprivation added another layer to the story. I have heard good things about this author's first book and am planning on reading it soon. A 5 star read for me!

First off I want to thank @netgalley, @stmartinspress & @stacywillingham for my free ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, what a phenomenal read. It sucked me right in and never let me go. Truly great engaging writing, that keeps you reading late into the Night.

The book alternates between past and present which is something I really enjoyed as you get all the reasoning behind the actions. It was very well paced and nothing felt rushed. A lot of research in this book which made it even more enjoyable, realistic. The author dives into mental health, post partum depression, grief which are portrayed extremely well.

The characters were multi faceted, complexe and unreliable. I didn't know who to believe or what to believe. Who did what and why ? I was truly immersed in this story, once the twists kept coming they didn't stop. I kept changing my theories until the very end.

This is a very well done thriller that you will not be able to put down.

If you want a fast paced, suspenseful, realistic thriller give this one a shot !