5/5

“Because that’s the thing with the audience, the thing I learned long ago. They don’t want to get “too” uncomfortable. They don’t want to actually live through what I’ve lived through, every ugly moment. They just want a taste.”

ARC BOOK REVIEW: All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham
PUB DATE: January 10th, 2023

I want to first start off by saying thank you to Stacy Willingham, St. Martin’s Press, and Netgalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you are into thrillers this book is for you. This book kept me on the edge of my seat. Stacy Willingham did an excellent job taking her readers on a journey with Isabelle Drake, whose young son went missing over a year ago. Isabelle has been actively trying to find answers on the night her son went missing. On this journey, Isabelle is faced with cold hard truths and betrayal that she could never imagine. But the main question is, will she ever see her son again, and in what state?

If you liked Willingham’s debut novel, A Flicker in the Dark, you are sure to love this new thriller. As a reader who reads a lot of thrillers, I find it very hard to surprise, and well…this book surprised me to the point where I laid on the couch contemplating what I have ever known. This book is intense and nail-biting and it will definitely be one of the top Thrillers of 2023 and lucky for you it comes out the second week of January.

Before I start this review, I will say this needs a trigger warning for child stuff! Do your research if this is hard for you because Stacy is an amazing author and it hit me hard.

This story focuses around Isabelle Drake, a mom whose son went missing a year ago. Isabelle will do anything to get her son back, and can’t sleep not knowing what happened. To make matters worse, her husband has left her, and she must confront her past where she also lost her sister alone.

Isabelle finds a friend in Waylon, a podcaster who wants to tell her story. But can she trust Waylon? Does he have another motive? Can Isabella trust anyone? Even herself?

This story totally gripped me, even if it was a tough read at times. The ending completely caught me by surprise, which doesn’t happen often! Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book! I was immediately hooked in the story. It was fast-paced and never stopped! At first, I was concerned there was too much going on, but the author didn’t miss a single thing! The twists were great! I can’t wait to read more from her!

Thank you NetGalley & Minotaur books for my eARC!

All the Dangerous Things is told through first person dual timelines, with the past setting up the background for the feelings Isabelle has in the present. While a slow burn, I loved the uneasiness and unreliability of the narrator, where neither she nor the reader can rule her out as a suspect.

The pace picks up around the 75% mark, where all the secrets and lies in the past and present start to be revealed. I really enjoyed the twists, especially the one involving the kidnapping. I did not see it coming and Willingham did a really great job setting it up and giving me that oh wow moment.

Welp. Consider me entirely impressed. This book was amazing. Completely thought out from start to finish and every question I had was answered by the end. It was both heartbreaking and infuriating in all the right places. Bravo!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I was excited to receive an advance copy of Stacy Willingham’s latest book All the Dangerous Things. I really enjoyed A Flicker in the Dark. I read many thrillers and they are starting to bore me but All the Dangerous Things was just excellent. I found the writing to be gripping. I was immediately drawn to the story of Isabelle searching for her kidnapped son. I do enjoy books that center around sleep issues and all the paranoia that ensues. There were several twists in the book. The twists were unexpected but did not seem forced. The ending was fabulous.

I am unsure how to write this review. Again, the author did a great job. She kept the storyline mysterious. All of the characters were necessary. I wasn’t completely sure where the storyline was going. In a good way it kept me guessing “who done it?”
However, it could have been shortened by 100 pages in my opinion. There are too many times in the book where I find the author going way over and beyond describing moments and memories. It was not necessary. I found myself skimming through some paragraphs. Tired to find I was still in the same part of the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy. I really enjoyed this book. At first glance, it seems like the typical thriller with the unreliable, sleep-deprived female narrator, but Willingham actually made some interesting points about the guilt that is heaped on women, particularly mothers. I will definitely pick up whatever Willingham writes next.

Disappointed, dismayed, disheartened, despondent, and discouraged! (alliteration overload!)

I am so disappointed in this story. I was so looking forward to it but the amount of filler, overwriting, and usage of similes and metaphors have me rolling my eyes and to tell the truth laughing out loud.

I did like this author's other book, A Flicker In The Dark, but this one was just not for me.

To me it is like a sixth grader with an assignment to be expressive wrote this. I know there are many who loved it but unfortunately, I can't be counted among them.

All the Dangerous Things was really exciting, fast paced sophomore album from Stacy Willingham! I thought as a new mom I would have a difficult time reading this, but the circumstances surrounding the child’s kidnapping made disconnect enough to enjoy it without worrying about my own child. I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 stars because I predicted the kidnapper very early on and her twists and turns never made me stray from my (accurate) prediction. Another thing that may sound like nitpicking but really bothered me was all the technology around the baby monitor. As soon as I read the baby monitor didn’t have batteries, I knew immediately the author was either not a mom herself or had kids that were much older. Basically it was clear she has no idea what baby monitors are like today. Video baby monitors do not run off of replaceable batteries like AAs. She also made it sound like the camera itself runs off of batteries. This makes no sense. The cameras are continuously plugged in and the monitors plug in to charge. I would let this go but it’s a major plot point that the camera ran out of batteries, which is just total nonsense. Especially a monitor that RECORDS the video, which very few do! As a new mom when I bought a monitor I did a lot of research on them before purchasing one. If the author wanted to make this a major plot point, she should have done a little research too! Or just ask a new mom! Very silly. It really took me out of the story! Other than that, this was a really good thriller and I enjoyed it a lot.

In her past life, Isabelle Drake slept like a rock - even being known to sleepwalk on the regular. But she hasn’t slept in a year, since her son Mason went missing from his crib in the middle of the night. Isabelle dedicates her life to finding her son, and in hopes of keeping her son’s case alive, she talks at crime con conventions. At the latest convention she speaks at, she runs into Waylon - a true crime podcaster who claims he can help her solve Mason’s case (he even claims he’s solved a cold case before).

But as Isabelle teams up with Waylon to help solve Mason’s case, she starts noticing inconsistencies. The more the pair works together, the more her past comes back to haunt her and she starts doubting herself, her past, and her story less.

The book is told exclusively through Isabelle’s POV flashing back and forth between now and the past. I thought I had the story figured out multiple times - but I was wrong. This book had me wanting to keep reading and reading.

I loved A Flicker in the Dark, and was super pumped for this one - and it didn’t disappoint. Willingham has definitely earned herself a spot in my “must read” author list.

I highly recommend checking out All the Dangerous Things!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this ARC of the digital book.

Isabella is living a mother's worst nightmare - her child, Mason, is missing. She had put him to bed, but when she woke up in the morning he was gone. There were no signs of forced entry, but a window was open. There are really no clues. Six month's later, Isabella's husband has left her and still there is no sign of Mason. Isabella finally agrees to an interview with a true crime podcaster in hopes that someone will come forward with some kind of clue.

This was a smart psychological thriller with some good twists. I really enjoyed the read. This isn't the first book I've read by Stacy Willingham - she's a really good author. My heart went out to Isabella who was filled with her own self-doubt from some secrets in her past. I highly recommend this book.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press through Netgalley for an advance digital copy. This book will be published on January 10, 2022.

(4.5) I was SO excited to get early access to this one. I loved Willingham’s first novel so I was very excited to dive into this one. I went into it completely blind and woah, what a ride! I truly did not know what the heck was going to happen but I was dying to get to the end to get some answers. The subtle twists, the big twists, the pieces falling together so so so good! I loved that it had a true crime element to it, which her first one did a bit too, just made it that much more enjoyable for me. Now an auto buy author for me!

While this next bit isn’t necessarily spoilers, if you’re like me and you enjoy going into books completely blind, stop reading here.

Okay, so this book deals a lot with motherhood and the not so pretty sides to it and I just want to say that I really appreciate these topics and conversations being put into fictional literature. Sure, in this case it’s fiction, but a lot of the feelings, thoughts, and even actions of the women in this book really do happen to women in the real world. It’s not pretty, it’s not rainbows and giggles, but that’s how it is for many women. Motherhood (and parenthood) is tough and it’s okay to acknowledge that. Anyways, just really loved that aspect of the story!

Stacy Willingham follows up her debut novel "A Flicker in the Dark" with a strong sophomore novel, "All the Dangerous Things." I'll admit that I have a difficult time reading books with missing children, but Willingham handles a tricky subject very well and never labors the issue too much. "All the Dangerous Things" doesn't tread new ground, but it's an enjoyable read and the ending really packed a punch. It's tough to be surprising in this genre, but Willingham is proving to be a great new voice. Would definitely recommend for seasoned thriller readers, although the subject matter might be tough for those just trying out the genre.

I really enjoyed the author's debut novel last year, A Flicker in the Dark, so I knew I had to get my hands on an early copy of All the Dangerous Things.

I ended up being able to listen to the audio and I really enjoyed that format. I felt like the narrator did a fantastic job with the dual timelines and the emotions behind the character.

While the subject matter is heartbreaking, a kidnapping of a young child, I felt like it was done really well. You have the unsureness of the main character, the mother, with her lack of sleep and her past that we get snippets of throughout to make us question everything.

It was a great thriller to binge and one that I didn't have completely figured out as things were getting revealed. And there are multiple twists in this one to try to guess!

4.5/5

This is the SECOND book from author Stacy Willingham and she is seriously becoming an auto-buy author for me.
My jaw was on the floor when I read that this story is about a woman's son being taken from home in the middle of the night, because nothing is more heartbreaking and heart racing than a missing child. Isabelle is a ghost of her former self, being severely sleep deprived and questioning every single person that walks by. Isabelle has convinced herself the police have given up looking for her son, and puts the pressure on herself to keep the case alive.

I loved jumping back from past to present, and I felt for Isabelle as much as I was suspicious of her. I read this book in one sitting, mainly because I could NOT sleep without knowing what would happen, and in true Willingham fashion, the twists and turns kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I NEVER saw the ending coming, and when I did I literally screamed.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Stacy Willingham’s second book is just as good as her first, maybe even better. “All The Dangerous Things” is thoughtful and provocative; it will make you think long and hard about relationships and people—how they change and how they don’t. The emotional responses to love, life, and death, are explored here in great depth, as is the weight of motherhood and the expectations of women (both mothers and women who are not mothers). This story of a missing child and the impact of his disappearance on his family, along with an exploration of the baggage of the past in both of his parents’ lives, is compelling and engrossing. It is a beautifully written story, although it may be difficult for some to read, and I look forward to Willingham’s next book. Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.

I loved Stacy Willingham's first novel A Flicker in the Dark so I was excited for All the Dangerous Things. Sadly this one missed the mark for me. I got to 40% of the novel and I was still waiting for something to happen. The story was so bleak and even though I felt for the MC I didn't feel invested in finding out what happened. Honestly, I was bored with the story so I didn't finish it.

All the Dangerous Things was a super fast and compelling read. I won’t give away much because you don’t want to be spoiled but it’s really good. I was afraid as a mother it could be triggering but I didn’t find it to be.

The author really knows how to write a thriller and take me along and feel emotions. The twists were perfectly spaced out and well done.

Can’t wait to read her again.

I received an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review

A year ago, Isabelle Drake’s life is turned upside down as she experiences one of the worst things a parent could go through. Her toddler Mason is kidnapped out of his crib while everyone sleeps in the next room. Unfortunately there’s little evidence and even less clues as to what happened and it’s not long before the case goes cold. Everyone wants Isabelle to come to terms with what’s happened but she just can’t. She literally hasn’t been able to sleep since that night. She refuses to give up hope until she finds him or at least the answers she needs.

I had seriously high hopes for All The Dangerous Things. They were high enough that even though I had an arc copy from Netgalley on my kindle when Book Of The Month had it as a selection for December I snatched it right up. Let me tell you it didn’t disappoint at all. Stacy Willingham writes great thrillers that will keep you guessing right up til the end. This was fast paced, twisty and unputdownable. The plot twists were crazy and I didn’t see them coming at all. I definitely recommend this one as it was a solid 5 star read for me. The only problem I have is I absolutely loved 𝐴 𝐹𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑟 𝐼𝑛 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐷𝑎𝑟𝑘 and now I can’t decide which one I loved better.