I had hoped this would be as good as A Flicker in the Dark (I gave it 5 stars) but sadly it didn’t do it for me.

I felt it was trying to do too much at once, like with the podcast angle. I wanted it to play a bigger role in the story (à la The Night Swim), but ultimately it didn’t add that much.

I continue to like Willingham’s writing a lot and was intrigued by the premise, but they just didn’t come together in the end to wow me.

Mommas/parents beware::: this book will tug at your heartstrings.

Ohhhhh, what an entertaining read this was. It kept me guessing til the very end. The narrator for the audio was also fantastic. The writing of this one flowed seamlessly and I really enjoyed how creative and immersive it was. This is my first book by this author and now I’m anxiously waiting to read A Flicker in the Dark!

Thank you Netgalley and Minotaur Press for a copy of this digital ARC!

Calling all psychological thriller lovers! This book is a must-read and it is releasing next month.
This book had me hooked right from the start, all the way to the very last page. I NEEDED to find out what was going to happen. The now/then timeline was executed really well.

In my opinion, this book is everything a thriller should be. Twisty, exciting, face-paced. A touch creepy, but not too creepy (although I will admit to waking up in the middle of the night and checking on our baby monitor the first night of reading this).

Thank you St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books and Netgalley for an eARC of All The Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham! After reading and absolutely devouring Willingham’s A Flicker In the Dark, I couldn’t wait to pick this one up.

Isabelle Drake’s life changed forever a year ago when her toddler Mason went missing from his crib in the middle of the night. Now a cold case, Isabelle cannot (literally and figuratively) rest until she finds out what happened to him. She agrees to be interviewed by a true-crime podcaster, hoping it will help the case. His questioning and her insomnia lead to Isabelle revisiting memories from her past, making her doubt her recollection of the dreadful night Mason went missing. Can she even trust herself?

Another hit by Willingham. This book has two mysteries in one - As the story of what happened to Mason unravels as well as a happening in Isabelle’s past. I was constantly questioning every character in the book and didn’t see the ending coming. I always love when that happens! That being said, I found the middle of the book to lull a bit and slow down. For me, the pacing of this one is what stops it from being a full 5-star read.

All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham #jaylammreviews

As a huge fan of Stacy's debut novel, A Flicker in the Dark; I had high hopes for this new thriller. The first half of this book made me nervous because it was feeling a little cliche and done before...but boy did that second half make up for it. It had a few great twists and a fantastic ending. 

This book touched on some serious subject matter and as a mother, there were times I struggled with this. It has some very dark parts, so please read with caution. 

Overall I really loved this book. This confirms Willingham is an autoread author for me.

All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham
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It has been one year since Isabelle Drake’s son was taken. She has not given up the search to find him, and hasn’t really slept since that night. After meeting someone who has a true crime podcast, she agrees to be interviewed.
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What I liked:
-The suspense was pretty good on this one. A missing child is a high stakes plotline for me!
-A full cast of suspicious people.
-The back story was really good.
-I REALLY liked the ending.
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4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was a great thriller. Obvi trigger for child abduction. Usually these plotlines get me super anxious but I did well with this one. I think maybe because the setting was one year since the abduction? Also I guessed something right towards the beginning of the book and gave myself a good pat on the back for that one.
Thank you @minotaur for this digital copy to read!

I loved Stacy Willingham’s debut A FLICKER IN THE DARK. It was one of my favorite books last year, making her next novel one of my most anticipated reads!

ALL THE DANGEROUS things can easily be read in a couple sittings. It’s about Isabelle Drake, a woman who is grieving after the disappearance of her son, Mason. She cannot sleep until she gets answers — except for a small catnap, she hasn’t slept in a year. After no leads in the case, Isabelle agrees to be interviewed by a true crime podcaster. She won’t stop until she gets the truth.

What I loved —
🎙️ true crime podcast element
⏰ alternating timelines
🖤 unique plot
💤 the MC’s sleep issue added an interesting element
🔍 MC had a traumatic past that she has kept buried and I was glued to the pages as the details unraveled

The further I got in the book, the harder it was to put it down! Just when I thought I knew what was happening, Willingham threw in a curveball. ALL THE DANGEROUS THINGS is a gripping story that had me hanging on every word.

This slow burner has it all... an unreliable narrator, shady family and a kidnapped baby! I listened to the audiobook and all I can say is wow, I was hooked. Stacy Willingham writes with so much detail that you feel like you are in the room with the characters.

Another winner by this author! I read another book by her previously and loved it so I was excited to see another- better yet, the audio book was narrated by one of my favorite narrators!! I listened to the audio version and naturally, the narrator was wonderful with the different voices for the different characters as well as giving the story more life. The storyline captured me from the very beginning, I loved all the different twists and turns. Highly recommend this one!!

All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham is an thrilling read! The story is captivating and full of twists and turns that keep you guessing.

ARC BOOK REVIEW
All the Dangerous Things
by Stacy Willingham

Publishing Date: 1/3/2023
( was also a #botm pick for December!)

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Isabelle Drake hasn't slept in a year. Why? Because it has been 1 year since her son Mason was taken from his crib in the middle of the night.  With no leads, or clues, it appears as though he will never be found.

Isabelle has been traveling and speaking at True Crime convenstions in hopes of finding her sons kidnapper. While traveling home from an event, she meets a podcast host and eventually agrees to an interview. However, his questions turn very personal- and this intruisive badgering mixed with her insomnia is brining up some painful memories about her past.

Could Isabelle have hurt her own son? She does have a history of sleep walking.....

REVIEW:
I feel like when majority of reviews are great...I'm always in the minority. And although I didnt hate the book, I am not gushing about it

Thrillers are hard for me. Im super critical because I want my mind ROCKED. I want to gasp and be shocked to my core.....so when I'm not, I feel let down.

It was a decent read for sure, and  I feel like most people will really like it. Hence the current goodreads review of 4.3. But for me it was just okay. Not bad, not great.

Again...my fault for being so critical on thrillers. I still say add it to your tbr!

With that being said, I'm always appreciative of @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the ARC and chance to express my thoughts!

“All the Dangerous Things” written by Stacy Willingham is a remarkable psychological thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat. I love a good unreliable narrator, and sleep deprived Izzy is just that! Her young son was taken from her home, and she has spent the last year trying to solve his disappearance. This book has so many twists! Thank you so much to the author and publisher for this ARC!

Isabelle’s world is turned upside down when her one year old son goes missing in the night. A year later and she hasn’t slept other than periodic blackouts. When a true crime podcaster approaches her to feature the case, Isabelle knows she can’t turn down the publicity. When the podcast begins to progress and Isabelle’s past comes to light, she begins to question her memories of what happened that fateful night.

I got sucked in right away to this book and it made me want to read this author’s other book stat! Everyone was a suspect and the author created a lot of paranoia. The writing was really descriptive and I liked all of the imagery. I did find the cliffhanger ending to be a bit disappointing, hence the 4 stars instead of 5!

ALL THE DANGEROUS THINGS
Stacy Willingham

ALL THE DANGEROUS THINGS by Stacy Willingham stars Isabel, Izzy, to those close to her.

Isabel hasn’t had a night's sleep in a year to be exact.

That was the night her toddler son Mason was taken from his crib while she and her husband slept a bedroom or two away.

Life hasn’t been the same for Isabel since that fateful night.

Now Isabel spends her days and nights in a hazy fog, her body and mind suffering from lack of sleep. The only one still holding on to hope that her son will one day be returned, she tours the true crime circuits talking about her son and his disappearance, her only way of keeping his case alive.

We meet up with Isabel on a day when she is presented with an opportunity to investigate Mason's disappearance with a podcaster. It seems like the only way to further the search for Mason so she agrees.

Whooo!

Will Isabel finally be able to solve this horrible mystery of her son’s disappearance?

This is my second Stacy Willingham book. I read her January 2022 release, A FLICKER IN THE DARK, and loved it. So I added her name as someone to follow and when this synopsis came out I got even more excited to read it.

The combination of the character's insomnia, the podcast, and the mystery of the disappearance made me want to know how it would all add up.

There are two POV's that are equally strong. And you are never bored. One pov has to do with the other but each could be self-contained. Both POV's have complete story arcs and resolutions.

My favorite thing about the book is how cloistered it was yet I could not figure it out until the very end.

It felt like a Rubik’s cube. There are only a handful of characters introduced. There are very few options. And it felt like magic when everything lined up and all of those breadcrumbs left through the chapters came to such a complete and beautiful resolution.

I cannot wait for the next one Willingham!

I recommend it to all readers but especially those who enjoy thrillers. This was a good one!

ALL OF THE DANGEROUS THINGS…⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Look for this one January 10, 2023!

Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books, and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copies!

I enjoyed Willingham's first novel, but she took a big step forward with this, her second novel. All the Dangerous Things is a tense and atmospheric psychological thriller about a woman whose toddler was stolen from her home. In the year since the abduction, Isabelle has been unable to sleep in any meaningful way, and she is questioning her memory as events don't quite add up. Also, she is revisiting trauma from her past and trying to figure out what really happened when her younger sister died. Sleep feels like its own character in this book, and Isabelle's sleepwalking is chillingly described. As Isabelle devotes all her time and energy to trying to find out what happened to her child, the truth is slowly revealed to both Isabelle and the reader. I couldn't put it down! Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Minotaur Books for a digital review copy.

I really enjoyed the previous book I read by this author "A Flicker in the Dark", however this one was not as engaging.
This is every mother's worst nightmare. Your toddler is kidnapped during the night while you are sleeping. When it happens to Isabelle, she cannot move forward, even a year later. Her husband leaves her, the case goes cold, her friends drift away, and Isabelle still can't move on. Mason's disappearance throws her life into a totally different direction, her whole reason for living revolves around finding her son and finding out what happened to him. This is a difficult read because from the beginning, it definitely looks like the danger comes from within. As the reader goes on this journey with Isabelle and past events are revealed, you can't help but hope for the best and prepare for the worst.
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of the book!

Nothing is as it seems...or is it?

⭐⭐⭐⭐

All the Dangerous Things is the second mystery thriller from Stacy Willingham and follows Isabelle Drake one year after her son goes missing. One year of sleepless nights. One year without rest. When a true-crime podcaster offers Isabelle the opportunity to tell her story, she jumps at the chance - anything to find the answer to her son's disappearance.

This was a tricky one to give a star rating. I enjoyed this story a lot. Not quite as much as her debut novel, but I was still captivated and invested from the first page. I found myself guessing even the most outlandish reveals. Even still, the story was very well plotted. It dragged a bit in the middle, but the pay-off was there in the end. I found the Afterword to be essential reading. Willingham had a true mission telling this story, and after hearing her perspective, I think she accomplished it with the characters she created.

I loved the theme of sleep and the impact that had on Isabelle's entire life. Something I feel is often missing from the genre is a thematic thread throughout and I loved how that was executed in multiple ways throughout the story.

All the Dangerous Things is one of this month's Book of the Month picks and releases January 10, 2023. Thank you to #Netgalley and @minotaur_books for the advanced ebook copy for review.

I’ve seen so many good reviews for this one, that I physically couldn’t wait to get my hands on it! These one gave me similar vibes to Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier due to the kidnapping storyline that is prevalent from the very beginning.

I haven’t read Willingham’s debut, Flicker in the Dark, yet but I can say that her sophomore novel was so so good. The dual POVs will keep you on your toes the entire time. You have two separate mysteries you’re trying to wrap your head around. I thought the pacing of them was perfect. The middle did drag a tiny bit for me, but overall I can’t recommend this enough!

There were so many lies, and secrets, and truths that were revealed to keep you guessing until the very end! 👏🏼

4 ⭐️

All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham was easily on of my top thrillers this year. I read it in a single night, and the author's note even made me shed a tear.
Read if you:
-enjoy many unreliable characters
-like a slow burn thriller
-liked Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier (and A Flicker in the Dark)

This book immediately captured my attention and didn’t let go. The writing was so vivid, and I’m always a sucker for a southern setting. The story is told just through Isabelle’s POV, but flips from childhood flashbacks to the present. The flashback chapters were so eerie to me (Sharp Objects vibes) and added the creepy factor I like. The present sections really made me question who to trust, and my guessing were all wrong. The ending was just the right amount of twist, neither predictable nor unbelievable, but enough that I really didn’t see it coming. The middle was slightly slow, but it didn’t take away at all for me. I also liked Isabelle as a protagonist more than Chloe from AFITD. Ok done rambling, bottom line is get it, it’s a top thriller of the year for me!

ALL THE DANGEROUS THINGS 👶🏼
A big TW for this one: one year ago a child was taken from his room in the middle of the night and still hasn’t been found. This was a really interesting take on a domestic thriller as it didn’t really start as one at first. I really enjoyed the journey we went on and seeing glimpses into the past that lined up with how the story ended. Still unsure if I like that every new thriller now has a podcast in it…
Things I liked:
💤 Realistic talk about insomnia and sleep
👶🏼 Lots of different views on motherhood
🤔 A cast of sus characters I never trusted
😌 An ending where they all got what they deserved
Pub Day: January 10th
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