She woke up and he was gone...
One year ago, her toddler son, Mason, was taken in the middle of the night while she and her husband were asleep in the next room, changing their lives forever. The case has quickly gone cold with little evidence and very few leads, but Isabelle can't rest until she's reunited with her son. Aside from the occasional nap or blackout, she hasn't slept in a year. Isabelle's life completely revolves around finding her son. She reluctantly agrees to an interview with a true-crime podcaster, with the hopes that it brings about a new witness or buried clue, but his interest in her past worries her. His constant questioning combined with her severe insomnia has brought chilling memories from her childhood crashing back. The more she remembers, the more she starts to doubt her recollection of the night Mason disappeared and who she can really trust. Can she uncover what really happened to Mason that night?
I loved this book just as much as I loved A Flicker in the Dark. I was hooked from the second it started and needed answers. Isabelle's pain and fear was very evident throughout the story. The narrator, Karissa Vacker, did a phenomenal job narrating again. She did a great job bringing this story to life and portraying the emotions, making you really feel what Isabelle was feeling. I had so many theories throughout this story and was a little shocked by the result. An unsolved case, an unreliable narrator, and a horrifying past colliding together to make for an unforgettable, unputdownable psychological thriller. Stacy Willingham, I'm going to need you to write more thrillers STAT! I can't recommend her books enough and am eager to see what she comes up with next!
I received a free copy of this book via Libro.fm, NetGalley, and Edelweiss+. I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

When it comes to thrillers, Stacy Willingham is now must read. The twists throughout the book and character development are everything!

Stop what you are reading and pick up this book!

This is the second book I have read by Stacy Willingham. I read her debut, A Flicker in the Dark, in January of this year and was really impressed with her writing skill. I thought the book was great and I was looking forward to seeing what she would come out with next.

Well, here we are. Not even a year later and I just finished her second book. I think this one was even better. I really enjoy Willingham's writing style and her stories keep me guessing. I can figure out a couple of the twists because I read a lot of mysteries, but I don't have it all figured out ahead of time. As I'm reading I can't wait to find out what happened.

This was just a really good story with really good writing. If you think it might be of interest to you give it a try. I don't think you will be disappointed.

4.5 ⭐️. A bingeable second thriller from Stacy Willingham!

Synopsis: Isabelle Drake’s son, Mason, has been missing for exactly a year. He was taken from his home in the middle of the night, and Isabelle has been unable to sleep since that night. The investigation has dried up, and the police have no leads. Out of desperation for some answers, Isabelle decides to team up with a podcaster to try find out what really happened to Mason. What she uncovers will make her question everyone around her, including herself.

Thoughts: This thriller had me hooked right away. The breadcrumbs Willingham placed were meticulously well-planned, and I could help but suspect everyone! The way Izzy’s childhood timeline was used was also really smart and enjoyable. I was definitely guessing until the end!

Pub date: 1/10/23, December early release through BOTM
Genre: thriller
One sentence summary: Isabelle Drake's toddler son Mason was stolen a year ago; since then, she hasn't slept a full night, and desperate to find him, she agrees to work with a true crime podcaster.

I enjoyed Willingham's previous book A FLICKER IN THE DARK, so I knew I had to read this one. The central mystery kept me guessing, and despite not being a mother, it was easy to empathize with Isabelle's pain. The podcast element was well done and kept the story moving. And WOW the twists! I did not see any of it coming, and I loved it. The twistiness and missing child narrative reminded me of another book favorite - LITTLE SECRETS from fellow Macmillan author Jennifer Hillier.

I did a hybrid read with the text and audio, and I really enjoyed both! The time shifts were easier to follow in the text, but I loved the narration from Karissa Vacker, so I think you can't lose whichever one you pick. 4.5 stars.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for my e-ARC and Macmillan Audio for my ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, just wow! Willingham has proved she knows how to write about monsters living in plain sight. This amazingly twisty book was just what I needed to get me out of my audiobook slump. As a mother, this plots was so terrifying and addictive.

This audiobook was amazing and I flew through it at warp speed! My ears were glued to my earbuds. Every time I thought I had the mystery figured out, twist after twist came strolling along that always made me doubt everything.

If you need an amazing book, whether it’s due to a book slump, or not, THIS BOOK IS A MUST READ. No matter what Willingham writes in the future, I will be reading it!

***** Many thanks to St Martins Press, Macmillan Audio, NetGalley, and Stacy Willingham for the #gifted copy as it was provided to me in turn for my honest opinion.

My review will be posted on Instagram (thriller_book_sisters) closer to publication date.

Slow burn thriller that kept me intrigued the entire time. I did guess the “twists” but it was done in a good way and I still enjoyed reading!

Thank you NetGalley for eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Awesome book. I'll admit I thought I had the ending figured out but I was so wrong. I was left questioning everything about the details I was reading. I loved all the twist, turns and details in this book. Once I started this is was really hard to put down and I questioned who committed the abduction the whole time. I throughly enjoyed this book and the characters so much that I can't wait to see what this author comes up with next.

I don’t think words can adequately express how much I loved this book.

A missing child propels a couple to separation. doing everything she can in her power to find her son, Isabelle meets a podcaster along the way that wants to help her. As her sleepwalking past resurfaces, questions swirl her mind and her past makes her fear her present reality.

I could not stop reading this book. I needed to know what happened next. It was a slow unraveling of new suspects and clues along the way that truly made me guessing around every corner.

LOVED!!

Thank you, NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read this book!

This is my second read of Stacy's and I truly do love the way she writes these thrillers. The up and down and timing of the plot twists makes for an easy and exciting read. However, I found that the plot twists and unknowns of this book were either too predictable or not shocking enough. The first half of this book could have been summed up in a couple of chapters, and I would have loved more of her uncovering her past and family's secrets. Overall, I'd recommend this to someone looking for an easy and quick read with an ending that you probably would not be able to guess.

All the Dangerous Things is a slow burn thriller that will keep you guessing up until the last page. I couldn’t put this book down!

Isabelle Drake hasn’t had a full night’s sleep since her son was taken from his crib in the middle of the night a year ago. She’s determined to figure out what exactly happened to him. When a true crime podcaster approaches her and wants her to tell her story, she’s hopeful that it’ll help draw out the kidnapper.

This book was intense and very intriguing. I loved every second of reading it. The character development in this story was great. I also really enjoyed getting the flashbacks of Isabelle’s childhood. Her childhood played a huge part in this story.

Overall, I had a great time with this one. It had everything I love in a mystery/thriller. Perfect for the winter time!

This was my first book by Stacy Willingham and it definitely won’t be my last. Highly recommend picking this one up on January 10th when its released!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Minotaur for the e-arc!

4.5 stars was my thought until I got to the end so a resounding 5 stars it is.

All the Dangerous Things is a fast paced read where tension mounts with every page as you see Isabelle struggle after her son Mason was taken from their home.

Isabelle hardly sleeps and all she wants is Mason back. She knows people think she harmed her son.

Her husband Ben has left her and all Isabelle has left is her memories.

Isabelle is not giving up and speaks at True Crime conventions. Your heart goes out to her.

Twists and turns that I did not see coming and suspense keeps the lights on to the last page.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for another big hit story from Stacy Willingham.

WOW! This story was fantastic! I loved Flicker in the Dark, but I think I may have loved All the Dangerous Things even more.

Isabelle was a great narrator. You didn't know if you could trust her because she didn't trust herself.

The flip between the past and the present was interesting and kept you constantly wondering how the two stories could be related.

I was somewhat satisfied with the ending. There was a happiness of sorts but part of me didn't like what was done to get there,

Overall, this was a fast and engaging story that I would recommend picking up this winter,

Good thing I read this before having kids of my own 😳
The little boy I babysit has the same name and is around the same age, so this one was definitely a little difficult to read. I can only image how much harder it would be for someone who’s already a parent to read this.

Overall, I think this book was very well written and extremely thought out. The ending was full of suspense and so many twists, it literally kept me guessing until the very end.

REVIEW: All the Dangerous Things 🚼

“The truth is, people love violence - from a distance, that is. Anyone who disagrees is either in denial or hiding something.”

Ok run to grab your copy of this one - I couldn’t put it down! There’s a different take on podcasts and true crime fans in this one that is so interesting.

Isabelle Drake’s son went missing from his crib a year ago and she hasn’t given up. She’s constantly calling the police and working her own angles when a podcaster approaches her to share her story and help her find out what happened to her son.

I think I accurately predicted only one thing in this book but it was the best one so I’m happy about it! All the other twists and turns along the way that I didn’t see were so good. The alternating timeline between Isabelle’s childhood and the now are perfect complements.

So thankful for the ARC, I loved it so much I had to get the BOTM copy to match Flicker in the Dark when I saw it pop up ❤️

📚Read this if you like:
⁃ Changeling
⁃ A Flicker in the Dark
⁃ Law & Order: SVU

My rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I absolutely loved this book! I was so excited to have the chance to read this book early since I loved A Flicker in the Dark! This book was just as fantastic! This book is dark, twisty, unpredictable and impossible to put down. Stacy Willingham is an incredible writer and is absolutely an auto-buy author! I cannot recommend this book enough! ❤️
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Isabelle’s son went missing a year ago, and she hasn’t slept since. She longs for answers, though an incident from her childhood makes her scared of what her role may or may not have been in the disappearance.

Willingham‘s debut last year was one of my favorite reads of the entire year. Needless to say, I was psyched to get into her follow-up, and it did not disappoint!

This thriller is told in a dual timeline, which I really enjoyed. Overall, it is a slow-burn, but its pacing is never too slow. It was incredibly hard to stop reading, and I was tempted to stay up super late just to finish it!

I think the twists in this were pretty solid, and I really liked that we get the resolution of two mysteries: one from the past and one from the present.

I definitely think fans of domestic thrillers and evocative settings will love this one! Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for giving me this arc. All opinions are my own!

**Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press/Minotaur, and Stacy Willingham for an ARC of this book!**

Picture a flat pond in a murky bayou. Calm, still, and deep. It might seem like nothing could disturb that sort of tranquility...but with an effortless toss of ONE tiny pebble...the whole pond becomes a moving, rippling being, ever-changing and ever-surprising.

In All The Dangerous Things, Stacy Willingham tosses in that pebble to keep the expertly crafted plot of this STUNNING thriller rippling, changing, and SURPRISING the reader from page one until its breathtaking end!

Isabelle Drake has been an insomniac in the truest sense of the word for a LONG time...since the disappearance of her beautiful baby son, Mason, a year and a half ago. Aside from the occasional drift or 'microsleep,' she's been battling her bleary eyed grief and dedicated herself to trying to bring Mason home. With no evident disruption to the room the night of the disappearance, a dead battery on the baby monitor, and no leads, the case has all but stalled entirely. Isabelle's husband Ben has moved out and she feels utterly alone...until after attending a True Crime convention, a podcaster named Waylon makes her acquaintance...and asks for The Interview.

Hesitant at first, Isabelle eventually acquiesces to this request, figuring that as a True Crime devotee, Waylon has just as much incentive to help solve the case and bring Mason back. But when his questions become a bit TOO intrusive and hard-hitting, Isabelle realizes he may know something big about her past...something dark, deep...and dangerous. Can Isabelle trust Waylon's intentions AND trust him with her darkest secrets? But more disturbing still...can she even trust herself?

Willingham's debut, A Flicker in The Dark,was STUNNING, hands down. I figured it would be hard for her sophomore novel to even live up to her own high standards, much less surpass them.

But words cannot describe how THRILLED I was to be wrong!

What her first novel may have lacked in terms of the final 'whodunit' surprise (which was probably the only weak thing about it!)....this one delivered, over and over again. This is the sort of plotting that thriller lovers CRAVE, where you know the author sat down and worked through exactly what was going to happen and when, where multiple story lines are essentially running without your knowledge, and where you are specifically led to focus on one angle of the story so intently that others creep right up on you to thrill, chill, and disrupt EVERYTHING you thought you know...RIGHT at the perfect moment! I had so many jaw-dropping moments and times where I couldn't do anything but stare at the ceiling in disbelief after a big reveal...trust me when I say, they will STOP you in your tracks!

I read this coming off of a rewatch of Sharp Objects (based on the Flynn novel) and the southern, spooky small town vibe co-mingled perfectly with the scene set by Willingham in this book. There was an air of foreboding throughout and frankly, this is yet another book that would play beautifully on screen. Atmosphere abounds, and Willingham's ability to take the reader right to her chosen locale is always on point. In her first book, there were several references to the 'Flicker' and in this one, several made towards the water, sort of as a running theme that helped drive this home (and don't get me started on the PERFECT cover!)

Willingham also manages to get her characters JUST right...flawed, complex, interesting, and yet accessible. Unlike another thriller I read about insomnia earlier this year that shall remain nameless, Isabelle's insomnia and how she dealt with it were handled in a REALISTIC way, which only added fuel to the fire. On the surface, this could be characterized as a 'Is she an unreliable narrator or not?' type of story, and on some level it is...but I promise, this read is SO much more than that.

Even though this is only her second book, Willingham's future is SO bright and my only quibble is that I now will have to wait for her next book to arrive! It may be early, but I'm thrilled to add this to my list of 2023 favorite reads and that Willingham continues to not only stun and surprise, but much like that rippling pond in the moonlight...she simply DAZZLES.

5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

As I'm not a mother (of non-pet children), novels centered on the dynamics of motherhood have never appealed to me (eek). I read "The Push" earlier this year and couldn't get into it. Honestly, I don't think I would've read this if it wasn't for Willingham doing an author event at my local bookstore next month. But I did, and I surprisingly enjoyed it.

This novel starts with Isabelle making a keynote speech at a true crime convention, discussing the unsolved disappearance of her 18-month-old baby. It's been one year of no leads. No information. No hope. So, Isabelle is doing the only thing she can: keeping her son's story alive.

Similar to "A Flicker in the Dark," Isabelle is an unreliable narrator in the form of sleep deviation. Since her baby disappeared while she was peacefully sleeping, Isabelle is no longer able to sleep at all. This results in a lot of questioning, self-doubt, and paranoia.

If you like mysteries where there are a lot of internal musings and reflections but very little "action," you'll enjoy this. This book isn't "dramatic" as much as it is a slow and creepy reflection of the harmful expectations and pressures placed on women. It's a bit slow but Willingham writes complex characters that keep you engaged.

Thank you to Minotaur Books and Stacy Willingham for the complimentary advance readers’ edition of ALL THE DANGEROUS THINGS for an honest review.

ALL THE DANGEROUS THINGS follows Isabelle Drake. The book begins with Isabelle making a speech at a true crime convention, talking about her horrifying experience finding her son missing from his crib a year ago. Since that time she’s been lost in grief over her son Mason and the breakup of her marriage as a result. It has also ben a year since she last slept, adding insomnia to her history of sleep disturbances.

On the way home from her appearance, Isabelle is approached by a man asking her to appear on his true-crime podcast. She’s put off at first, but in time realizes that it is another possible avenue to answers and she agrees. More and more questions come to light, playing on Isabelle’s brittle nerves after a year without her son and without sleep. Still, she is determined to find answers.

This plot immediately intrigued me as I love a book which includes a podcast element. This book does take a slightly different approach from what I initially expected, but I liked the way the podcast to the created momentum behind the solving of the mystery and added additional mystery to the mix as well.

Isabelle’s insomnia adds a bit of an unreliable narrator element, but I didn’t feel like this was overdone. The insomnia creates an extra layer of tension which is very understandable (I don’t function well no no sleep so I can’t imagine a year of nonstop insomnia), but I never felt like Isabelle was losing touch with reality. She’s moreso questioning herself and her memories which felt very natural.

The author managed to keep me engaged throughout the book, making guesses and revisions to my theories. In the end she managed a few surprises along the way that I didn’t expect.

ALL THE DANGEROUS THINGS is out on 1/10/23!