All the Dangerous Things is a slow-burn thriller with an unreliable narrator.

Since her son was snatched from his crib a year ago, Isabelle Drake has not had a full night’s rest. Since then, she’s separated from her husband and has been giving talks at true-crime panels to keep his case alive. She’s heard that sometimes criminals can’t resist the temptation to stay away, so she scours the lists of attendees in the hopes that something will jump out at her.

On a flight back home after her latest talk at a panel, Isabelle meets a true-crime podcaster, who convinces her to let him interview her for a special episode. The more time she spends with this podcaster, the more she thinks he believes she had something to do with her son’s disappearance.

Through a haze of sleep deprivation and guilt, Isabelle begins to second guess herself and also unearths memories she has buried since her childhood.

This thriller is a tad of a slow burn with dual timelines from Isabelle’s pov. It took a while before it gained my interest, but once it did, it hooked me.

There were several good twists, some of which were a complete surprise.

It has lots of discussions on motherhood.

I skipped the author’s debut, but I may have to go back and give that a read.

Thank you to Minotaur Books for providing me with an arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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After reading A Flicker in the Dark, I knew that Stacy Willingham was going to be one of my go-to must read authors, and now, with her sophomore novel, All the Dangerous Things, my opinion is validated. Not only is the plot perfectly paced, with enough twists and turns to make a reader dizzy (in the best kind of way), but the characters are solid and relatable. It's hard to write about a missing child. Not only can it be a sensitive, triggering topic, but it's been done. It's hard to keep it unique, but Stacy Willingham kept me guessing all way through. All the stars!

I devoured this book. I was hooked in right from the start. I thought I knew where the book was going, but I had no idea. there were the perfect amount of twists. The the pace of the book was great. It wasn’t slow or too fast, and I didn’t want to put the book down. while the storyline wasn’t completely unique. I was still engaged and wanted to see how the story was going to unfold and I love the ending! I would definitely recommend this book.

✨ BOOK REVIEW ✨

All the Dangerous Things by @stacyvwillingham

Omgsh this book! I loved it even more than I loved Flicker!! It was so well done and I’m just so thankful for @stacyvwillingham & @minotaur_books for allowing me to be an early reader!!

First I should note the subject matter of this one was worrisome to me as a mom of three young kids and I knew that going into it thanks to some lovely reviews!

ATDT follows Isabelle, mom of toddler, Mason, who is kidnapped from his crib, and Isabelle will stop at nothing to figure out what happened. It flashes back & forth from her life as a child and her own traumatic upbringing and also present day to the one year anniversary of Mason disappearing. This is a classic, twisty, thriller where you truly do not know who to trust and it was UNPUTDOWNABLE.

You may think midway through that you know how this one will end but the author delivers on a twist you won’t see coming!

After loving “A Flicker in the Dark” and now this one, Stacy has def become an auto-buy author for me! I think her books are extremely well-written, easy to devour in one or two sittings, all while being fresh & unique. Can’t wait to see what she comes up with next!

Also, as a mom, I really appreciated the author’s note. You could tell a lot of time and consideration went into telling the story exactly how she wanted it to come across.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ an easy 5 stars from me!

Thank you, first, for the advanced copy! I was so excited to get an advanced copy of this book. It was at the top of my list this fall/winter! This book hooked me immediately and kept me engaged the entire time. I felt like everyone was a suspect.

I love that we got two storylines that we follow from Isabelle’s childhood past and present day and there are couple small twists throughout the book before the major twist at the end. I did guess one of the small twists early on in the book, but I was surprised by the ending even though it was a little far fetched. I also really appreciated the author’s note at the end of the book explaining her research!

Readers will love this book if they enjoy:
•true crime
•missing-person mysteries
•troubled pasts
•unreliable narrators
•psychological thrillers

I would definitely recommend picking this one up for thriller lovers!

This was SO good! The writing was excellent and it was a fabulous follow-up to Willingham’s debut book Flicker in the Dark(2022).

It’s so easy to blame the mother. We meet Izzy as she’s approaching the one year anniversary of her baby son Mason’s disappearance. She is but a zombie walking through life, sleepless and alone. They say losing a child often breaks a couple, and in the case of Izzy and Ben, it was true. He didn’t even stick around for 6 months. They’re civil but he wants her to move on with her life because he certainly has.

Izzy is busy making the rounds on the true crime circuit. She finds their motives and ethics questionable, but they’re the only ones who haven’t given up on finding Mason. She ends up meeting a podcaster named Waylon who lost a sister and she finds that she can relate to him, as he isn’t one of the true crime junkies in it for the morbid fascination and proximity to tragedy without the consequences.

She agrees to tell her story on his show because it’s easier than continuing to jet across the country telling it over and over to crowds. At the same time, Izzy is remembering things from her childhood. She’s always had an iffy relationship with sleep, which can alter your perception. She can’t always trust herself because she used to sleepwalk. Did Mason need protecting from someone else.. or his own mother?

This was absolutely shocking and mind-blowing! This is going to be a new favorite author of mine because she keeps putting out hits and they’re just my style. Well-meaning but occasionally unreliable female leads. Creepy settings. The marsh gave this a slight atmospheric edge.

I have nothing negative to say or critique. Karissa Vacker narrated the audiobook and she kills it every single time! Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the chance to read, listen, and review. This is sure to be an early hit of 2023!

4.5 stars! I really liked A Flicker In The Dark so I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this author’s second book. If you enjoy psychological thrillers, add this one to the top of your list for 2023! I was engaged with the twisty plot from start to finish and I already can’t wait to see what Stacy writes next. Thanks so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

This was outstanding!!! This is exactly the twisty psychological thriller I've been craving! 🙌🏼 Jaw-dropping, mind-blowing, suspenseful, unputdownable! Stellar from start to finish!

Following the disappearance of her baby boy, Isabelle Drake travels the country presenting her story to True Crime junkies. Some think she does it for the notoriety, others think she does it for the money. But Isabelle has her own reasons as to why she puts herself through this over and over again...

Isabelle can't rest until her little Mason is found, So with the help of a Podcast host, she begins looking at the case in a new way, including digging into some details of her own past.... even though she's deathly afraid of what she might find. 😳

This is one of my top thrillers of 2022!!! 🙌🏼 Very highly recommend!

Thank you Netgalley, SMP, & Minotaur Books for my gifted eARC in exchange for my honest review!!! This was so freaking good and I'm so glad I had a chance to read it early!! ☺️

Wow! A mother’s worst fear, Isabelle’s son was taken out of his crib in the middle of the night and Isabelle hasn’t sleep since - it’s been a year. Then her husband leaves her. Isabelle is desperate for answers and teams up with Waylon who has a true crime podcast to undercover the truth. Isabelle is wracked with fears from her past carrying into her present. Everyone in this story has a secret - Isabelle, her parents, Ben, Waylon - literally everyone. I gave this book a five star rating because I was truly and unbelievably satisfied with this story beginning to end. I will be watching this author for more to come.

I was gifted an ARC on this book from
NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

✨𝐑 𝐄 𝐕 𝐈 𝐄 𝐖✨

𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐡𝐚𝐦

I was so excited to receive this advanced copy after loving “A Flicker in the Dark” last year! @stacyvwillingham definitely did not disappoint on her second novel 🙌🏼📖

👍🏼: This story hooked me immediately, but I do especially enjoy a missing child mystery & true crime story 😅 I empathized with Isabelle, the main character & mother, as she searches to figure out what happened to her son. However, I was super intrigued by her dark past & enjoyed not knowing if she was somehow responsible. There were several great surprises throughout the story & I definitely did not predict the ending!

👎🏼: The story did slow down a little for me in the middle & I was slightly annoyed that no one believed Isabelle about a variety of findings & suspicions that she had. But again, I didn’t know if I believed her either so 😂🤷🏼‍♀️

Thanks to @minotaur_books @stmartinspress for the gifted copy! I definitely recommend picking this one up if you’re a fan of a good mystery. It will be out 1/10/23 📚

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

All The Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham

Mrs. Willingham returns with another good thriller after writing A Flicker In The Dark which was a debut for her. In this domestic thriller we look at the life of Isabelle Drake who's son Mason goes missing in the middle of the night. Isabelle is sleep deprived and a year has past since her son disappeared. She is doing everything she can to find out what happen to her son. Isabelle also has her own past to reconcile with the death of her sister and Isabelle in her sleep deprived mind begins to think she had something to do with that and just maybe she did something to her son.

This book was well written and loved how the story unfolds with the cast of characters. Her husband Ben through this tragedy has had enough and leaves his wife Isabelle. Ben has his own patterns of behavior in the women he dates his new girlfriend looks similar to Isabelle. Ben is not a likable character at all his behavior is questionable in choices he makes.

Isabelle goes to a true crime event to keep the story of her son alive. The book slowly pulls you in with the details of Isabelle current and past life as well as her ex husband Ben. I like how Mrs. Willingham details the plot to pull you in it slowly builds up to give you a twisted ending. If this is your type of domestic thriller then All the dangerous things should be on your read list.

This is one of my new favorite authors I enjoyed A Flicker in the Dark and she back up her writing in All The Dangerous Things. This is a five star read for me. I cannot wait to see what will be next from this author. I will be ready and willing to read whatever she puts out in the future.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press Minotaur Books for a free copy of All The Dangerous Things for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

One of my favorite parts about Willingham’s books is that she keeps me guessing! I loved Flicker in the Dark and All the Dangerous Things completely lived up to my expectations! It’s hard to give a review because I don’t want to give anything away! It’s a great book to go in knowing less than knowing more.
Toward the middle I felt like it dragged a little bit and I would have liked some little reveals then but the end made up for that. I read the last 70% in one day!
Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for an eARC of this wonderfully thrilling book in exchange for my honest review!

Love, love, love this!! I am a sucker for thrillers and I was so thrilled to see another from Stacy Willingham after I read A Flicker in the Dark. This is a page turner and sure to be a hit. I know I will be seeing it recommended on BookTok very soon!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC.

WOAH- this felt so much more intense than AFITD! I LOVED IT. I couldn't put it down and wanted to see how it ended!!

Another winner from Stacy Willingham! An incredibly, well thought out psychological thriller that I found difficult to put down. The descriptive, almost lyrical writing style lured me into Isabelle’s insomniac nightmare. I had a love/hate with Isabelle and some of her choices, but then no one is perfect and I like flawed characters, they add flavor to stories. I sat back and let the story play out, Willingham taunted me with potential antagonists and delivered a surprise ending that was ultimately satisfying.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books & NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this digital ARC

One year ago, Isabelle Drake’s life changed forever when her toddler son was taken from his crib in the middle of the night while she and her husband were asleep in the next room. Little evidence and few leads have put a damper on the police and the case has gone cold but Isabelle can’t rest, literally, until her son is returned. Except for the occasional catnap or small blackout, Isabelle hasn’t slept in a year! Her life now revolves around finding her son but something from her last keeps freeing up making her question herself and what is happening.
I can’t say too much about the plot without giving anything away so I will just say that I enjoyed this book. My attention was held throughout and I was surprised by some of the stuff in the end. I would recommend this book to friends when it comes out. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for an ARC copy of this book.

Stacy Willingham hit it out of the park with her sophomore novel, All the Dangerous Things! I really enjoyed her first novel, but I loved this one.. Isabelle has not slept since her son, Mason, was taken from his crib over a year ago. She is obsessed with finding who took her son, as any mother would be. But some things aren't adding up - did Isabelle actually do something to her son ? Her husband has left her, the local cops are sick and tired of her, but Isabelle is steadfast and will not give up. This keeps you going until the very end, on the edge of your seat! A solid 4.5 stars.

As much as it hurts me to say, this one was not for me. The writing was great, but it is a nightmare for those around kids in their real life. So much anxiety to read it! I will definitely read what she writes next, but hopefully it won’t be like this one.

Thank you to Minotaur Books, Stacy Willingham, and NetGalley for my digital advance review copy.

A year ago, Ben and Izzy’s lives are turned upside down when their young son, Mason, disappears from his crib in the middle of the night. They each cope (or don’t) in their own ways. For Izzy, this means keeping Mason’s case alive by speaking to true crime junkies and podcasters. After one such interview that dredges up painful memories, Izzy begins to doubt her own mind. This is compounded by the raging insomnia she has experienced since her son’s disappearance. Now, she’s not sure if she can even trust herself.

I literally have nothing bad to say about this book and couldn’t think of something if I tried. The writing, pacing, twists, and dimensional characters were all there. This hit every mark and stuck the dismount. I loved Willingham’s A FLICKER IN THE DARK, but I think I loved this one a teensy bit more for all of the interesting female characters sprinkled throughout the story.

STACY, YOU BEAUTIFUL HUMAN, I WILL OFFICIALLY READ ANYTHING YOU WRITE. You better believe I’ve already purchased a finished copy of this, I loved it so much.

Mark your calendars because ALL THE DANGEROUS THINGS is available from Minotaur Books on January 10th 2023.

When your kid goes missing the obvious response is to do whatever it takes to find out what happened ---right?!

The protagonist of this book is an unreliable narrator with a sleep disorder that leads to her making some questionable decisions. The reader is left questioning her every move and doubting every character. I read a lot of thrillers, so I guessed part of the ending, but there still was a twist that took me by surprise.

This author is only getting stronger and I can't wait to read whatever she writes next!