Stacy Willingham does it AGAIN!

I was so lucky to get A Flicker in the Dark ARC last year and this year I was lucky again to get All the Dangerous Things….Stacy is truly a gifted writer…that is all you need to know. Pick this up, expect a slow burn, a fun twist or twists and a great ride.

I LOVED this story. Did we have an unreliable narrator, or were we lead to believe she was unreliable? We had some dark themes, some serious undertones, all of which were handled with grace and all tied together for a perfectly executed story.

BRAVO STACY!!!

This book was incredible. I read it in 1 day and could not put it down. Every twist kept me reading and I could not wait to find out what happened next. I cannot wait to read the next book from this author.

I really enjoyed Flicker in the Dark so was very excited to get All the Dangerous Things. I was hooked immediately hearing about a woman, Isabelle, whose baby son has been kidnapped. We follow her on the true crime circuit immediately and then delve into her past which is dark and sketchy. We learn that she's a sleepwalker or at least used to be and this makes her a somewhat unreliable narrator. What is real? what does she remember? And what really happened in her past. We also learn about how she and her husband met and all of these factors make for a windy and tricky story. I definitely wondered if certain details were red herrings, or who really was good vs bad. Willingham does a great job of setting the mood and making you wonder. I maybe even liked this slightly more than Flicker in the Dark and I absolutely flew through this one. I had to know who did it and what happened!

Stacy Willingham’s debut A Flicker in the Dark was a huge hit last year. And while I enjoyed the story, it wasn’t my favorite simply because I found it predictable. Even with that I was excited to receive an advanced copy of her upcoming release All the Dangerous Things.

Isabelle Drake’s son, Mason, was taken in the middle of the night, almost exactly a year ago. It’s also been a year since she’s truly slept, instead surviving on ‘micronaps’ in an attempt to ‘be awake’ when Mason comes home. Spending her days searching for who took her son, Isabelle, is determined to understand what happened to her son. On her way back from her keynote at a True Crime conference, she runs into Podcaster Waylon Spencer. Waylon has followed Isabelle’s story and wants to help share it, in an attempt to uncover new clues. As Isabelle’s insomnia continues and as Waylon starts asking more questions than she wants to answer, Isabelle suddenly finds herself relieving a childhood trauma that has followed her all her life. Now doubting not just if the podcast was a good idea, but whether she can trust herself, Isabelle starts to realize she can’t trust anyone, especially herself.

****Fair warning this book has quite a few trigger warnings. If you are sensitive to stories about child adoptions, postpartum depression, child lose, mental health, and suicide, I’d pass over this one. ****


Told completely from Isabelle’s POV, this dual timeline story follows Isabelle both as an adult and a child. The first timeline is present day, as she searches for answers about her son. The second is her remembering events from July 1994, when she was a child. The events of that summer have shaped Isabelle’s life, and combined with her now missing son, make her doubt her own memories. The back and forth between the two was balanced perfectly and I felt definitely added to the story. However, book is 100% a slow burn and I spent the first 40% of the story waiting for something, anything to actually happen and to get the story rolling. Willingham took quite a bit of time to set the stage for the plot, and while I now understand that it was an attempt to portray the ‘weight’ of motherhood, I was impatient to get more into the plot as I was reading.

I truly felt a connection with a lot of Isabelle’s thoughts. As someone who has a 9month old and is new to motherhood, many of her concerns and worries are things I’ve personally been dealing with. Before I went back from work after maternity, I struggled with the loss of my singular identity and really needed time to come to terms with my ‘new normal’. For me going back to work saved me. I’m a much better mother as a working mom. Not only does it allow me to exercise my mental capacity, but it also allows me to keep my own sense of self. I don’t know that I would have connected with this story as much prior to becoming a mom and while I didn’t agree with everything Isabelle did/thought, I could certainly see how sleep deprivation played into her actions. I did also really appreciate Willingham’s Author’s Note at the end of the book. While it could be a spoiler for the actual story, I felt that it gave a good view into why she decided to go down the route she did with this story. Willingham says you should NOT read the note prior to reading the story, but I don’t feel that it gives anything away plot wise, and if you’re hesitate to read this book feel free to read that note first. That’s my own opinion, so take it as you will.

Diving into the mental toll motherhood takes, All the Dangerous Things is a much deeper story than A Flicker in the Dark. Willingham’s writing is vivid, and the style of writing and the pacing is very similar to her first book. While a bit on the slow side for me, if you enjoyed her debut writing, you’ll really enjoy this thriller.


All the Dangerous Things comes out January 10, 2023! Huge thank you to Delacorte Press for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. If you liked this review please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my instagram @speakingof.books.

Ekkk another one by this author! I was so happy she had a great follow-up to her debut novel which I enjoyed, but perhaps not quite as much as some other readers I know. This one was so great. I flew through it on my Kindle. I was glad I received an early copy!

Thank you go NetGalley, Stacy Willingham and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for this ARC!

All the Dangerous Things will be out January 10th, 2023.

I read Stacy Willingham's book A Flicker in the Dark earlier this year and breezed right through it, it was a wonderful read. I was excited to get a n early copy of her second book, All The Dangerous Things to read.

Isabelle Drake has not slept in a year, not since her son Mason was taken from his room while he was sleeping.

The book switches between two story lines, one current and one when Isabelle was a child. I liked the glimpse into her childhood and it helped explain some of of her current actions and thoughts. Isabelle will do anything to find her son and bring him home. Feeling that law enforcement is not doing enough she takes it into her own hands to try and find who took him. I had many theories at the start of the book that were disproved throughout the telling of the story. While I did figure out what probably happened there are definitely some shockers thrown in there as well. This book definitely makes you think one thing of multiple characters and then change your view over and over again.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC to review!
Rating (on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being excellent)
Quality of writing: 5
Pace: 5
Plot development: 5
Characters: 5
Enjoyability: 5
Ease of Reading: 5

Overall rating: 5 out of 5

Wow! A phenomenal read. Every mother’s worst nightmare combined with guilt and uncertainty. This book moves at warp speed and you won’t put it down. So many twists and turns. The characters are beautifully done, you have no idea who to trust, who is the “good guy”.
Wonderfully written with a solid plot.
This is a must read

Isabelle’s son, Mason, was taken from his crib in the middle of the night. A full year has gone by since then, but the case was never solved and Mason is still gone. However, Isabelle has not given up hope and continues to search for her son in any way she can.

I loved that the story shined a light on the perversion of true crime. We all get interested in these violent recounting of murder and loss…it seems to be ingrained in human nature. We want to witness it from afar, but what happens when you’re the star of the episode and it’s your loss that everyone wants to view?

The mystery of this story was gripping and I HAD to know what would happen. Where did baby Mason go? Did the threat come outside or INSIDE the house? Can Isabelle be trusted?…can anyone?

Sometimes the unreliable narrator angle doesn’t work, but in the case or this story, it does. I felt on edge as Isabelle worked to solve the mystery of her son’s disappearance. The book flashes back to Isabelle’s childhood and the traumatic experiences she had then, examines the formation and end of her marriage, and masterfully entwines it all with the present.

I will say that descriptive writing can really enhance a book, but there comes a point where it can also hinder the readability if done in excess. Willingham walks a fine line between overly wordy and artistic. Too many metaphors and similes on one page can really drag a story down and at times that was the case with this novel.

Overall, I enjoyed the suspense and creativity of this story. The various twists and turns hade captivated. I would recommend it to readers who like psychological thrillers that reads like literary fiction mixed with dark mystery elements.

* Trigger warning: child death, postpartum mental health issues

One year ago, Isabelle Drake's life changed drastically. Her son Mason was taken out of his crib in the middle of the night while she and her husband were asleep. With very little evidence, and even fewer leads for the police to investigate, her sons case goes cold. Isabelle's entire life has revolved around finding her son, and figuring out what happened that night a year ago. In hopes of uncovering something she may have missed, or finding someone who might know something about what happened that night - Isabelle agrees to be interviewed by a true crime podcaster. But his interest in Isabelle's past in unnerving and it causes her to bring up her uncomfortable childhood memories as well as question what she recalled from the night Mason disappeared.

All The Dangerous Things is a psychological thriller that shows that a mothers love for their child knows no bounds. It made my heart absolutely hurt for Isabelle. As a mother, I know I would do everything that Isabelle did in order to find my child and bring them back to safety. Isabelle made it her life's mission to find her son, and I admired her immensely.

This was such a solid thriller. I did not see any of the plot twists coming, and this story has quite a few. It really keeps you guessing during your entire read. I honestly couldn't put this one down. The story is narrated solely by Isabelle, but it alternates between the present and 1999 when Isabelle was a child. This novel has so much tension and is incredibly moody. I loved seeing how everything pieced together in the end. I highly recommend picking this one up if you've had your eye on it!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martins Press, and Stacey Willingham for an ARC of All The Dangerous Things in exchange for an honest review. All The Dangerous Things will be available on January 1oth!

Having read and thoroughly enjoyed A Flicker in the Dark, I was thrilled to be given the opportunity to get my hands on an advanced copy of All the Dangerous Things.

I loved every bit of this book and the many topics seamlessly woven throughout- insomnia, motherhood, family secrets, marital issues, trauma, female guilt.

All the Dangerous Things had me on my toes the entire time and made me feel for Isabelle, I was questioning and doubting everything along the way right along with her.

This is a solid 4.5 easily rounded up to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ stars for me and Stacy Willingham is now on my must read authors list!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Stacy Willingham for a gifted copy.

This thriller did two things that I found to be really interesting and unique to a thriller. It did a great job exploring the pressures society places on women to become mothers or be good mothers. It also did a great job of examining how we can justify actions we might typically find immoral to make them fit into what we want for our own lives.

It did have the classic trope of an unreliable narrator but due to a lack up being unable to sleep and not alcohol which was a fresh spin.

Willingham is a force to be reckoned with!
Her debut AFITD was my most anticipated and favorite read of 2022 and her second novel is no different!

All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham is a very clever, twisty, thrilling and entertaining read!
The characters here are unreliable and keep you so invested in the story.
And the vivid descriptions and settings placed me in the storyline with the characters, making it feel as if I was walking amung them.
Also this storyline is absolutely addictive and gripping. It is ram packed with deceit, lies, secrets and filled with twists and turns which will knock you sideways.
It is fast paced and has big reveals that I was not expecting!
The plot is gripping and once you've started reading, you have to keep on reading. You just have to.

In a nutshell y'all read this if you enjoyed her previous book!
I could not put it down. I love her writing style and the way she always keeps me turning pages.
She is my favorite and I look forward to her next chilling story!

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Minotaur Books,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this eARC!

This was spectacular book! Wow! I consumed this book and what a satisfying ending. I need to read her first book now!

All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham (book review)

The talented Stacy Willingham has written her sixth book. Readers may be familiar with A Flicker In The Dark from last year's reading lists. A slow-burning story with a strong conclusion, All the Dangerous Things is her latest book.

Synposis:
Mason was only a baby when he was taken from his bed while his parents slept just a few rooms away. It has been a year since his disappearance, and no leads have surfaced.

As a result of their son's disappearance, Isabelle and Ben's marriage was severely strained. In order to keep the public interested in her son's case, Isabelle tells Mason's story at true crime conventions. Will Isabelle find the truth about Mason's disappearance? Will the case be solved?

All the Dangerous Things is available on January 10th. Overall, I really enjoyed the story, despite some slow spots.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, for sharing this heart-wrenching thriller with me. Your kindness is appreciated.

3.75 bumped up to 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

All The Dangerous Things
By Stacy Willingham

All the Dangerous Things is dark, suspenseful tale concerning the tortured mother, Isabelle Drake, searching for her abducted son. Isabelle, suffering from a horrible form of insomnia, is a wonderful and sympathetic character. The reader immediately gets sucked into her story. There is a dual story set in Isabelle’s past, that only adds to the mystery of what happened to her baby, Mason. The plot is fast-paced and balanced. There are several plot twists that I feel only made this tale more suspenseful and it has a most satisfying conclusion.
I highly recommend this book.
Trigger Warning: Dual story lines, child abduction, death of a child, spousal violence, and infidelity.

Isabelle Drake’s toddler goes missing in the middle of the night and she is on the hunt to find answers; to bring her son home.

I loved the intense and deep topics this book touched on. It went back and forth of feeling like you had the book figured out to questioning it all again.

As much as this book stressed me out, I loved this one and will be reading everything Stacy Willingham writes.

I received a digital ARC from NetGalley and I was.super excited. I really enjoyed A Flicker in the Dark by Willingham and couldn't wait to get started. This one didn't live up to her debut, in my opinion.

I requested this one strictly because I enjoyed the author's debut novel and went in totally blind.

Typically, I love slow-burn character driven books but this one is an exception. The book was slow paced but not in a way that benefits the book. While marketed as a thriller, I don't think that fits. Suspense, maybe??

Isabelle's son Mason was taken from his bed while his parents slept just rooms.away. A year after his disappearance and there have been no leads. The strain of their son's disappearance has eroded Isabelle and Ben's marriage. As Isabelle does what she can to keep the public interested in her son's case— telling his story at true crime conventions and befriending a podcast host who is interested in sharing her story.

Throughout the book, Isabelle alludes to the death of her sister Margaret and parallels are drawn between her failure to protect Margaret and her failure to protect Mason. As Isabelle reveals.more.of her troubled past and the reader learns more about her history, they are lead to believe that Isabelle may be responsible for the harm that befell both Margaret and Mason.

The last few chapters are where all of the action happens. Isabelle starts drawing conclusions from barely- there clues that are littered throughout the novel. The revelation about Margaret is shocking, but not really in a good way.

****** Spoilers ******
I did not care for Isabelle. I found her pathetic, boring, and unrelatable. While the reader learns A LOT about Isabelle, the other characters feel two-dimensional and lack any depth that makes them interesting or knowable. This lack of development makes it hard to suss out any motives or interests that contribute to their behavior.

The female characters in this book made me cringe. Between affairs with married men, trapping men into fatherhood, being emotionally cold and unavailable I just didn't care about or understand any of them.

On the whole, this book took way too long to read and the story as a whole was not worth the effort. I found this one underwhelming and boring. As a fan of Flicker in the Dark, I found this sophomore novel to be unimaginative and dull. Definitely a huge let down and wholly disappointing. 2.5 stars rounded up to three.

⭐️ rating: 4.5 STARS ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
📖 genre: thriller

It's difficult to review a thriller without giving too much away - but I will try!

This book took a minute for me to really get into. The set-up and jumping around of the timeline made it difficult to become invested and frustrated that the storylines I was interested in weren't being expanded on quickly enough! Which, I guess could tell you I couldn't put it down as I had to keep going to find out more about the storylines I was truly interested in.

HOWEVER, watching the story grow and come together, seeing all the little hints and clues fitting into the puzzle at the end was HIGHLY enjoyable!

I would definitely recommend this book if you like misdirections and stories about people who can't remember their past.

Read if you like:
✨ Stay Awake by Megan Goldin
✨ The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

How could I stop reading this story about a mother whose child disappeared from his crib one night a year ago? I was with Isabelle Drake from the first page of this new novel by Stacy Willingham. Isabelle and her husband, Ben, didn't make it past six months of the horrific tragedy. Ben walked away, and Isabelle continued to search and could not close her eyes for more than a short time. After the initial outpouring of support and love for the parents, especially Isabelle, the public slowly became skeptical, and the police detective, Dozier, even seemed accusatory. She felt that too many people thought she had killed her child. Life is unbearable without Mason.

Against all instincts to say no, Isabelle agrees to an interview with a guy named Waylon, who does a podcast. This gave the story movement and the suspense built even more with all the doubts increasing. Who had taken Mason? Isabelle even wondered if she had done it herself. This is a great mystery! I recommend this unique page-turner to all lovers of mystery and suspense.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book.