Member Reviews
I requested a digital copy in order to sample the prose on my phone (since I don't have a eReader) before requesting a physical copy for review. My review will be based on the physical ARC I read (if I qualify)
Short synopsis: It’s been one year since 18 month old Mason Drake was taken from his crib, and his mother Isabella is desperate for answers.
My thoughts: As a mother of four, I cannot imagine waking up to find my baby gone out of his bed! That is like my worst nightmare ever!
I was hooked from the very beginning, trusting no one and pointing my finger at everyone. This was one wild twisty ride that left me guessing until the very last pages.
I loved getting the flashbacks to Izzy’s childhood and seeing her relationship with her sister Margaret. It was almost two stories in one as we watched her past slowly unfolding.
I usually struggle with the unreliable narrator troupe but the insomnia and sleep deprivation aspect was laid out so well that I couldn’t help but be sucked in.
Read if you love:
* Mental Health discussion
* Mothers
* True Crime Podcasts
* Kidnapping stories
* Childhood Flashbacks
* Insomnia/sleep deprivation stories
Thank you so much Minotaur Books and @netgalley for an advanced copy of this book! Publication date is Jan 10, 2023 so be sure and mark your calendars!
It's been a while since I've given a thriller an easy and solid 5 stars, I can't even remember the last one, so you know this one is good!
I really liked A Flicker in the Dark, but this one was even better!
I was hooked so fast, never bored and surprised over and over by the constant pot twists.
Stacy Willingham is going to be thriller author to beat in 2023! I can't wait to read what she writes next!
Thank you so much to St Martins Press/Minotaur Books for the chance to read and review this book prior to release. It will be available for purchase on Jan 10, 2023!
WOW! This is the first book I have read by this author, and it definitely will not be the last!
Stacy Willingham does an excellent job of slowly building the suspense in this psychological thriller as she cleverly points the reader into thinking that maybe, just maybe, Isabelle's nightime wanderings have turned into something far worse than a bit of innocent sleep walking. Have they? I won't answer that question.
The characterization is superbly done and there is plenty of reason to doubt one character after another. as the story continues. And while I've come to like and feel sorry for Isabelle, I also have my doubts about her. With the end in sight, the tension ramps up, and it becomes quite an interesting roller coaster ride with one new revelation after another.
I thoroughly enjoyed this one.
All the Dangerous Things is the second psychological thriller by Stacy Willingham that will be published on January 10, 2023. I loved her debut book A Flicker in the Dark and could not wait to read her new novel, so when I got approved for the ARC I was delighted.
In the opening pages of the novel, we get introduced to Isabelle Drake, the grieving mother who has not been able to sleep properly for more than a year after her toddler went missing in the middle of the night from their home. As Isabelle tries to find out what happened to her boy we get to learn about her own childhood. The chapters start alternating between the past and the present. Isabelle starts questioning the truth of some things both from her past and her present. It is a journey of self-discovery. Stacey Willingham writes about the psyche masterfully. I love the flowery prose and imagery she uses, and I often will read some of her sentences twice. She made the low country come alive for me as well. Isabelle Drake lives in Savannah, GA and she grew up in Beaufort, SC. Through Willingam's beautiful writing I was able to imagine myself right there with her.
There were many twists and turns towards the end of the book and the pace picked up considerably. I thought that the ending was a bit rushed and some of the things were wrapped up a bit too easily.
If you are a fan of psychological thrillers I definitely recommend this book. You won't be disappointed.
I picked this one up because I liked her previous title, A Flicker in the Dark. This one was another solid entry to the female thriller genre, although it was a bit slow to get to the "thriller" part. I liked it.
First off, thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Minotaur Books for providing me with a copy to read and review.
I was glued to this book over a couple days. What started off as a pretty straightforward mystery took several turns that I was not expecting. I never could quite figure it out until the crux of the reveal.
Would definitely recommend when you need an engrossing story that seemed incredibly realistic.
Stacy Willingham is back with her second novel and y’all are not going to want to miss this! All The Dangerous Things is a captivating thriller about every mothers worst nightmare. Like Stacy, I am not a mother myself but I’m so glad she overcame her fear of writing a book about motherhood without first hand experience. Stacy this spoke volumes! As a reader, I look forward to read the Author’s Notes & Acknowledgements and for this one I truly appreciate how forthcoming and honest Stacy is.
This story is told from the point of view of Isabelle Drake, a desperate mother with a troubled past seeking answers about her sons disappearance. With both past and present timelines, we get to learn more about Isabelle character and why she will stop at nothing until she finds her son.
Read if you like 💕
🫶🏼 Slow burn thrillers
🫶🏼 True Crime Podcasts
🫶🏼 Motherhood book tropes
Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. 🤍
A Flicker in the Dark was probably one of my favourite thrillers that I read in 2022. When I saw Stacey’s next book available to request on NetGallery I RAN and could not wait to read it as soon as I was approved.
This one is definitely more of a slow burn. Stacy Willingham sprinkles little seeds of doubt that will have you questioning everyone involved. Don’t be discouraged by the slow burn though because when that twist hits, you will be shocked. I’m so glad her follow up book was just as good as her first (although I still think A Flicker in the Dark is going to be my fave!).
Thank you to NetGallery, Minotaur Books/St. Martin’s Press and of course Stacy Willingham for this eARC!
Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this advance copy!
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I really enjoyed Stacy Willingham’s A Flicker in the Dark last year, so I was beyond excited to get an early copy of her latest novel, All The Dangerous Things. It started off very slow for me. I struggled to feel invested in the plot or to really get a feel for the characters until around the 40% mark. I normally wouldn’t give a book that long, but I felt like the author was building to something. The last half was much more propulsive, but still didn’t draw me in like I hoped. I really struggle with some of the subject matter in this one, and one trope in particular is getting lots of overuse lately, so I think some of that is where my disconnect lies. I think thriller fans will love the ending in this book, and I predict it’s going to get lots of discussion among readers. All the Dangerous Things publishes January 10th!
One year ago Isabelle Drake's son went missing out of his nursery in the middle of the night. The police have no leads in the kidnapping. In the year since, Isabelle's marriage has crumbled and she barely sleeps.
This is told in dual timelines. Present day and 20 years ago when Isabelle was a child and something mysterious happened to her younger sister.
This book was very slow to me and I had a hard time finishing it. There were not a lot of twists and turns in the story until the very end.
Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for a copy of this book for an honest revew.
This was a great read that hooked me right from the start. Isabelle Drake's young son, Mason, goes missing from his bedroom one year ago and convinced that he's still alive, she starts speaking at true crime conventions to get her story out there and keep the case alive. Its at a con that she meets Waylon, who hosts a podcast and offers to tell her story so Isabelle invites him to stay with her in her home in Savannah. She quickly realizes that Waylon's story doesn't add up and she starts questioning everything that's happened since the night her son went missing, including the trauma she's still dealing with from her sister's death when they were children.
Thank you to NetGalley, Stacy Willingham, and , and Minotaur Books for providing me an advanced reading copy in exchange for my honest review.
A Terrifying Psychological Thriller, All the Dangerous Things is every mother’s nightmare!
Mason Drake was taken from his bedroom a year ago. Since that night there have been very few leads.
His mother Isabelle is a shell of her former self, she barely sleeps, has blackouts, and walks the night at odd hours. Isabelle’s entire existence revolves around finding her son. She spends her time going over clues and doing speaking engagements at True Crime Cons, in hopes of finding the person who kidnapped her son. When offered the chance to do a true crime podcast, Isabelle goes for it, hopeful, yet terrified of finding out the truth at the same time.
A tense, taut, mystery/thriller that kept me glued to my kindle throughout, All the Dangerous Things is yet another winner by Stacy Willingham!
A buddy read with Kaceey!
Thanks to Minotaur Books via NetGalley for the arc.
All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham is about a mother, Isabelle, whose infant son disappeared from his crib in the middle of the night a year ago. Since then, she has not been able to sleep, constantly trying to figure out what happened to her son. Her husband, Ben, and her have separated because he believes their son Mason is dead and wants to move on. Isabelle can’t let it go. She has literally not slept in the past year, just has little spurts of zoning out, because she is so desperate to find Mason. She is paranoid and trusts no one.
This story was so enthralling. It is told in present day from Isabelle’s point of view, from 23 years ago when Isabelle was a child and something tragic happened, and her past with her husband, Ben, and how they met. What do all of these things have to do with her son going missing? That’s what she’s trying to figure out. Add in a podcaster who is trying to tell the story of Mason’s abduction and solve the case and you’ve got a great mystery story.
The way Isabelle’s character was written seems very authentic to how I might imagine the mother of a missing child might behave. I kept thinking I knew what happened but was proven wrong several times. I can’t wait for more books by this author! Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
Stacy Willingham is one of the few authors who can write an unreliable narrator in a way that doesn't leave the reader completely annoyed. In All the Dangerous Things, we meet Isabelle Drake, mother of a young son who was taken from his room almost exactly a year ago. In the year since his kidnapping, Isabelle has gone on every talk show, podcast, and unsolved crime tour she can. The one thing she has not done in those 364 days since he disappeared is to sleep through the night. Of course, the reader can understand insomnia after such a traumatic event, but Isabelle is actually terrified to let herself sleep. She is relentless in her fight to find her son, but it seems like she is the only one. The police have all but given up, and her husband has left her to move in with his new girlfriend. Isabelle is clawing through her own past and the haze brought on from months of very little sleep when she finds clues that make her question what truly happened on that terrible night. This one is hard to put down!
The book started out a bit slow with not a lot happening, except for setting the stage and really getting the reader into the head of the protagonist, Isabelle.
Isabelle’s son went missing a year ago. Stolen from his crib. No leads. No crime scene. Nothing to go on. So Isabelle travels the country and tells her story, hoping that doing so will help open a door to finding her sweet toddler.
I really enjoyed this book. It seemed to focus more on Isabelle and her own internal thoughts and voice, insecurities and how she saw things of her past and how they shaped her today. It makes me think of how I view certain situations in my life. Do I see them with clarity or perhaps a bit tainted by some of my history?
While it began slow, I was fully engaged the whole story and it certainly picked up at the end. Don’t miss the authors note at the end—but only after you’ve finished the book!
Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press, Minotaur for the advance e-copy of this book.
Just when I thought this book was way to predictable everything was tossed up in the air and did a 360 on me! It did drag a little bit but for the twists and turns I felt it was worth it! And I would recommend it. The ending was well worth it!it did take some time for the story to pick up but we got there slowly but surely!!
Stacy Willingham is such a talented writer and I couldn’t put this book down! The story features Isabelle, a grieving mother, whose missing toddler son, Mason, was kidnapped a year ago. It is a sad and very compelling story with lots of twists and turns as Isabelle tries to discover truths.
I loved Willingham’s first book, A Flicker in the Dark, and her second book is really good! Highly recommended.
I’m going to be honest here. A FLICKER IN THE DARK was not my favorite thriller of last year. However, I wanted to give this one a try because I’ve seen nothing but glowing reviews for both books. And honestly, I felt the same way about this book as I did her first 🤷🏻♀️
The premise was intriguing - it follows a mother whose child was taken from his crib a year ago and there have been no developments in the case. But she can’t stop searching for her son. When she meets a true crime podcaster on a plane, new memories and evidence starts coming out about the case and no one can be trusted…
I can’t quite put my finger on why her books don’t resonate with me. I think there is too much description and metaphor that I found myself skimming over to get to the plot. Some of the twists left me shocked but overall I think the book was trying to do a little too much. Overall, a solid thriller but probably not memorable for me.
Stacy Willingham’s debut A Flicker In The Dark was a huge hit. Although not a favourite of mine (3-star), I felt Willingham had promise and knew I wanted to check out her future work.
I was granted an eARC of All The Dangerous Things and was excited to dive in!
A psychological thriller about a mom insomnia desperately trying to solve the mystery of her toddler’s disappearance. Isabelle has been unable to sleep her son was kidnapped from his nursery a year earlier. The case still unsolved, Isabelle refuses to give up hope that she may one day find answers.
A gripping story, I was unable to put this one down. I was suspicious of everyone and everything - just how I like it! Highly recommend to my fellow thriller fanatics.
If you liked A Flicker In The Dark, I think you’ll like this one even more.