This book was deep and thought provoking - Isabelle blames herself for everything from her childhood to now, to the point she can’t sleep for a YEAR because of it. She meets Waylon on a plane, and together they set out to solve the mystery of what happened to Isabelle’s missing son. They uncover several other secrets along the way. This book has lots of twists and turns, and I loved the characters SO much. Due to Isabelle’s sleep deprivation, this book has you questioning what is real and what could be a delusion. I typically don’t love unreliable narrators, but in this case I think it was done well.

5/5 stars ⭐️

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press - Minotaur Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts!

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this eARC!

I was so excited to read this. I loved Stacy Willingham's debut novel, A Flicker in the Dark, and absolutely had to request this one. I'm happy to say this book did not disappoint and Stacy Willingham delivered the creepy and suspenseful thriller I'd been wanting. The main characters son is missing and that tugs at your heart strings, and then going back and forth between then and now was a nice way to understand the story more. I enjoyed the pacing as well as the twists and I will definitely be grabbing a physical copy!

All the Dangerous Things follows one of my favorite author debuts ever, A Flicker in the Dark, so I had high expectations rolling into this one. This was a slow burn thriller with plot twists and misdirects galore... a thriller lovers dream! I was a bit concerned initially because many thriller authors lately opt for a plot that involves a female main character that is made out to be unusual and untrustworthy, but I think the author spins this tale in a way that works in this trope's favor by the climax of the story. Sleep deprivation in new mothers is no joke, and I liked how the author tied this to the mystery of the story alongside the MC's worry of childhood sleepwalking.

It had similar vibes initially to Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier with a child abduction but quickly becomes a thriller on its own accord filled with years of unanswered questions and murder sprinkled within the dominating kidnapping plot. The evolution of the story worked well, and my only qualm comes with one plot point at the very end. Otherwise, I was very satisfied with the way things unraveled!

Do not do a drinking game to anytime Stacy uses "dangerous" or "flicker" within the story. Whether that was a homage to her two thrillers or not, those two words popped up a crazy amount of times!

Thank you to Minotaur Books and Netgalley for an early copy of All the Dangerous Things! This still ranks very high in favorite thrillers of 2022, but something kept me from proclaiming this as my favorite from Stacy... but fear not! A Flicker in the Dark was just that good! Her sophomore thriller solidifies her now as one of my favorite authors in this genre!

“All the Dangerous Things” is a psychological thriller by Stacy Willingham. On the surface, this book is about a missing child and his mother’s attempts to keep his kidnapping in the news. Under the surface, however, the reader realizes that the mother Isabelle is sleep deprived, making her an unreliable narrator. The story alternates between the present and 1999, both from Isabelle’s point of view. I found the writing style to be gripping, though the pace at times was a bit slow … and things wrapped up a little too neatly for my taste. However, this book did hold my attention. Do read Ms. Willingham’s Author’s Note after finishing the book - she explains a bit about the story and her characterizations, which I found rather interesting.

Stacy Willingham is that rare writer that had a major freshman hit and, in my opinion, has an even bigger hit with her sophomore release. This book blew me away. It is smartly written and does not insult the readers' intelligence like many other books have. The writing is also very poetically done, the author writes location so beautifully that I felt like I was down south and I smelt the marsh and felt the heat. (I have visited both South Carolina and Savannah)

The story is told from the singular point of view of our main character, Isabelle. Isabelle is dealing with the aftermath of her toddler son, Mason, missing for a year, which resulted in the end of her marriage. I loved how the story alternated between the past and present of Isabelle's life, it gives the reader an inside glimpse of Isabelle's childhood.

This was such an enjoyable read for me because it kept me guessing. Just when I thought I had it all figured out Willingham hit me with a twist I did not see coming so you start to head in another direction...and if you think you have in hand to guess, think again. This is one book that actually delivers on the surprises.

Author Stacy Willingham is building a reputation for suspense and has hit the mark again with All The Dangerous Things!

One year after Isabelle Drakes toddler son was taken from his room at night while she and her husband slept, Isabelle's entire existence revolves around finding out what happened! Isabelle doesn't sleep and pores over information and suspects around the clock! But does the answer lie within her own home? Isabelle and her now estranged husband both harbor secrets of their own that lead the reader to question if one of them could be responsible!

All The Dangerous Things was an enjoyable, suspenseful read with interesting characters and some surprises at the end!. The one negative for me was the descriptive writing style was too much and the book could have been much shorter and more enjoyable without but overall a good book!

Book Title: All the Dangerous Things
Author: Stacy Willingham
Publisher: Saint Martin’s Press – Minotaur Books
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Pub Date: January 10, 2023
My Rating: 4+ rounded up!

I read Stacy Willingham’s debut novel "A Flicker in the Dark" gave it 4+ stars –( I am sooo stingy with stars - I should have given it 5)!! I knew I wanted to read another!

Story is told from the POV of our protagonist Isabelle Drake
Now - present day and
Then- starting Saturday July 10, 1999 – January 16, 2000.
Isabelle is suffering and dealing with the loss of her eighteen month old son Mason who went missing from his nursery while Isabelle and her husband Ben slept.
To add to her misery Isabelle’s husband Ben announces that the stress is too much and is leaving her.

In hopes of finding her son she turns to speaking engagements. After speaking at a 'TrueCrimeCon' event and is traveling home she meets Waylon Sparrow a true crime podcast director.
He offers her an opportunity to speak on one of his podcasts.
She finally agrees and he arranges to meet at her home to the broadcast. His questions of her childhood and background bring up flashbacks of her sleep disorder to the point she think her entire life seems to be one big question mark and is questioning her sanity (I have to admit- I was as well!

I read a review that mentioned all the twists and turns - which I always love.
I thought okay where are they? Bring them on! And Yep! Ms. Willingham did just that!
BUT< of course, All my figuring out was WRONG!

I always enjoyed the Author’s Note and Acknowledgement; typically the inside scoop or thee secret behind the motivation. . Be sure to read what Ms. Willingham has to say!!

Want to thank NetGalley and Saint Martin’s Press ~ Minotaur Press for granted me the pleased of reading this WOW early uncorrected proof.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for January 10, 2023

Excuse me while I go preorder my copy! I gobbled this story up in mere hours and immediately ran to preorder because I need this story on my shelves.

why my nose was in this book:

A sleep deprived mother who has a questionable history with sleep walking and a missing baby… that just makes for the perfect unreliable narrator!

Short paragraphs made it easier to justify reading one more chapter… then another

I loved the dual timelines of Isabelle’s life and how they weaves together in the end

The last 80% was bonkers, I couldn’t put the book down, I was glued to the pages, relishing in the surprise gotcha moments that kept on coming to the very end

I love how everyone has a story and the people in that story can have a spectacularly different version than you

I appreciated the author’s note in the end - I felt recognized and related to her struggles because they are mine too

Isabelle Drake’s son, Mason, was kidnapped when he was just two years old, 365 days ago. Paralyzed with stress and insomnia, she makes it her mission to find out the truth of what happened to her son. This isn’t the first time Isabella has lost someone; her sister, Margaret, went missing in the marsh behind her house and died when they were young girls. Estranged from her parents since the death of Margaret, and her husband since the disappearance of Mason, she’s isolated in her attempts to put the pieces of both cases together. As she does, she questions her own sanity and if she played a part in either disappearance as she confronts some hard truths about a disorder she’s been living with her entire life. As a mother, she refuses to let the case or herself rest until the truth is unveiled and justice is served.

I loved A Flicker in the Dark so I was excited to get my hands on an early copy of this book. And I’m glad I did, because it delivered. In such a frightening way, this book taps into every mother’s worst nightmare; their child gone missing in the night, while they’re sound asleep in the bedroom next door. We’re kept on the edge of our seats while we run alongside Isabelle to find clues that will hopefully lead to answers while we simultaneously grapple with an array of emotions: fear, anger, delusion, and the likes. For all A Flicker in the Dark fans, I think you’ll enjoy this sophomore novel by our girl Stacy Willingham. Can’t wait to see what she puts out next.

I really enjoyed A Flicker in the Dark so I was very excited to be able to read an ARC of Stacy’s new book, All The Dangerous Things!

The synopsis of a little boy disappearing from his nursery in the middle of the night, gone without a trace is always intriguing. The book definitely had a slow start and really didn’t pick up until about the 60% mark, but I enjoyed the unreliable FMC and how her past and present eventually collide into giving more insight into what happened to the missing little boy.

The past timeline dealt with sensitive subject matter that hit very close to home and the author put in a lot of research and compassion into writing about this specific subject matter (I don’t want to give away spoilers!) but I thought the writing was very well done. I also really appreciated the author’s note at the end giving even more insight.

A mothers toddler boy is taken (oddly/coincidently also just finished the Lindberg Nanny). The mother has been running on lack of sleep; so sometimes her judgement is odd. I can't imagine how devastating it would be to have your child disappear.

The plot unravels at a nice pace, as more and more details are revealed. There are a couple good plot twists. One minor detail about the plot bothered me and I'll pass that on to the publisher. A very enjoyable read; once I started, I was pretty dedicated to finishing.

Thank you to NetGalley for (yet again), introducing me to a "new to me author". Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read the advance read copy in exchange for an honest review. And also many thanks to the author Stacy Willingham and St. Martins Press the publisher.

It’s been a year since Isabelle Drake’s little boy was snatched from his crib in the middle of the night, and she hasn’t slept a single night in the last 365 days. She might doze off suddenly here or there, taking little “micronaps” during the day, but she wants to be awake in case Mason comes home. When the police fail to make progress on finding Mason, Isabelle takes matters into her own hands, speaking out about the case and working with true-crime podcaster Waylon Spencer. Between Waylon’s too-close-to-home questions and her own insomnia, Isabelle doesn’t know who she can trust anymore. With secrets lurking in her own past, she doesn’t even know if she can trust herself.

“All the Dangerous Things” is a gripping, slow-burn suspense of the very best kind. The writing is raw, with vivid imagery and liberal use of metaphor to add to the immersive feel. The depiction of how women can lose themselves in marriage and motherhood, as well as the discussion of mothers’ mental health issues, is very compelling. If you like domestic suspense, dual timelines, unreliable narrators, and true crime podcasters, you will definitely want to read this book!

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books for providing me an advance copy of this book.

Just as enjoyable as her debut novel. Just like A Flicker in the Dark, this book has an unreliable female narrator. I was worried that would make these books feel too similar, but Willingham shows that this is a trope she can do very well. At its core, All the Dangerous Things is a complex look at motherhood and the damages that societal pressures place on women. While I can’t say anything necessarily surprised me, I really enjoyed the writing and how everything played out. Willingham will definitely be an auto-buy author for me now because she knows how to deliver a gripping story! I think fans of A Flicker in the Dark will definitely enjoy this one, too. I need some TV adaptions of her books! They would totally translate well to the big screen.

I loved a “A Flicker In The Dark” so I was really excited to read Stacy Willingham’s sophomore novel. The premise of this book really drew me in. Some things I noticed in the first five chapters was there was just so much rambling. There was paragraph upon paragraph of not so much background information, but a lot of internal dialogue. It was a lot and it wasn’t necessary. For this reason it made this not a slow burn, but a slow simmer. It really didn’t get good or pick up until 80% into the book. “All The Dangerous Things” had a very strong plot, it just wasn’t executed well in the beginning of the book. This was character driven and plot driven and very enticing once you got to that 80% mark. Things that were said about motherhood have left their mark on me and what the author was trying to talk about with this book was things that needed to be said. Stellar material, just needed better execution. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this ARC!

All The Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham
⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

This book is the meaning of a mothers worst nightmare.
Imagine, going to bed one night. Like any other night . But when you wake up, you take advantage of the quiet. You make yourself breakfast, and drink a hot coffee. All this before your child wakes up. Just some time to yourself before you have to take parental responsibility again . After a while you check the time and feel uneasy about the time. So you go to check on your 18 month old . . Hes gone . No where to be found . Police spin that morning entirely . They blame you for your sons dissapearance.
One year later, and you still haven't given up hope. Despite being told that at this point, its more likely to be a body recovery . Despite your husband coming to peace with this and leaving you behind . Despite not being able to sleep since he left .
After all .. what kind of mother wouldn't wake up . Wouldn't feel something isn't right .

This is such a heart breakingly hard read. Especially for me. I have a 3 year old and couldn't imagine how much Id also blame myself if something happened to my children . Every feeling the mother has - did he struggle? Did he cry ? Was he scared ? Is he alive ? Did he know the person ? They are feelings that will break every mothers heart while reading .

However despite the beautiful story. The book was very slow .. not much actually happening until around 80%

I loved the feeling of n unreliable narrator. Not sure if she was in fact crazy . Or justified.

Wow. This book was suspenseful with so many twists and turns. Isabelle and Ben's son Mason has been missing for a year. Isabelle isn't sleeping as she's grieving her missing son and trying to figure out what happened to him. I don't want to give out any spoilers so I won't say too much. Just know that this story will keep your attention. Just when I thought I knew what happened, another twist would come up. The story and multiple plots that seemed unrelated but they all came together in the end. Great read!

Summary: After her toddler son, Mason, is taken from their home one night, Isabelle Drake will stop at nothing to find him. One year later, and she is more determined than ever that she will be able to figure out who took him. As she pursues every true crime panel around the country in hopes it will draw the kidnapper out, a true crime podcaster approaches her about sharing her story. As his questions begin to draw suppressed memories to the surface, Isabelle questions who she can trust, and if those closest to her might be harboring their own secrets.

Thoughts: I loved this book! It kept me enthralled from the moment I picked it up until I read the very last page. Unlike a lot of thrillers I have read lately where the middle begins to drag, the pacing in this book was outstanding, with clues and twists coming every so often throughout the book. Although not for everyone, I really enjoy an unreliable narrator. It adds yet another level to the mystery and you, as the reader, have to parse out what is the actual truth versus what the narrator believes to be the true.

The character development is also excellent in this book with each of the characters fully flushed out from their past all the way through to their present. And most importantly, everything connects and makes sense. I understood what made each of these characters tick, why they made the decisions they made, and how that resulted in certain repercussions.

Read if you like:
•domestic suspense
•twisty thrillers
•unreliable narrators
•true crime podcasts

While I really enjoyed the author’s previous book A Flicker In the Dark, it has nothing on this one. I have become a major fan of Stacy Willingham and cannot wait to see what she comes out with next. She has become my newest auto-buy author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Available on January 10, 2023.

I could not put this down. I HAD to know what happened and I empathized with the main character and felt she was a very believable character.

A parents' worst nightmare...your child is kidnapped.

The guilt, the horror, the longing never stops.

And to top it off people think Isabelle staged the kidnapping and killed her son.

Isabelle hasn't slept more than a few hours since her son was taken from his room in the middle of the night while she slept through it all.

She feels she can't sleep in case he comes back...she can't believe she didn't hear anything that night.

Isabelle has been on a speaking tour about her nightmare in hopes that the kidnapper will show up in the audience.

On the anniversary of the kidnapping, her husband who left six months after their son was gone showed up.

She thought it hadn’t affected him, but it did.

He also had something else to tell her, though. He has moved on and was seeing someone.

As Isabelle continues her sleepless nights and traveling for her speaking engagements, she meets a pod caster on the plane who poses a question in hopes that Isabelle will agree to doing a podcast about the crime.

This podcast brings up Isabelle's childhood and her life now. As she invites him into her home she thinks…just who is this pod caster who came out of nowhere to hunt her down and badger her until she said yes?

Something happened in her childhood that was traumatic.

Could the kidnapping be as traumatic as the childhood incident?

Could she really be responsible for her child's disappearance as everyone thinks?

Even though there were surprises, secrets, revelations, and ending pages definitely worth the wait, ALL THE DANGEROUS THINGS dragged.

BUT…if you are willing to wait for the fabulous ending and wrap up, this book will be a VERY satisfying read

I had it slated as a 3/5, but the ending was so brilliant and different, I brought it up to a 4/5.

Don't Miss It!!

This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.

Ok for a slow burn, this book managed to be completely gripping. Ms. Williams seamlessly weaves together past and present, suspense and drama, heartache and suspicion. This is my second book by her and I'll now be blind buying everything she publishes going forward. Buy this on publication day for your first five star read of 2023!