This book is full of unexpected twists and turns as well as some clever red herrings! All the Dangerous Things was fast paced and kept me wondering throughout the book. I enjoyed the narrator in this audiobook as well. She had a pleasant voice that I didn’t mind listening to on my long commute home from work. I recommend this book to anyone who likes twisty thrillers. It will keep you guessing until the very end.

I have heard great things about Stacy Willingham, and with this book, she is worth the hype!
The audio is wonderful. Plot, narrator and characters that made the book shine!

I was gripped by this suspenseful domestic thriller about a baby stolen from its crib in the middle of the night and the mother who hasn't been able to sleep in the year since. The novel kept me guessing until nearly the very end, and though there were some red herrings and misdirection, mainly the mystery hung together very well, without much that needed explaining as the truth was revealed. (This is a common irritation I have, that the many twists and turns at the end of thrillers often need a whole chapter to be explained; this was not the case here!)

The characters in the story were well-developed and sympathetic -- though there is a therapist described at one point whose behavior stretches credulity. But overall this is an excellent novel with a propulsive pace.

The audio book, which was gifted to me by Netgalley and MacMillan audio, was expertly narrated by Karissa Vacker, whose voice skills are top-notch.

𝘎𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭!

Oh wow! What a twisty, disturbing, sinister and fantastic ride, I was at the edge of my seat from start to finish, the audio kept me engaged the whole time. This is my first book from this author and it won’t be my last.

Thank you Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this gifted audiobook.

𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 by Stacy Willingham released January 10, 2023.

https://www.instagram.com/booksandcoffeemx/

The author’s debut was great but she will blow your mind with All the Dangerous Things, her second book. It’s a mesmerizing psychological thriller with memorable characters. I would have devoured this amazing novel in one sitting, if possible! This unique story is more than a thriller. It discusses sensitive topics and coping methods used by different families. It’s eye-opening and I didn’t expect to feel such deep empathy and emotion. And Karissa Vacker is of my favorite narrators!

OMG…the surprises and twists that are divulged as the author guides us to the passionate conclusion will disturb you enough to entertain the thought of murder!

Ms. Willingham focuses on Isabelle. A mother who has lived through a parent’s worst nightmare. One night while she and her husband slept, her son Mason was taken. Some chapters throw us back to Isabelle’s tragic childhood. Those chapters were fun yet heartbreaking. And the most insightful regarding Isabelle’s struggles.

It’s been one year since Mason was taken and the police still have no clues. Ben is convinced he is dead. As with most couples that lose a child, their relationship didn’t survive. He’s moved on and pressed Isabelle to do the same. She can’t. Finding her missing son has consumed her life and she literally can’t sleep.

“All of those little microsleeps throughout the day: mere seconds of intense, deep, bewildering unconsciousness that seem to come out of nowhere and evaporate just as fast.”

She meets a true-crime podcaster and agrees to be interviewed. But something seems off about him and his interest in her past and husband.

I’d love to go into more detail about the story but unfortunately, I can’t do that without adding spoilers.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Minotaur Books for providing this gifted ARC through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

#AllTheDangerousThings #StacyWillingham #macmillanaudio #audiobookreview #karissavacker #AwesomeNarrator #EmotionalThriller #intensethriller #childabduction #mustreadthriller #psychologicalthriller #honestreview #crimeandcocktailsbookcrew #mysteryandthrills #bookaddict #thrilleraddict #thrillersofinstagram #bookstagrammer #lovebooks #bookreviewersofinstagram #lovetoreadbooks #cantstopreading #fortheloveofbooks #minotaurbooks

A great story!

Isabelle Drake has not had a good night's sleep in almost a year. Her insomnia started after her two-year-old son, Mason was taken from his bedroom while she and Ben, her husband were sleeping in the room next door.

Ben left Isabelle about six months after Mason disappeared. He is ready to move on with another younger version of Isabelle. Isabelle can't understand how Ben is already ready to give up while she is the complete opposite. Her son is on her mind 24/7 and she even travels to true crime conventions to speak about what happened to her in hope that someone can help her find him. At the end of the latest convention, she meets a podcaster by the name of Waylon. He wants to interview her about her son's abduction. At first, she doesn't want to but then she agrees. As she meets with him, she starts remembering things from her past that scare her. Could she have hurt her child?

This audio narrator, Karissa Vacker was fantastic. The development of the story had me on the edge of my seat. I was able to guess a couple of twists but not all of them. This was great! I can't wait to read another book by Stacy Willingham.

Cliffhanger: No

4/5 Fangs

A complimentary copy was provided by Macmillan Video via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

l the Dangerous Things was an absolute home run, 5 star novel by Stacy Willingham. Pub date was January 10th (last week) and I can’t recommend enough that you get a copy for yourself if you’re looking for an unforgettable twisty psychological thriller to kick off 2023!!

I was worried I was getting into another overdone trope- the unreliable (either drunk or sleep deprived) female narrator. Fortunately, Willingham does not disappoint. Rather, our main character Isabelle - a now single mother whose 18 month old son was taken a year ago - seems to be the only one working tirelessly (and sleeplessly) to solve this now cold case. We travel back and forth between her past and present, looking for some hidden clue to help unlock what happened the night Mason disappeared. But memories can be distorted and so can the truth.

Huge thanks to the author, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the advance audiobook in exchange for an honest review! I cannot wait to read her debut novel A Flicker in the Dark next!

<i>What</i> a wild ride.

Wow. I just finished this audiobook and I'm still trying to process everything I listened to.
What begins as a search for a missing son, turns into a journey into the secrets we all carry.

As a mother myself, my heart ached for Isabelle. I can only imagine what it must be like to have your child go missing.

But this book is so much more. As the author says in the afterword, this book is the story of women. All of the women in the book have their own secrets and complicated histories.

I really can't say a lot about this book without spoiling the ending or the journey. I will tell you this, the journey is amazing and the ending is satisfying. I lost count of the number of times I gasped in shock as another theory about what happened to little Mason, or what's happening in Isabelle's backstory, came to light.

This book is absolutely worth the read. (Or even better, the listen! The audiobook narrator did a great job, I almost forgot it was one woman speaking for each of the different characters! Including children and men!)

<i>Thank you Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for an advanced release copy of this audiobook.</i>

This was a solid read. The plotline and murderer reveal was not as twisty as some thrillers, but there was still suspense and a sense of revelation and resolution by the end.

Isabelle Drake is still reeling one year after her toddler son went missing from his crib with the only clue being an opened window. Of course the baby monitor's batteries were dead. Of course there were no footprints despite being mud outside the window. Of course there are no leads. Her past with sleepwalking has made her a suspect and her newly developed insomnia is making her feel more crazy. Her marriage doesn't survive the tragedy, and to add insult to injury her husband Ben has moved on to another pretty young girlfriend.

Isabelle doesn't give up though. She continues to investigate, beg for help, and turns to a true crime podcaster to help her case. The beginning of the story has a slow burn feel as the foundations are laid and suspects are identified. The unreliable narrator trope is presented mildly as Isabelle starts to question her own recollection of the evening.

This one was a decent story that kept me guessing until the last quarter of the book.

You will be given everything you need to solve the horrifying abduction of a child—but you won’t until Willingham wants you to.

Book Information

All the Dangerous Things was written by Stacy Willingham. The book was published on January 10, 2023, and is 336 pages. Willingham is the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of A Flicker in the Dark. Her work has been translated into over 30 countries. Thank you to the author and to St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for providing me with an audio version of the advance reader copy for review.

Summary

Isabelle Drake's life revolves around only one thing—finding her toddler son, Mason, who was abducted a year ago as she slept just a room away. The police have no tangible leads, so Isabelle makes it her mission to solve the mystery of his disappearance and get Mason back. She hasn’t really slept, literally, other than short cat naps, since his abduction. She speaks at true crime conferences in hopes of keeping the case alive and perhaps generating new leads. In desperation, she agrees to be interviewed by a true crime podcaster that approaches her after one such conference.

Isabelle is about to walk down a dark path, one that leads to unexpected revelations and suspicion of everyone—including herself.

My Thoughts

This is one of the best books I have read. It’s engaging and drew me in in a way that few books have. It also kept me guessing until the end. It’s very well crafted, paced, and layered. Willingham skillfully builds a world of overlapping stories across multiple timelines which provides the reader with everything necessary to solve the mystery being presented—but manages to save the true solution until the end. She also delivers a good ending which is where many books lose me. I can’t tell you how many books I have read that I enjoyed up until the end and then was left disappointed---that is not at all the case here.

In addition to delivering a highly satisfying story, beautiful prose, and engaging characters, Willingham deals with some very heavy issues in a sensitive and skillful way. Mental health, sleep deprivation, postpartum depression, and patriarchal attitudes/actions (among others not included here to avoid spoilers) are all aspects of the novel. As someone with experience in some of these areas (personally and professionally), I appreciated her depictions and the work that would have been necessary for her to write authentically.

This is a tension-filled, twisty, psychologically thrilling ride built upon real-world issues that are often ignored but, God forbid, any of us could experience.

I listened to the audio version of the book and was also very impressed with the narrator Karissa Vacker. She had a difficult job given the number of characters (both male and female) and the wide range of emotions/situations required to successfully perform such a book. She was FANTASTIC. One of the best audio performances I have listened to.

Recommendation

Read it. Listen to it. Get it. You will not be disappointed.

Rating

5 Sleepless Stars

Isabelle’s entire existence revolves around finding her son. She hasn’t slept since he was taken.

In hopes to jar loose a new suspect she agrees to be interviewed by a famous true-crime podcaster. Even though his interest in her case makes her uncomfortable.

✨short chapters
✨unreliable characters
✨jumping timelines
✨plot twists
✨creepy sleepwalker

Read this if you liked A Flicker in the Dark, The Family Next Door, Little Secrets

Thank you #Netgally @macmillan.audio and @stacyvwillingham for this advance readers audio of #allthedangerousthings

I really enjoyed Stephanie Willingham’s debut novel, A FLICKER IN THE DARK, so I was thrilled to receive a free audiobook of her second novel! Thank you @macmillan.audio and @netgalley! My thoughts are my own.

ALL THE DANGEROUS THINGS is a compelling novel full of complicated characters, each with their own motivations for the choices they make. Stacy Willingham explores motherhood, guilt, depression, trauma, and grief as she weaves an intricate mystery surrounding the disappearance of a young child.

The story is told through the mother’s point of view. She is vulnerable and likable, and I wanted things to go well for her. The story builds slowly, as time is needed to layer the characters in order to prepare the reader for the unexpected twist at the end!

SHORT SUMMARY:
*Isabelle’s life has dramatically changed in the last year:

*Her young son was kidnapped from his crib while she slept in the next room.

*Her husband left her and found a new girlfriend.

*Isabelle, who was once a sleepwalker, now has insomnia.

*She spends her nights watching videos of herself sleepwalking to her son’s crib night after night.

*She cannot bring herself to watch the final video to the end. Could she be the one responsible for her son’s disappearance?

One year later, desperate to keep her son’s case in the news, Isabelle agrees to be interviewed by a podcaster. As she reflects on the past, an old trauma begins to unfold; and soon, she realizes there is more going on than she could ever suspect!

I listened to this as an audiobook and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The narrator does an excellent job switching voices, putting emotion in the right places, and drawing the listener into the story!

Read this if you enjoy character-driven stories, unreliable narrators, and surprising conclusions.

All the Dangerous Things is a taut thriller about a mothers grief at the loss of her child kidnapped in the night. Isabella becomes consumed with keeping the case alive as she closes down inside her haunted mind by tragedies past and present her marriage crumbles and as it does thing’s begin to come to light. Past mistakes seemingly and unrelated tragedies have new meaning and new possibilities for answers present themselves in a tangled web of deception, pain and misconceptions that reveal terrible truths about the people Isabella thought she knew including herself. Will Isabella ever get the answers she needs to find a path forward?

I finished listening 🎧 to this one a few days, and I loved it!! This is the first book I finished this year and I couldn’t be happier that it was! It was so good, I was hooked from the prologue. It has short chapters, so I feels like you are flying through it. I didn’t want to put it down! Every chance I had where my kids were off doing something I was listening.🎧 I never knew what was going to happen next, and was guessing the whole way through. The narrator also did a fantastic job! I gave this 5⭐️‘s.
#allthedangerousthings #netgalley #macmillanaudio

It was just fine! I didn't care that much for the main character or the mystery, unfortunately. The audiobook narrator was great, though.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Isabelle and Ben's son, Mason was taken from his crib in the middle of the night while they slept and one year later there are still no leads. Ben has been trying to move on in life but Isabelle has not slept since that night and refuses to sleep until she finds her son. The guilt she feels for not waking up to save her son is unbearable. On a flight to one of her speaking engagements Isabelle meets Waylon who has a True Crime podcast and he wants to interview Isabelle in hopes of solving this cold case.....or does he have other reasons? I absolutely loved this book!! I connected with Isabelle immediately and the horror and pain that she must have gone through. As a mother, I couldn't even imagine this happening to my child. I really liked the story line that the author created not only with the abduction of Mason but also with Isabelle's story growing up as a little girl. The twist in both cases was believable and well written. I definitely would recommend this book and look forward to reading more by this Author. Enjoy!!

Not sure if it was me or the story, but I didn't really enjoy it much. The story seemed to drag and the main character wasn't that likable. The twists had me eye rolling. I was expecting more from the premise of this book.

Ok Stacy, you have a fan in me!

A Flicker in the Dark was the book she released last year and I devoured that one as well. Her writing grabs your attention from the start and doesn’t let go until the very end. I needed to continue so I could find out if Isabelle’s son was ok and what happened to him.

Normally an unreliable main character has me rolling my eyes, but Stacy wrote this in a way where I believed that Isabelle was not responsible, even when she doubted her own self.

I loved the ending too, even though it’s a style that’s pissed me off in the past! It’s wild how much I enjoyed this despite hating aspects that were used in other books before. It just tells me that the writing was stronger than the ones I didn’t care for.

Great pick by @bookofthemonth

Thank you to @netgalley and @minotaur_books for the audio arc! It was great to read along with the narrator 💜

Really good and I was hooked right away. This author is new to me and I’m thrilled that I found her. It novel had mystery, a cold case, and so much more. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was Karissa Vacker and she was good! She’s probably going to be a new favorite of mine.
I highly recommend it and you won’t be sorry. Your just going to have to trust me on this.
Thanks Macmillan Audio via NetGalley.

This was really an engaging book that had me at each twist and uncovered the layers of why the MC after couldn’t get any sleep after the tragedy of her baby being taken. After a journalist she meets on an airplane, she realizes that there’s something deeper and she has to go to the start. I did notice that gaslighting was used as a plot device which I wasn’t a fan of.