✨All the Dangerous Things✨
By Stacy Willingham
▪️Read November 2022▪️

“Nothing about grief makes sense.”

Phew! I’m so glad I read this book so quickly because as soon as I started to read I was holding my breath and can finally exhale. The way this book captures the true ‘grit’ of feeling like a zombie mother with never ending guilt was phenomenal.

Izzy’s son was taken from his crib in the middle of the night and she will never stop trying to find out what happened to him and why. Wouldn’t any mother do the same thing? Although she is filled with her own childhood trauma, and entranced by her insomnia, she is determined to think back about every possible clue. Although her husband has encouraged her to move on, there is truly no moving on from losing a child.

The details about the characters, bouncing between past and present and the twists- I truly devoured this book!

Thank you @minotaur_books and @netgalley for this amazing ARC!!

#allthedangerousthings #stacywillingham #minotaurbooks #arc #advancedreadercopies #audiobook #ebook #youshouldreadthis #netgalley #thankyou #bookstagram #bookstagrammer

I really enjoy Stacy Willingham's novels. They manage to be both character and plot driven. The pacing is unlike any other and there are always awesome twists that don't make you feel stupid. I think that combination is very hard to achieve.

This is the story of Isabelle whose baby is taken from their house a year ago and she hasn't slept since then and has been desperately looking for him. She has been doing everything she can to scour every opportunity to talk about it and even agrees to do a podcast to see if it will help find the person who took Mason.

She and her husband are now separated and he's with someone new. So she's going through the loss and betrayal all at once. The book also alternates between the present and the past where she has suffered another terrible loss so Isabelle is not sure if she can trust herself.

The insomnia in this book is almost a character. It makes isabelle so hazy and sometimes we can't tell if she's an unreliable narrator or not. We can viscerally feel her doubts and worries as she experiences them.

I loved this book and highly recommend Willingham's books. They are also fantastic on audio!

with gratitude to Macmillan Audio and netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Stacy Willingham does it again! I loved Flicker in the Dark and her latest novel All the Dangerous Things will leave you guessing until the very last word.

When Isabelle Drake's son Mason vanishes without a trace one night from his bedroom, Isabelle begins a desperate search to find him and will go to any lengths necessary. Mason's disappearance causes Isabelle's world to crumble. Her marriage is dissolving, she suffers from severe insomnia, flashbacks of her sister's death begin to creep back into her memory all while the detective investigating the cases starts to doubt her innocence in the disappearance.

Desperate to keep the case alive, Isabelle turns to True Crime enthusiast, podcasters, local media and anyone in general who will listen to her story. The last thing she wants is for the case to grow cold. When she meets podcaster Waylon Spencer, Isabelle feels her luck is beginning to change. Maybe he can help breathe life back into Mason's case. But Waylon has his own agenda and interest in the case. Can he help her find Mason or will his intentions be sinister?

Throughout the book Isabelle grapples with long lingering questions about herself, her sleepwalking, and her childhood. What really happened all those years ago in the Rex household? Do they have significant meaning now that her son is missing?

"...you don't have to pull the trigger to get away with murder - sometimes, all you need to do is load the gun and let it go off on its own." Atmospheric, creepy thriller.

Special thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for an ALC of this book. I listened and reviewed voluntarily in exchange for my honest review.

After her young child is kidnapped one night Isabelle searches for the next year with no leads. Everyone has given up but a mother can’t she also can’t sleep at night. Right around the first anniversary of his disappearance things begin to change. Isabelle doesn’t know who to trust including herself.

This one had an unreliable narrator but so much more than that. I was constantly questioning everything yet I did not guess either twist. This was a great psychological thriller. I really enjoy how this author writes her books and can’t wait for her next one. I enjoyed listening to this one on audio.

Thank you to @netgalley and @macmillan for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

Ohhhh my freaking god. I loved this book so so so much. I listened to the entire thing in one sitting, hahahah. It was so suspenseful and creepy!!
Isabella hasn’t slept in a year. Her son has been missing for a year and she has been doing everything she can to try to find him.
Memories surface, secrets uncovered. This is a MUST-READ for everyone that loves a good thriller.

I cannot wait to read more of Stacy Willingham’s books.

This was SO good. I loved her first novel and was so excited for this one. It was the perfect amount of twists and turns. It dealt with real struggles of motherhood. I will look forward to more books!

Southern storyteller Stacy Willingham returns following her smashing debut hit, A FLICKER IN THE DARK, with her sophomore novel, which is even better, ALL THE DANGEROUS THINGS —a compelling, emotionally charged psychological thriller standalone based on every mother's worst nightmare.

A mother's toddler son is abducted—and she questions her memories and past.

Complex characters, heart-pounding suspense, and a stunning conclusion. What starts as a child abduction warps into something far more twisted and nefarious.

Journalist Isabelle Drake struggles with overwhelming grief and guilt a year after her toddler son, Mason, disappeared one night from their Savannah, Georgia, home.

She cannot sleep, wrestling with severe insomnia, after what happened and second-guessing what she could have done differently. It has been over a year. Her 18-month-old son was abducted from his crib in the middle of the night.

Her husband, Ben, left her six months ago and has already found a girlfriend, Valerie. He seems to have moved on. Something Isabelle cannot do. Ben never really wanted to be a father.

Ben made her feel guilty for working part-time as a writer traveling to North Carolina. But she knew she could not be a good person or mother without first being true to herself.

Did it ignite something dangerous in Ben? NO CLUES or suspects. She cannot rest or move on with her life until he is found.

She will do whatever it takes, including speaking at conferences about her son. Anything to keep the case alive and draw out anyone who knows anything about her son.

While speaking at the TrueCrimeCon convention, she is approached by Waylon Spencer, a successful podcaster solving cold cases. He offers to help Isabella and get her story out to a broader audience with the hope of finding Mason.

However, to do so, he has to delve deeper into Isabelle's background, causing some unwanted memories to resurface, including a childhood tragedy.

What is Waylon's connection?

Her sister drowned, and it ended her father's congressional career. What happened that night in the marshes so long ago with her sister (Margaret), mother, herself, and father? What is her family hiding?

Who took Mason? Is he still alive? Who can she trust to help her? Can she even trust her memories of that night? Where nothing is as it appears.

Haunting! A perfect title, a beautifully rendered tale with vivid descriptions of the area, and excellent storytelling.

The novel is told from the point of view of Isabelle. Alternating from past and present, we learn of her childhood and early relationship with her husband, Ben.

"But aren't all of our lives just stories we tell ourselves? Stories we try to craft so perfectly and cast out into the world? Stories that become so vivid, so real, that eventually, we start to believe them too?"


From highly charged topics of mental health, motherhood, trauma, memories, marriage, and grief—as well as dark hidden family secrets are explored. The author handles them with compassion and sensitivity.

Captivating, atmospheric, vivid, lyrical, disturbing, thought-provoking, and emotional!

There are flawed, complicated, and messy women characters. We see in the novel firsthand, the damage and social pressures and weight on women and expectations of motherhood. I enjoyed the Author's Notes and resources about mental health included.

I enjoyed reading the e-book and listening to the audiobook, narrated by one of my favorite narrators, the fabulous Karissa Vacker! The performance was spellbinding. Highly recommend the audiobook.

I fell in love with Stacy's debut, and her fans and new ones will devour ALL THE DANGEROUS THINGS. Fans of authors, Matt Goldman's Carolina Moonset, Mary Kubica, and Jennifer Hillier's Little Secrets will enjoy.

Thanks to #StMartinsPress #MacmillanAudio #MinotaurBooks #Netgalley for a gifted e-ARC and ALC. #SMPInfluencers #MinotaurInfluencers

Check out my #AuthorElevatorSeries Interview with Stacy (A Flicker In the Dark), where we go behind the scenes of the author and book.

Blog Review Posted @
www.JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: Jan 10, 2023
My Rating: 5 🌟 STARS
Jan 2023 Must-Read Books

Holy cow!

This book was fabulous! I loved listening to this story- the narrator was excellent. She helped build tension and mystery.

All The Dangerous Things is a mystery that’s so hard to solve. Isabelle’s son goes missing in the middle of the night. We meet her at almost exactly a year later. She is still on the crusade to find out what happened to him.

It was almost challenging to listen to- as a mother of two kids. This is literally my worst nightmare. How does a child just disappear? No clues, no trace.

The missing child drives a wedge between Isabelle and her husband Ben- causing them to separate. He seems to have moved on with his life while Isabelle simply can not. She also has such trouble sleeping. Throughout the story we’re made aware of Isabelle’s strange childhood & the death of her sister.

I tried so hard to stay ahead of the author and solve the case. There were twists that had my jaw complete drop open or I would say “oh my god” right out loud. (Nothing makes a book better than it being unpredictable!) I was shocked multiple times and I definitely didn’t figure out the mystery.

Such a page turner! I can’t wait to read another by Stacy Willingham!

Oh the tangled webs we weave! And this one certainly had me wondering 'who done it" until the very end! Although it could have gone multiple ways, where it landed wasn't how I imagined. Nice work. Mysterious without frightening, history without too many flashbacks - just enough for intrigue and wondering how this all might end!

Overall, this was a really great thriller! I could not put the book down because I couldn't wait to see what happened next. I really liked Stacy Willingham's first book "A Flicker in the Dark", this was a great second book from the author.
There were a few spots in the book where some of the thriller tropes were so heavy handed. It kept reminding me of the Netflix parody "the woman in the house across the street from the girl in the window." The book had red herrings, hallucinations, an unreliable narrator, sleepwalking, so many sketchy characters, a mysterious neighbor, the list goes on and on. But I was pleasantly surprised with how the book ended and tied up all the storylines and loose ends. All of my predictions were incorrect, so I was happy that the ending was so creative.
A lot of my high school students have been interested in thrillers, and I've been looking for recommendations, this is one I know they will love!

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy of this audiobook to listen to!

Oh wow! This one had me on the edge of my seat! Isabelle’s 18 month old son disappeared one night while she was sleeping. Since that night she’s been unable to sleep, which her doctor has cautioned her can cause a myriad of health problems, including hallucinations. For a person who’s spent her entire life struggling with sleep disorder, how can she filter through the events of her life and separate the pieces of every puzzle that’s plagued her since childhood?

I was a sleepwalker growing up and could relate to the fears the main character had in this book. For me it was not so much things I did (though I definitely did and said some crazy stuff) it was what I imagined others had done, especially when I was really small and had trouble distinguishing what was a dream from what really happened. Imagine that carrying forth into adulthood. Imagine your child disappearing and realizing you hold the key to everything, you just can’t remember.

I saw a true crime documentary shortly before I read this book that paralleled this story in many ways, but oh my the snake was coiled! The last few chapters almost turn this into a completely different type of book. If you liked A Flicker in the Dark, you’ll love All the Dangerous Things!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

This is the second book I have read by this author. The first was a debut novel, A Flicker in the Dark. I loved that book and was excited to read All the Dangerous Things.

Isabelle used to be a great sleeper. She in fact, slept through the kidnapping of her toddler out of his room in the middle of the night.

Now, one year later there is little progress in finding Mason. Isabelle is no longer a great sleeper. She has slept hardly at all in the past year. Desperate to find the answers as to where Mason is and who has him, she turns her home into a workplace to find answers. She spends hours each day in research and scouring social media trying to find a clue. She does not care that others think she must be responsible for his disappearance and just keeps on working.

A few good twists in this one. It is rare that a book can surprise me but this one did. Well done once again Willingham. A great story with great characters. Highly recommend! I listened to the audio version of this book and really enjoyed the narrator. Sher performed the female character, the male characters and the child characters seamlessly.

Thanks to netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the arc

Loved the writing. Good characters snd intriguing story. Will definitely read more by this author. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook

I was decently impressed with Willingham's sophomore effort after being an outlier on her first book (I figured it all out ahead of time), this one at least had a few more surprises on hand. I'm glad because "missing without a trace" is my favorite trope if done right, and this one had a good exposition and explanation.

Told in two timelines--in the present and in the past. Present day, Isabelle and Ben's young son Mason disappeared from his crib in the middle of the night one year ago. Their marriage has split up and Ben has moved out. Isabelle is obsessed with figuring out what happened to her son. She isn't sleeping at all and she goes to different true crime conventions to hope that she can get the word out about her son. The past timeline is when Isabelle was growing up, she was a very deep sleepwalker and one night something happened that Isabelle thinks might have been her fault. Was Mason's disappearance her fault as well?

I pretty much figured out what happened in the past before it was all revealed, but I was wrong with my guesses about Mason's disappearance and who was responsible. The way that fit together in the end did elevate my rating for this one, despite Willingham's tendency towards overly flowery descriptions and my overall dislike for Isabelle through most of the book. I thought there was WAY too much dwelling on her lack of sleep, sleepwalking, keeping herself awake, being tired, micro sleeps, etc. It almost put me to sleep.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Karissa Vacker, and I'm not the biggest fan of her narration (too much whispering) but I was kept interested and entertained regardless.

The book is very fast paced and the reveals to the different parts of the mystery come at regular intervals that allowed me to remain engaged with the story rather than getting bored. I'm glad I gave Willingham another chance and will be interested to see what she comes up with next.

I really enjoyed this book. Im not a huge thriller reader but I really liked her last book and the narrator is excellent so I knew I was going to read this. I kinda partially guessed one of the twists but otherwise I was totally surprised by how things turned out. Definitely would recommend! I picked up a hard copy from BOTM and will definitely recommend to my Instagram followers closer to the pub date!

This one unfolds in some interesting ways. You can look back and see how all of the pieces fit together. There were a few twists that surprised me but also several that were predictable and a little far fetched. But I read so many thrillers that I wonder if that’s why there are often repeated patterns. This is an good book that keeps the page turning but not great.
Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy in exhange for an honest review.

I read this authors first book and I believe in my last review I said I would continue to read what this author wrote! So here I am again!

What to expect from this author: Thrillers that are built around the character and their life, not necessarily the plot. Not to say that the plot isn’t good.

Her books are slower paced but really focus on making you connected to the characters and their problems.

This book like the other was very entertaining to read and very well written. It might not have you on the edge of your seat but you’ll likely never guess the ending

thank you sooo much netgalley for allowing me to read this book! :) it was so good i couldnt put it down! the two big twists in teh book i really didnt see coming and the ending i didnt see coming either. the writing was so good and now i cant wait to read a flicker in the dark. i will recommend this book!

“Nobody understands what it’s like to be locked inside the mind of a mother. The things you think that you aren’t supposed to.”

This. Book. Woohooooo. So good!

A sleep deprived mother with a sordid past. A missing baby. A cheating husband. A gothic mansion in Savannah. If any of this appeals to you then you will LOVE this book. I know I did!

I am so glad that I chose it as my Book Of The Month. This book was fast paced and exiting and had me thinking about it long after I finished it. The characters are flawed and fascinating and this book touches on just how hard motherhood can be, and just how much judgment there is in that. I mean, what mother hasn’t been so sleep deprived that she has questioned her sanity at some point?

I was given a widget for the audiobook and WOW! Karissa Vacker may have just joined January Lavoy as one of my favorite narrators. Her voice is just lovely and I would purchase any book she narrates. She has the most beautifully fluid voice and read this story with such heart and emotion. Exceptional!

Thank you so much to Netgalley, Macmillan Audio, Minotaur Books, and the author for the ALC.

Once I started this book I couldn't put it down. I didn't know if I would like it with a missing child involved, but I quickly became hooked and wondered if the mother was a reliable narrator and then I just couldn't stop listening. This is a fantastic story and I didn't know which characters to trust. The flashbacks were well done and added to the story. The narrator, Karissa Vacker, was the perfect choice to narrate this book and I loved her voice and emotion throughout. I highly recommend this book!