After reading Flicker in the Dark I was so excited for this one but it didn't live up to the hype. I thought the general idea was interesting but it was a bit slow and predictable would have liked a more twisty twist.

“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?”

Knowing my friend Kyle (@ItsMrCormier) loved Stacy Willingham’s debut A Flicker in the Dark (which I still have to read), the second I saw this available on NetGalley, I knew I had to request it.

Willingham delivers a unique look at motherhood and racks up the tension in this story. Even though Isabelle has secrets, I had empathy for her right away, especially with her lack of sleep! She really questions her own mental health, and as she unveils layers to her past that she hid away, I desperately needed to know more. Willingham creates multifaceted characters who represent real life: not black and white but in the middle; Isabelle’s husband Ben is a great representation of that (I liked him and then hated him). Although I’m slightly tired of the true crime post cast trope, it’s used well here and doesn’t take up too much of the book but rather enhances the story. There are well plotted twists, with a couple that had me truly gasping. The audiobook is excellent too (I both listened and read this); Karissa Backer is becoming a favourite narrator (she also did an excellent job in Carola Lovering’s Can’t Look Away). Backer’s expression and different voices suck you into the story (especially in the “Then” section; her voice is slightly higher than Isabelle’s “Now” voice, a slight change that wholly represents her being younger).

All The Dangerous Things is a story of motherhood, loss, questions, silence and self-preservation. It is thought provoking, well written and will have readers examining the stories we tell ourselves to help us cope in life. Thank you to Minotaur, St. Martins, MacMillian Audio and NetGalley for the ARCs!

I liked the idea of the book. I did not find it gripping at all. It finally got interesting in the last 10%. I think i am in the minority with this review.

I could see a bunch of different people that could have taken the baby but there was not enough "oumf" to it. (not that a taken child isnt important).

Thanks Netgalley for this ARC

I really enjoyed this book, I thought it was a good domestic thriller but nothing super memorable. I enjoyed the plot and how you didn’t know who to trust. The narration of the audiobook was excellent. Definitely need to check out this author’s other book!

Thank you to the tagged publishers and NetGalley for providing free advanced copy of this audiobook in exchange for honest reviews.

All the Dangerous Things is full of rich, detailed descriptions and imagery that bring this story to life. At times, it feels a bit overdone, but it serves the purpose of keeping the reader on the edge of their seat, often thrown in right when a reveal is coming, forcing the reader to wait and try to guess what's coming. Some of the reveals are easier to predict, like what really happened to Margaret and the truth about Isabelle's relationship with her husband, but others are well-crafted and concealed, resulting in several "Why didn't I see that?" moments. Told in three parallel timelines, with an unreliable narrator, there is plenty of misdirection to keep an amateur detective guessing from start to finish.

My only real criticism is that Isabelle is far too easily swayed. While she is intentionally unreliable due to a year of sleep deprivation (and honestly, it surprises me she doesn't suffer from actual hallucinations) and lies fed to her decades ago, it bothered me that she would go into a situation confident, and then one word from the other person makes her not only doubt herself, but completely believe the alternate reality. She convinces herself quite easily, but it didn't convince me. And I don't understand why she never once considers going to see an actual counselor (okay, maybe not Valerie) who could've actually helped her, instead of only her childhood sleep doctor who does nothing but dope her up with medication. I also feel like 8 year-old Isabelle is way too precocious, using terminology and descriptions/analogies far beyond her developmental level; while it continues the deep imagery of the book, I would've liked to see young Isabelle sound more like a child, as Margaret does, at least before tragedy strikes.

Karissa Vacker does a brilliant job narrating the audiobook, easily switching between male and female voices, and making that auditory distinction at least between young and adult Isabelle. Thank you to the author, Minotaur Books, and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Net Galley and the Publishers for allowing me the ARC Audiobook of All the Dangerous things. This is my second Stacy Willingham book, and I loved it just as much as Flicker in the Dark. in The Dark. With this book and the Victim being an 18 month missing child, it got me right in the mom feels and kept me intrigued and guessing the entire story. The Audio Narrartor did a great job with all the characters as well. I will be looking for the Next book by this author!

This book captured my attention from the beginning . We learn about Isabel from the present tense and try to walk through what happened to her baby Mason. Along the way, the author does a great job of showing us Isabel from childhood .
What happened to Mason ?
A very riveting audiobook ! The narrator is excellent !!

(3.5⭐️) Thank you @minotaur and @macmillan.audio for the #gifted copies.

My absolute worst nightmare… my son going missing. It’s the not knowing. It’s also the heartbreak that he might think I’m not trying to find him.

I’m anxious as it is. I overthink absolutely everything. So if one day, my son vanished with no clues, I’d find myself on the very edge.

And that is what Willingham does best in this story. Her execution of Isabelle Drake portrays every mother’s potential: Teetering on the edge of sanity. Not sleeping. An inability to participate in normal life. Constantly demanding updates from police. Taking things into her own hands. Doubting what’s true.

While I thought the character portrayal was spot on, I had expected a story about a missing baby to feel intense and thrilling. For me, it didn’t. It’s possible that if I’d gone in expecting a mystery, I would have been more engaged. I also found the writing to be a bit too over the top and flowery, which, for me, didn’t quite fit the overall premise.

But, that unreliable narration will definitely keep you guessing. And the end was satisfying.

Karissa Vacker narrates the audiobook. She’s quickly become one of my favorites to depict women in thrillers, and her narration kept me hanging on. I’d recommend the audiobook for this one.

A story that starts off heading in one direction but ends up having more twists than you can guess. This story really gave me goosebumps. This story shows the lengths a mother will go through to find her missing child. I did not expect it to end how it did. I had my suspicions as I was listening but in the end I didn’t expect the outcome. An amazing novel, that talks about real life events, real emotions and things can happen in real life. As I was listening I could picture everything that was happening like it was a movie. I liked how the author showed all sides of the characters. Also, how some things may appear one way to everyone looking in but are very different than they appear. If you’re looking for a great novel to read then go pick up this book ASAP! You will not want to put it down!

4.5 stars. The story was great; I never knew where it was going. I loved the audiobook narrator, as well. Thanks to Net Galley for the arc of this audiobook.

Thank you Netgalley for the audiobook for my honest review! Thank you also to Stacy Willingham for a great book! It is full of suspense all the way through and it definitely kept me guessing. I was wrong on both counts, despite the author's subtle dropping of hints throughout the novel. I really enjoyed it and I look forward to more by this author! As for the audiobook itself, not my favorite narrator, but also not terrible by any means.

🔊Song Pairing: Never Let This Go - Paramore (a go to band when needing a thriller/suspense pairing)

💭What I thought would happen:

I barely remember anything about Flicker. I know I enjoyed it well enough but in no way wowed me so while I was curious I wasn’t desperate to push this one to the front.

📖What actually happens:

Isabelle is in the worst place of her life. Her boy has been missing for a year, her husband left her and no one believes her baby is still alive. After attending a true crime festival as a speaker, she meets Waylon, a podcaster who helps to uncover new clues in regards to her sons case leading her one step closer to the truth.

🗯Thoughts:

I don’t know about you…but I am OOOOOVER the whole unreliable woman MC in thrillers. It in my opinion just seems like lazy writing and is being used more often. Have people run out of suspenseful ideas?! That being said…I liked how this book portrayed the narrator as unreliable in a neurological sense, and not a substance abuse/coping mechanism *looking at you Sager*

I did enjoy how this book played out. I’d say the first 40% had me like meh minimally intrigued to full blown like okaaaay were we going here. I did want to know. I think this story will stick with me longer. I can see others enjoying this one very much.

All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham is a contemporary psychological thriller and her sophomore book. I listened to the audiobook, which clocks in at ten hours and is narrated by Karissa Vacker. We jump back and forth between two time periods in this book: present day and the main character's childhood.

Isabelle Drake is a desperate mother with a troubled past. A year ago, her young son Mason was taken from his crib in the middle of the night while she and her husband were sleeping soundly. Unfortunately there are no official leads in the case. With a year's worth of sleep deprivation, she literally cannot rest until her son is found.

I definitely inhaled this book. I'm generally a fan of thrillers were you're not sure if the narrator is reliable or not. Speaking of narration, Karissa Vacker performs wonderfully. The author does a great job with ~*~vibes~*~ and atmosphere. I particularly liked her descriptions of the setting, especially around marshes.

Though the pacing might seem a bit slow for a thriller, I wanted to keep listening to find out what was going to happen next. I ended up finishing the book in three sittings. I had quite a few theories, and only a handful of them ended up correct. There was one particular twist I really didn't see coming.

I'm definitely going to check out Willingham's debut book, A Flicker in the Dark.

CW: child abduction, post-partum depression, child death, mental illness, suicide, infidelity

I received a copy of this book to review. All opinions contained herein are my own.

All the Dangerous Things is a slow burn psychological thriller. The pacing is a bit slow at first, but I found the plot to be engaging with well timed reveals, and gaslighting and an unreliable narrator successfully sowed the seeds of doubt in me. I really enjoyed Karissa Vacker’s narration and felt she successfully created a palpable tension throughout the story. While I found most of the story predictable, I didn’t see the big reveal twist coming and the ending was satisfying. A fast and entertaining read. Fans of B.A. Paris and Greer Hendricks will enjoy this one.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to an advance audio copy of this story that is now available. It is my pleaser to leave an honest review.

I really enjoyed this story. The narration for the audiobook was great. There were a few plots points where I felt like I had to suspend disbelief a bit but it was still enjoyable. The best part of the book on my opinion was the author’s use of imagery.

A mother, sleep-deprived and desperate, teams up with a podcaster to find her missing son. The audiobook was well narrated and the story heartbreaking. Highly recommend.

I love thrillers with twists and turns, and I'd like to think I can figure most of them out. This one had me so sure I knew what was happening over and over, but then pulled the rug out from under me. When it was finally revealed, my jaw was on the floor.

The narration was incredible - the way she read the chapters from the point of view of a child in a child-like voice that helped to distinguish the difference between past and present, but it was not an annoying, false-sounding child-like voice made the story so much better.

As an only-sometimes-reader of mystery, I often find that my justification for reading the genre is finding the answer (the who dun it?/what exactly happened here?) and when it happens, it really bums me out. I just love a twist that leaves me speechless, wondering how I could’ve missed what seems so obvious at the end of the book when all is uncovered. What I have found in Stacy Willingham’s writing is that I can’t guess the ending. There are too many options and too many factors that make me second-guess myself. The feeling is so satisfying, and All the Dangerous Things fulfills that, through fast-paced discoveries and multiple characters in question. I would log this one under psychological thriller (not jump-scare, but still suspenseful at times).

I recommend checking TW/CWs before reading, as this book features a dark plot that includes a missing child that was taken in the middle of the night, mental health, childhood neglect, postpartum depression, and related issues.

A solid thriller. Dark, mysterious and even sort of creepy with an ending I did not see coming (and I almost always figure it out). I listened to the audiobook, and I was engaged in the story the entire time. There are plenty of twists to keep you guessing, and the alternating timelines keep it interesting.

Thank you to NetGalley, Minotaur Books, and MacMillan Audio for the ALC of this novel in exchange for my honest review. And thanks to Book of the Month for the early copy.

Pub. Date: Jan. 10, 2023

FORMAT: 📖 + 🎧

THE GOOD: It was creepy at times. I liked the epilogue and it was the ending I was hoping for. I liked that I had both an ALC and a physical copy so that I could read wherever I was.

THE BAD: So much of this book rubbed me the wrong way. It was painfully slow. The "twists" were predictable and very underwhelming. I hated the implications that women are crazy and can't be trusted and I hated the way Isabelle's mother was written.

My copy also could have used another round of editing because there were quite a few errors. After being disappointed by A FLICKER IN THE DARK and this book, I think this author and I are done.