All the Dangerous Things is a gripping novel about the love of a mother for her child, and the fallout that grief from losing that child has on her life.
Isabelle’s son disappeared for his crib one night, and has been missing for a year. Isabelle’s marriage collapsed in the wake of this tragedy, and her insomnia has had significant physical impacts on her as well. However, Isabelle won’t give up her search for her son, and is continuously traveling and attempting to draw attention to the case. As the story continues, we learn about Isabelle’s history with sleepwalking and tragedy from her childhood that make the reader question if Isabelle is to blame for her son’s disappearance. What happened to Mason? Is Isabelle to blame?

I enjoyed Stacy Willingham’s first book, A Flicker in the Dark, but All the Dangerous Things grabbed me and wouldn’t let go. I read this book in a day and couldn’t put it down. As a mother, it tore at my heartstrings. This story is told in alternating timelines: present day, a few years ago when Isabelle met her husband to be, and when Isabelle was a child. These sections dole out just enough information to ratchet up the tension as you learn a little more, and then are shifted to another time. I would have loved to hear more about some details between the wrap up of the story and 1 year later, but those details weren’t necessary to the story.

Unputdownable, engrossing, and heart pounding! Don’t miss Stacy Willingham’s All the Dangerous Things!!

All the Dangerous Things kept me on my toes the whole time I was reading. I thought I knew the twists multiple times but was still shocked by the ending. The characters, Isabelle especially, were so well developed and three dimensional.

3.5 STARS - My feelings were all over the place with this domestic thriller that centres around a missing toddler and his mother who suffers from extreme sleep deprivation and irrational behaviours, leading the police to suspect that she may have harmed her son.

Set in two timelines, Isabelle is the sole narrator as the story jumps between her childhood with her parents and sister Margaret, and present day as she continues the year-long search for her toddler son. Isabelle is the epitome of an unreliable narrator and readers are pulled into her convoluted thought processes that are greatly influenced by her lack of sleep, hallucinations, and problematic memory.

The sleep deprivation angle is interesting, but readers are limited to only Isabelle's POV and her mind was a convoluted place to hang out. My big issue with this book was the pacing which was painfully slow for the first three-quarters of the book. Willingham throws in some twists and character connections (one was obvious to me) and after the 75% mark, the pieces finally begin to fall into place and the book ends on a high note. I just wish we could have gotten there a lot sooner.

I applaud the author for addressing important issues related to motherhood (make sure to read the author's note after reading this book). There are a lot of important issues, but it felt like she was trying to throw in so many of these topics that it negatively affected the story's flow and tension. Isabelle's childhood revealed why she is the way she is, but it also felt extraneous with its revelation a bit of a letdown and its main purpose was mainly to introduce another issue.

All The Dangerous Things is filled with flawed characters, manipulation, and deception and if readers are patient, they will find a compelling story that shines a spotlight on the impact societal expectations continue to have upon motherhood.

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Minotaur Books for the complimentary digital copy of this book which was provided in exchange for my honest review.

I knew Stacy Willingham’s books were for me when I read her debut novel A FLICKER IN THE DARK, so I was stoked to get access to her second ALL THE DANGEROUS THINGS!
ALL THE DANGEROUS THINGS follows Isabelle’s search and deep dive investigation on her missing son, while simultaneously flashing back to her childhood and the tragedy that unfolded with her family.
The combination of these two timelines allow the reader to view Isabelle as an unreliable narrator and question her every move. It also provides important insight to herself as an individual and her personal perspectives.
The novel is full of twists when new information is taken into account, and I could not put the book down! I am excited for future books by Willingham and all of the mysteries to come!

This was pretty good but didn’t blow me away. I found one of the big twists to be pretty predictable— much like all of FITD. The very end still surprised me which I did ultimately enjoy.

I don’t have any major grievances with this book, but I don’t have much to rave about either. It took me just over a week to read this, which says something when I usually finish a book within 3-4 days. I just wasn’t drawn to it. I didn’t spend my time away from it wondering what would happen next, or who was to blame. I don’t think that’s such a great sign for a thriller. 🤷🏼‍♀️

At the end of the day, it lands in the ‘just ok’ column for me. That said, I’ve seen a ton of 5⭐️ reviews for this— so my opinion is obviously just one voice of many

5/5

“Because that’s the thing with the audience, the thing I learned long ago. They don’t want to get “too” uncomfortable. They don’t want to actually live through what I’ve lived through, every ugly moment. They just want a taste.”

ARC BOOK REVIEW: All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham
PUB DATE: January 10th, 2023

I want to first start off by saying thank you to Stacy Willingham, St. Martin’s Press, and Netgalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you are into thrillers this book is for you. This book kept me on the edge of my seat. Stacy Willingham did an excellent job taking her readers on a journey with Isabelle Drake, whose young son went missing over a year ago. Isabelle has been actively trying to find answers on the night her son went missing. On this journey, Isabelle is faced with cold hard truths and betrayal that she could never imagine. But the main question is, will she ever see her son again, and in what state?

If you liked Willingham’s debut novel, A Flicker in the Dark, you are sure to love this new thriller. As a reader who reads a lot of thrillers, I find it very hard to surprise, and well…this book surprised me to the point where I laid on the couch contemplating what I have ever known. This book is intense and nail-biting and it will definitely be one of the top Thrillers of 2023 and lucky for you it comes out the second week of January.

Before I start this review, I will say this needs a trigger warning for child stuff! Do your research if this is hard for you because Stacy is an amazing author and it hit me hard.

This story focuses around Isabelle Drake, a mom whose son went missing a year ago. Isabelle will do anything to get her son back, and can’t sleep not knowing what happened. To make matters worse, her husband has left her, and she must confront her past where she also lost her sister alone.

Isabelle finds a friend in Waylon, a podcaster who wants to tell her story. But can she trust Waylon? Does he have another motive? Can Isabella trust anyone? Even herself?

This story totally gripped me, even if it was a tough read at times. The ending completely caught me by surprise, which doesn’t happen often! Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book! I was immediately hooked in the story. It was fast-paced and never stopped! At first, I was concerned there was too much going on, but the author didn’t miss a single thing! The twists were great! I can’t wait to read more from her!

Thank you NetGalley & Minotaur books for my eARC!

All the Dangerous Things is told through first person dual timelines, with the past setting up the background for the feelings Isabelle has in the present. While a slow burn, I loved the uneasiness and unreliability of the narrator, where neither she nor the reader can rule her out as a suspect.

The pace picks up around the 75% mark, where all the secrets and lies in the past and present start to be revealed. I really enjoyed the twists, especially the one involving the kidnapping. I did not see it coming and Willingham did a really great job setting it up and giving me that oh wow moment.

Welp. Consider me entirely impressed. This book was amazing. Completely thought out from start to finish and every question I had was answered by the end. It was both heartbreaking and infuriating in all the right places. Bravo!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I was excited to receive an advance copy of Stacy Willingham’s latest book All the Dangerous Things. I really enjoyed A Flicker in the Dark. I read many thrillers and they are starting to bore me but All the Dangerous Things was just excellent. I found the writing to be gripping. I was immediately drawn to the story of Isabelle searching for her kidnapped son. I do enjoy books that center around sleep issues and all the paranoia that ensues. There were several twists in the book. The twists were unexpected but did not seem forced. The ending was fabulous.

I am unsure how to write this review. Again, the author did a great job. She kept the storyline mysterious. All of the characters were necessary. I wasn’t completely sure where the storyline was going. In a good way it kept me guessing “who done it?”
However, it could have been shortened by 100 pages in my opinion. There are too many times in the book where I find the author going way over and beyond describing moments and memories. It was not necessary. I found myself skimming through some paragraphs. Tired to find I was still in the same part of the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy. I really enjoyed this book. At first glance, it seems like the typical thriller with the unreliable, sleep-deprived female narrator, but Willingham actually made some interesting points about the guilt that is heaped on women, particularly mothers. I will definitely pick up whatever Willingham writes next.

Disappointed, dismayed, disheartened, despondent, and discouraged! (alliteration overload!)

I am so disappointed in this story. I was so looking forward to it but the amount of filler, overwriting, and usage of similes and metaphors have me rolling my eyes and to tell the truth laughing out loud.

I did like this author's other book, A Flicker In The Dark, but this one was just not for me.

To me it is like a sixth grader with an assignment to be expressive wrote this. I know there are many who loved it but unfortunately, I can't be counted among them.

All the Dangerous Things was really exciting, fast paced sophomore album from Stacy Willingham! I thought as a new mom I would have a difficult time reading this, but the circumstances surrounding the child’s kidnapping made disconnect enough to enjoy it without worrying about my own child. I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 stars because I predicted the kidnapper very early on and her twists and turns never made me stray from my (accurate) prediction. Another thing that may sound like nitpicking but really bothered me was all the technology around the baby monitor. As soon as I read the baby monitor didn’t have batteries, I knew immediately the author was either not a mom herself or had kids that were much older. Basically it was clear she has no idea what baby monitors are like today. Video baby monitors do not run off of replaceable batteries like AAs. She also made it sound like the camera itself runs off of batteries. This makes no sense. The cameras are continuously plugged in and the monitors plug in to charge. I would let this go but it’s a major plot point that the camera ran out of batteries, which is just total nonsense. Especially a monitor that RECORDS the video, which very few do! As a new mom when I bought a monitor I did a lot of research on them before purchasing one. If the author wanted to make this a major plot point, she should have done a little research too! Or just ask a new mom! Very silly. It really took me out of the story! Other than that, this was a really good thriller and I enjoyed it a lot.

In her past life, Isabelle Drake slept like a rock - even being known to sleepwalk on the regular. But she hasn’t slept in a year, since her son Mason went missing from his crib in the middle of the night. Isabelle dedicates her life to finding her son, and in hopes of keeping her son’s case alive, she talks at crime con conventions. At the latest convention she speaks at, she runs into Waylon - a true crime podcaster who claims he can help her solve Mason’s case (he even claims he’s solved a cold case before).

But as Isabelle teams up with Waylon to help solve Mason’s case, she starts noticing inconsistencies. The more the pair works together, the more her past comes back to haunt her and she starts doubting herself, her past, and her story less.

The book is told exclusively through Isabelle’s POV flashing back and forth between now and the past. I thought I had the story figured out multiple times - but I was wrong. This book had me wanting to keep reading and reading.

I loved A Flicker in the Dark, and was super pumped for this one - and it didn’t disappoint. Willingham has definitely earned herself a spot in my “must read” author list.

I highly recommend checking out All the Dangerous Things!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this ARC of the digital book.

Isabella is living a mother's worst nightmare - her child, Mason, is missing. She had put him to bed, but when she woke up in the morning he was gone. There were no signs of forced entry, but a window was open. There are really no clues. Six month's later, Isabella's husband has left her and still there is no sign of Mason. Isabella finally agrees to an interview with a true crime podcaster in hopes that someone will come forward with some kind of clue.

This was a smart psychological thriller with some good twists. I really enjoyed the read. This isn't the first book I've read by Stacy Willingham - she's a really good author. My heart went out to Isabella who was filled with her own self-doubt from some secrets in her past. I highly recommend this book.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press through Netgalley for an advance digital copy. This book will be published on January 10, 2022.

(4.5) I was SO excited to get early access to this one. I loved Willingham’s first novel so I was very excited to dive into this one. I went into it completely blind and woah, what a ride! I truly did not know what the heck was going to happen but I was dying to get to the end to get some answers. The subtle twists, the big twists, the pieces falling together so so so good! I loved that it had a true crime element to it, which her first one did a bit too, just made it that much more enjoyable for me. Now an auto buy author for me!

While this next bit isn’t necessarily spoilers, if you’re like me and you enjoy going into books completely blind, stop reading here.

Okay, so this book deals a lot with motherhood and the not so pretty sides to it and I just want to say that I really appreciate these topics and conversations being put into fictional literature. Sure, in this case it’s fiction, but a lot of the feelings, thoughts, and even actions of the women in this book really do happen to women in the real world. It’s not pretty, it’s not rainbows and giggles, but that’s how it is for many women. Motherhood (and parenthood) is tough and it’s okay to acknowledge that. Anyways, just really loved that aspect of the story!

Stacy Willingham follows up her debut novel "A Flicker in the Dark" with a strong sophomore novel, "All the Dangerous Things." I'll admit that I have a difficult time reading books with missing children, but Willingham handles a tricky subject very well and never labors the issue too much. "All the Dangerous Things" doesn't tread new ground, but it's an enjoyable read and the ending really packed a punch. It's tough to be surprising in this genre, but Willingham is proving to be a great new voice. Would definitely recommend for seasoned thriller readers, although the subject matter might be tough for those just trying out the genre.

I really enjoyed the author's debut novel last year, A Flicker in the Dark, so I knew I had to get my hands on an early copy of All the Dangerous Things.

I ended up being able to listen to the audio and I really enjoyed that format. I felt like the narrator did a fantastic job with the dual timelines and the emotions behind the character.

While the subject matter is heartbreaking, a kidnapping of a young child, I felt like it was done really well. You have the unsureness of the main character, the mother, with her lack of sleep and her past that we get snippets of throughout to make us question everything.

It was a great thriller to binge and one that I didn't have completely figured out as things were getting revealed. And there are multiple twists in this one to try to guess!

4.5/5