Suspenseful mystery with an unreliable narrator. I've decided I don't particularly enjoy an unreliable narrator. I don't like not knowing if the main character is just imagining things or not. It's just not my jam so I should probably stop reading them lol. I did like the story though. It was a little slow for most of it but it does have a good ending that I wasn't really expecting. If you enjoy psychological thrillers definitely check this one out!

Thank you St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book.

When I first read a flicker in the dark I knew that Stacy Willingham was an author I would love. This book did not disappoint! All the twists and turns this story took kept me flipping through and not wanting to put the book down.

I like that the story was told in dual timeline and I like that the book kept me guessing. I can’t wait for other to read this one I think it’s gonna be a big hit! Thank you for my ARC! Can’t wait to post an in-depth review when this releases!

365 days ago Isabelle had her last full night of sleep.
365 days ago Isabelle’s son, Mason, was taken from his crib in the middle of the night while Isabelle and her husband were peacefully asleep in the next room over.
With no leads, no one in custody, and no sign of her son - Isabelle takes it upon herself to find out what happened to her son Mason, but in that, her past comes back to haunt her.

Wow. Talk about a twisty little psychological thriller!
Told through alternating chapters of the present day and Isabelle’s past we begin to learn more about the events that have shaped Isabelle’s life.
How she’s always slept walked, how she met her husband, what happened to her sister, and all the impulsive things Isabelle does in trying to find the person that took her son.
At times, she is so frustrating I just want to shake her and tell her to stop, but other times the grieving mother is yelling across the pages it’s sad.
Soon Isabelle meets Waylon, a true crime podcaster, who may have other motives to helping her, but it pushes her in the right direction of who took her son in an explosive reveal I was not ready for!!!

What a wild ride this book was. I’m a big, big fan of Stacy Willingham and cannot wait to read more from her!!
*rated up to 5 stars, but would put it at 4.5-4.75.
Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
*Pub date: January 10, 2023.

Stavy Willingham has become my new favorite author. After reading A Flicker in the Dark i absolutely jumped at the chance yo rewd an arc copy of all the dangerous things. Some how she wove these words together to keep you on your toes. When i say i was on the edge of my seat the whole time. Half the time i almost fell off because the twist i never sae coming and i was flabbergasted.. this book had everything i needed in a thriller cant eait to read more from this author

This is a page turner and a terrific , suspenseful, heart throbbing novel. I loved it. The premise was original and gripping from page one. Most importantly, good mysteries have to be believable and come together at the end with the final denouements. This one did not disappoint. A narrative that builds and resolves perfectly! How can the reader not be delighted and surprised. I was and cannot recommend it more. Too bad everyone has to wait so long for publication. Put it on your wish list.. put it on your must read list.. item number one,

This was brutal. But impossible to put down. Weaves a compelling story with a slightly unreliable (or more like you’re not sure if she is or isn’t) narrator. But you feel for her. You want to believe in her, you’re on her side, and even as she’s unraveling, she’s not unlikable.

Jumping back and forth between the narrator’s childhood and the present, the stories are woven together very well. There’s lots of surprises along the way, some I suspected and some I never saw coming. But the hints are there, even the subtle ones. It’s very well plotted. A really solid mystery.

But damn. I want to hug my babies tighter after this one.

All the Dangerous Things is the second novel by Stacy Willingham and I loved it even more than her first book, A Flicker in the Dark. This was a addictive psychological thriller that kept me engaged from beginning to end. If you enjoy unreliable characters and a story line that keeps you guessing, definitely check this one out.

All The Dangerous Things was a great second novel by Stacy Willingham and has made her an auto buy author for me.

Isabelle Drake has experienced what every mother’s worst nightmare is. Her child has gone missing while she was sleeping and she hasn’t had a good night's sleep since. The unexplainable disappearance of poor sweet Mason has left Isabelle separated from her husband and grasping at any clues to help find her baby. She decides to participate in a podcast with a famous crime podcaster in hopes of finding clues to her child. Waylon- the podcaster has so many questions for Isabelle that she soon realizes that maybe Waylon isn’t who she thinks he is. Can Isabelle find the true culprit of who took her baby or will she second guess everyone she trusts - including herself.

I really enjoyed this book overall and thought the story was well thought out. I didn’t guess the ending and it was actually quite the unveiling for me. The characters were pretty likable and the story was enjoyable. I liked this just as much as I liked A Flicker in the Dark! I absolutely recommend this book and give it a 4.5 stars.

Thank you to Stacy willingham, NetGalley and Minotaur Books for this advanced copy. This book comes out January 24 and I definitely you recommend you put it on your list!

First off, I love that Stacy reviewed her own book on Good Reads. Keeping it real, I love it! It actually made me go find her on other social media sites.

Anyway, I loved this book. I love psychological thrillers. I wasn't expecting to go back to the main character's childhood, but it was a fitting journey for Isabelle. I love the podcast aspect of this story, which helped create and explore thrilling twists and turns.

This was my first Willingham book and, wow, it did not disappoint "All the Dangerous Things" centers around Isabelle, a new mother, whose life begins to unravel after her son, Mason, is taken from his crib in the middle of the night. While there is an obvious mystery at play (duh!), this book felt more than a whodunit. You learn SO much about Isabelle's past and how it shapes her present. Did I mention how character-driven this book is? My favorite.

This book IS a little slow to start, but I personally loved getting to know Isabelle. As a relatively new mom myself, I *might* be a little biased, but I couldn't help but feel for Isabelle. From the sleepless nights to the inner thoughts you may never want to admit out loud, I might have been the target audience with this one. Ultimately, I loved how much of this book stemmed around feelings of guilt and how Isabelle's perception of past situations shaped her current thoughts and actions. So relatable! The twists didn't hurt either.

I can't wait to go back and read her debut novel.

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

** Thanks so much to NetGalley, Stacy Willingham, and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for this ARC! All the Dangerous Things will be out January 10th, 2023. **

Plot: Isabella Drake is living every mother's worst nightmare - her toddler son, Mason, disappeared from his bedroom in the middle of the night a year ago. She knows all of the statistics, knows that her son is most likely dead, but can't accept this explanation. As her marriage with her husband, Ben, deteriorates, and Isabella's mental health hangs by a thread, she begins to wonder if she really knows anything at all about what happened that night.

Review: This book is Stacy Willingham's sophomore novel, a follow-up to her very successful book, A Flicker in the Dark. Set in Savannah, this is an atmospheric, twisting thriller that I couldn't wait to finish. Definitely recommended! The sleepwalking was especially terrifying.

Isabelle Drake's life changed forever in one night. Her son disappeared during the middle of the night with only a smattering of clues and very few leads for the police to work on. She won't rest until she either finds her son or finds out what happened to him.

I really enjoyed Stacy Willingham's debut novel, "A Flicker in the Dark" and was really excited to read her next book! I felt the book was a bit slow to start, but started to grab my attention a little more towards the middle-end of the book. I hate to say, but it was a bit predictable when I got to that attention grabbing part of the book. Maybe it's because I've read so many thrillers that I can kind of guess now whodunnit. Overall a great book though.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review.

Review of uncorrected eBook file

It has been a year since Isabelle Drake’s eighteen-month-old son, Mason, was stolen from his bed in the middle of the night while she and her husband, Ben, slept in the room next door. Since then, except for an occasional catnap, Isabelle has not slept for a year . . . an entire year that Mason has been missing.

After a year, Mason’s kidnapping case is a cold case. Despite some misgivings, Isabelle agrees to an interview with Waylon Spencer, a true crime podcaster, hoping to find a witness or some new clue.

Suffering from sleep deprivation and a tragedy from her childhood, Isabelle begins to wonder if she can trust herself. Is she, in some way, responsible for what happened to Mason?

Can Isabelle find the truth? And what will it reveal?

========

In this heart-wrenching story, told from Isabelle’s point of view, the present-day narrative slips into the past from time to time in order to provide the backstory of Isabelle’s childhood and of her relationship with Ben. Readers, pulled into the telling of the tale from the outset, are sure to find themselves invested in Isabelle’s story and the question of who took Mason [and why].

Ben seems to have had no problem “moving on” [and leaving the marriage], but readers are likely to find his comment to Isabelle that she needs to "accept what happened and move on” to be both cruel and heartless.

The inclusion of the true-crime podcast gives the telling of the tale an immediacy, ramping up its relatability for the reader. Coupled with every mother’s nightmare of something horrific happening to her child, the story is pulse-pounding and frightening as well as both desperate and sad.

The intriguing plot twists and turns offer readers some surprising revelations as it leads to an unexpected denouement readers simply won’t see coming.

Highly recommended.

I received a free copy of this eBook from St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books and NetGalley
#AlltheDangerousThings #NetGalley

This book was good. I liked the ending but the beginning was slow and hard to get into. I only pushed through because I loved flicker in the dark. I think flicker in the dark was better. This plot line was meh. Good twist but a bit boring overall.

In All the Dangerous Things, we meet Isabelle Drake. She has not slept in 365 days, since her 18-month-old son was kidnapped from her home while she slept. Since his disappearance, her life has become focused on tracking down who took him, determined to find him at all costs, distancing herself from her husband, her family, and her friends.

Isabelle meets Waylon Spencer, a True Crime podcaster, and agrees to tell him her story, and allow him to help her investigate Mason's disappearance. Everyone has their own secrets in this novel, and we are slowly fed information about Isabelle's tragic past, in flashback format. Isabelle's disordered sleep makes her an unreliable narrator, and there are twists and turns in this novel, showing that all is not as it seems.

I had read Willingham's previous novel and liked it well enough, but this one really clicked for me, especially as a mother. The struggles and the constant feelings of guilt were very accurately, and heart wrenchingly portrayed. This book pulled me in very quickly and I finished it in one afternoon/evening.

Generally, thrillers are hard for me to enjoy, but I recommend this one highly! Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for the electronic ARC of this novel for review.

2.5 rounded up to 3!
All the Dangerous Things has a release
date of 1/ 10/2023
In the beginning of the book we are introduced to Isabella Drake a mother that has been sleep deprived for a year since her toddler son Mason has been missing. Isabella is haunted by the occurrence of that night and has made it her mission to uncover the truth no matter to who it may lead to .
The book weaves between two time periods, one where Isabella is a young girl living at home with her parents and her sister Margret. The other is the present, a year after Mason’s disappearance.
After reading Flicker in the Dark I was excited to read this one , however I was left disappointed. The premise of the
story also piqued my interest but unfortunately it didn't follow through instead we are repeatedly brought to an unnecessary timeline that truly doesn't move the strong along in any manner.
The story was really slow and the pacing just felt drawn out to me. At about 80% that is when the book finally gets interesting.
This book may be great for fans of unreliable narrators, dual timelines, and stories revolving on kidnappings.
Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Minotaur Books for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Read from: Sep 23, 2022 - Oct 16,

I thought this was. Good read. It had a lot of good plot points. The characters were interesting and really kept me guessing. I would recommend.

What a great book. It's my first read by this author but it won't be my last. Has me unsure of the outcome til the end. A few surprises along the way.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of All the Dangerous Things.

I loved Willingham’s first novel and couldn’t wait to dive into her second one. A complete nightmare- a toddler disappears from his crib one night, and a mother desperately searches for answers. Tormented by insomnia and a tragedy from childhood, she starts to wonder what’s real and if she’s somehow to blame.

Dark and well written with a surprising twist, I couldn’t put this book down. I was convinced I knew what happened and wow, was I wrong. Isabelle is so easy to relate to and sympathize with. We see flashbacks of her childhood (heartbreaking on so many levels) and realizations that she might have been wrong about certain things all this time. I loved the addition of a true crime podcast to this story, it worked with the plot really well, and it was interesting to see a CrimeCon from the viewpoint of a victim.

Highly recommend this book! It’s well written, absolutely gave me moments of dread, and ended perfectly!

Thrillers can be hit or miss. Sometimes you get an awesome plot, but subpar writing and uninteresting characters. Sometimes the writing is good, but the story itself leaves a lot to be desired. Stacey Willingham delivers on all ends of the spectrum: fully developed characters, captivating mystery, and a plot that keeps you guessing & on the edge of your seat.

All the Dangerous Things is a bit of a slow burn, and it goes in quite a few different directions. At its heart, it’s the mystery of Isabelle Drake’s missing toddler, Mason, who was stolen from his room in the middle of the night one year ago. But it’s also a deep dive into motherhood, into childhood trauma, into the decisions women make that sometimes aren’t the greatest.

Isabelle isn’t an especially likable character, but she has redeeming moments. I really liked how Willingham pieced together the backstory of Isabelle because it helped ease you into liking her - hard to explain without spoiling anything, so I’ll leave it at that!

I also really liked the plot points about sleep: sleeping so hard you sleepwalk & feel out of control, and not sleeping at all so you start to not trust yourself. It added nuance to the book without cheapening it.

Overall, a fantastic and creepy read. I’m not sure I’d call it a thriller; it’s slightly disturbing with an air of mystery. If you go into it expecting a twisty thriller, you might be disappointed.

Thanks to the publisher for giving me a free eARC in exchange for my honest review.