I loved this book! I read Stacy's last book, A Flicker In the Dark, and enjoyed it but thought this one was even better. It kept me guessing the whole time which is always the sign of a great thriller. This author is going to be on my auto-buy list from now on!

This book has been all over IG. It was okay for me. I really enjoyed her first book so was really looking forward to this one. I was medium on it. I predicted all of the twists so was a little disappointed on that front. I hope the next book will be even better.

Stacy Willingham quickly climbed my ranks of fav thriller authors. She just KNOWS what to do and how to execute a good thriller, a GREAT story! I loved the past and present POV and feeling like EVERYONE was a suspect! Cant wait for her next book!

Incredible read!!!

I devoured Stacy Willingham’s first book, and was thrilled to read this one. Exciting, fast paced, and full of surprises. Highly recommend!

The inspiration for All the Dangerous Things was an idea that came to author Stacy Willingham one day. "What would it feel like to be trapped inside the mind of a sleep-deprived mother who, deep down, believed that the disappearance of her child was somehow her fault?" Not yet a mother herself, Willingham says she pondered why a mother would feel that way until she realized that women and, in particular, mothers, "are conditioned from birth to feel guilty about something. We always think things are our fault. We always feel the need to apologize: for being too much or too little. Too loud or too quiet. Too driven or too content. For wanting children more than anything or for not even wanting them all." Willingham confesses that she was afraid to pen a book focused on motherhood, so she did a lot of research on the subject. And was dismayed to discover that many women don't express their emotions because of the guilt they feel about experiencing them. Which is actually tragic because their emotions are largely universal. "We feel completely alone in an experience that's shared by so many," Willingham observes, which propelled her to create the variety of female characters featured in All the Dangerous Things who are "flawed, complicated, messy . . ."

In a compelling first-person narrative, Isabelle Drake reveals at the outset of the story that her life changed exactly one year ago when her son, Mason, was kidnapped. And -- unimaginably -- during that year, she has not had "a single night of rest." Despite trying sleeping pills, eye drops, caffeine, and therapy, Isabelle is only able to "microsleep" for two to twenty seconds at a time, so she has been "stumbling through life in a semiconscious dream state" for a full three hundred and sixty-four days. Nonetheless, she is still "no closer to the truth." She is a wreck -- physically and mentally.

Although it is emotionally draining for her, Isabelle travels to true crime conferences and conventions at which she speaks about Mason's unsolved case. She does it because she hopes that an audience member might be able to shed light on Mason's whereabouts and, in exchange for her participation, is provided a list of the attendees' names and addresses. When she returns home, she studies those lists and researches the backgrounds of her audience members in search of even the most attenuated clues.

Willingham also performed extensive research on sleepwalking and found that about one-third of children sleepwalk at some point during their childhood. And about two percent of them continue doing so in adulthood. Isabelle explains that she has always been a heavy sleeper and, as a child, sleepwalked from time to time. Now, suffering from severe insomnia, she recalls moments from her childhood for which she lacks a cogent explanation. She grew up in a house near a marsh, and there were nights when she woke up disoriented, confused. Inexplicably, there were muddy footprints on the carpet. Her younger sister, Margaret, mysteriously drowned in the marsh one night. Mason's stuffed dinosaur was found on the banks of the marsh near their home. Isabelle is haunted by the "similarities between then and now" and "the icy silence from my parents that never seems to melt." (She is virtually estranged from her parents, although they do send her checks that she is loath to cash, even though she needs the money to cover her living expenses so that she can keep searching for Mason.) The detective assigned to the case has always made her uncomfortable because, of course, when Mason went missing, both she and her husband, Ben, immediately came and have remained under suspicion.

Unlike Isabelle, Ben quickly moved on with his life after Mason disappeared. He bought a condominium near his office, leaving Isabelle in the house they shared, and is in a new romantic relationship. Isabelle describes how they met, worked together after Ben hired her, and married quickly after his first wife's tragic suicide. She details their journey to parenthood, and how their marriage began falling apart before Mason was born, and collapsed fully under the strain of Mason's kidnapping.

She meets Waylon Spencer on a flight home from a conference at which she again related her story. He explains that his popular podcast led to the closure of a cold case and, despite her misgivings, she contacts him later and agrees to grant him access to all the information she has amassed about Mason's case . . . and her life. As he interviews her for the podcast and his inquiries grow increasingly intrusive and accusatory, Isabelle grows increasingly suspicious of Waylon and his motives. Is he really an ally?

The centerpiece of the story is Isabelle's fear that she may have harmed her own child. After all, one of her neighbors insists that he observed her walking past his house in the middle of the night, but she has no recollection of doing so. She reviews every moment of the video footage from the baby monitor in Mason's room to see if she entered his room during the night while he was sleeping but was eft with no memory of doing so. She believed her sleepwalking stopped when she was in college. But has she continued to sleepwalk, right up to the night Mason was taken? She doubts herself even to the point of pondering whether she might be capable of homicidal sleepwalking, an exceedingly rare, but scientifically documented phenomenon. Her therapist explains that it is possible for sleepwalkers to do "terrible things, that they would never do if they were awake. They can't differentiate between right and wrong" because the upper frontal lobe of the brain is asleep during sleepwalking.

Willingham deftly portrays a woman terrified by the possibility that she lost control over her own behavior to the point that she harmed her own child. She loved Mason more than anything, and cannot really conceive that she could be capable of such a heinous act. She is desperate to find any other plausible explanation, any scrap of evidence that will lead her to answers and, hopefully, her son -- alive and well. But her guilt is not so limited. Because she is his mother and it was her job to protect Mason, and she feels the judgment of everyone in her life, as well as many of those strangers who listen to her relate the story at those conferences and conventions. After all, Mason's bedroom window was open; the batteries in the baby monitor were dead. She also feels guilt about her feelings prior to Mason's kidnapping. Being a full-time mother can be an isolating and disappointing experience, especially for a woman who had a successful career as a journalist an misses working and having a social life, as well as a husband who found her interesting and desirable. And there is the strain of being constantly and relentlessly needed and depended upon by your child. It is fear, guilt, and ruminating about the past that keep Isabelle from sleeping, and she knows time is running out because human beings cannot survive without sleep indefinitely. She is conscious of the fact that she is becoming increasingly paranoid, and unable to discern what is real from what she imagines.

All the Dangerous Things is a tautly-crafted, tense, and absorbing mystery that is, at times, difficult to read. Because as Willingham examines her protagonist's deepest fears, Isabelle is relatable and empathetic. After all, the idea of being so out of control and beyond one's moral boundaries that one could be capable of committing unspeakable acts is horrifying and terrifying. Isabelle's angst and self-doubt are palpable and affecting, even as Willingham inspires readers to view her with suspicion while injecting clues to Mason's whereabouts at expertly-timed intervals. Isabelle is surrounded by other female characters who are empathetic and compelling, especially Isabelle's mother whose story Willingham unravels compassionately. The mystery around which Isabelle's misery revolves is plausibly constructed, and the conclusion shocking. All the Dangerous Things is almost suffocatingly atmospheric, which heightens the dramatic tension. It is engrossing, solidly entertaining, and ideal for readers who enjoy slow-burning mysteries.

This book freaked me out. I was not a huge fan. If you’re into that kind of thing go for it. I do think the author is a great writer though.

Synopsis starts off good... One year ago, Isabelle loses her toddler son, Mason in the middle of the night. There is little evidenced and practically no leads for the police, leaving the case to go cold. Isabelle does everything she can as a mother to continue to bring attention to the cold case by being involved with the media still. Over a year passes and still no clues, Isabelle is starting to lose sleep... at this point she doesn't sleep at all.

I picked this book up primarily because of the author's previous work with A Flicker in the Dark, that has to be one of my favorite books of all time!! I'm sad to say, this book didn't quite live up to my expectations, but it was still really good!

I liked the character, but some parts I really wish I could have grabbed ahold of her and gave her sleeping pills so she could knock out for 2 days and think more clearly. Not sleeping can make someone paranoid, delusional, and have hallucinations. Something happened in Isabelle's past that was never clarified, leaving her to believe the worse possible scenario and affecting her present-day life.

Overall, it was a good book, however it took about 60 pages to pick up. I was struggling in the beginning with the plot building up, it was quite a while until I started to become more involved in the storyline. Once it hit around page 70, I swear the pages were flying by. Next I would check and see I'm on page 160. I sadly guessed one of the two big twists which put a damper on how I rated the book just because I was expecting a bit more.

Will I continue reading Stacy Willingham's books?? of freaking course!! love the concept behind these psychological thrillers.

Stacey Willingham has quickly become one of my favourite authors with her fast paced and twisty thrillers. Isabelle Drake's toddler son Mason was taken from his crib in the night one year ago, with no viable leads the case has gone cold with no answers. Desperate Isabelle shares her story to keep Mason's story alive at conferences. After attending a true crime conference she is interviewed by a true-crime podcast in hopes of uncovering a new clue. Isabelle Drake has secrets, and when the podcaster starts asking questions about her past, Isabelle relives some concerning memories from her childhood. Suffering from insomnia Isabelle starts to doubt her own memories and who she can trust, what really happened the night Mason disappeared?
What I love about Willingham's novel is the descriptive nature of the stories, set in the South, her novels are immersive. The description of a hot summer day is so intense you feel the heat yourself, even on a cold January day! Willingham's characters are strongly developed, and you feel the emotions along with the character. The backstory is rich and leads the reader down windy paths where they truly will never guess how the story will unfold.. If you are looking for a excellent thriller you will never fail with a Stacy Willingham novel! Thank you to Negalley and Minotaur Books for the digital ARC of this incredible read, all opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this read, it was entertaining and I couldn't put it down. I did figure out a couple of things that were going on but the plot was still great. The pacing of the story line was good as well as the character development.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of All the Dangerous Things in exchange for an honest review. I’ll just say that Willingham has done it again. She does a great job of creating atmosphere. I could feel the streets beneath my feet. This one kept me on my toes and I would recommend picking it up and giving it a read.

4.5 stars

<i>All the Dangerous Things</i> follows Isabelle Drake, a mother desperate for answers after her son has been missing for a year. Mason disappeared from his nursery, yet the police have no suspects or strong evidence of where he could have gone. Isabelle takes matters into her own hands and investigates every suspicious person, and eventually considers herself as a possible suspect. She suffers from insomnia and has a history of sleepwalking, and doesn't know if she is forgetting something key that could lead her to her missing son.

I read Stacy Willingham's debut novel and liked it, but this one was much better! They both had a similar format, in terms of an unreliable main character who then trusts a stranger who appears in her life to help solve a crime. However, the twists were more thrilling in this one. It took me about halfway through the novel to get invested, however, I enjoyed the ride after that and couldn't put it down. I liked how the ending was revealed, and the story flowed well overall.

TW: postpartum depression/psychosis, loss of a child, suicide, miscarriage, depression

I liked Willingham’s debut. Despite predicting the killer about third of the way through. So, of course, I was interested in seeing what she comes up with next. Apparently…pandering.
Which is to say the author’s sophomore effort plays up on every genre cliché from the classic unreliable narrator to the classic guilty party and more.
The thing is, I’ve just revisited my review of Flicker in the Dark and apparently, I enjoyed the writing so much, I overlooked the predictable plot. I don’t remember the book now, so maybe it was a stronger novel or maybe I was in a different—more generous—mood, but this one failed to skate by on the writing alone for me. And yes, the writing is good, Willingham has talent, but it seems it’s mostly restricted to the atmosphere and ambience…all the minutiae that drag out a very simple, fairly straight-forward (especially in retrospect) story into something that’s way over 300 pages.
Isabell, her protagonist is just THAT unreliable, a former sleepwalker who fears she’s at it again and his time might have done something to her baby. The baby’s been missing for a year during which time, her life has fallen apart. The cops aren’t helping. A podcaster (because there’s always some podcaster in thrillers these days) wants to help but can she trust him. On and on Isabelle goes spinning her wheels and casting accusations. But in the end, she’s just another hysterical mommy in another trite mommy thriller. And she can’t help it…she’s written that way.
Readable, even entertaining in own way, but ultimately didn’t do much for me outside of serving as a reminder of why I’m reading less thrillers these days. Thanks Netgalley.

I read this author's debut, A Flicker in the Dark, and enjoyed it. Just like her debut, I sped through All the Dangerous Things and overall felt it was a good read.

A friend of mine and I read this together. If you have a friend who loves thrillers and mysteries this would be a fun one to read together. We were throwing out theories left and right and wouldn't you know it ... they proved to be correct 😂

Definitely one for fans of domestic thrillers. I usually don't like them but this is an exception. If this is on your radar, grab it and enjoy! I sincerely appreciate Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

The kind of book you can’t put down. It is so well written, and the mystery and twists and turns had me intrigued and glued to the pages from start to finish. This is an addictive thriller with an ending that you will not see coming.

Isabelle's life is forever changed when her son, Mason, disappears in the middle of the night. Now, one year later, Isabelle is all consumed by her desperate need to find her son and find out who took him. Isabelle is used to those who suspect she had something to do with her son's disappearance, and in a last effort to let her story be told and continue her search for the truth, Isabelle agrees to be interviewed by a true crime podcaster. Working with him opens up new connections to the case that Isabelle did not see coming, and new truths about her son and his whereabouts start to come to the surface.

This book was twisty and fun. I was skeptical of all characters the whole time and I enjoyed how each character had their own connection to the case. Stacy Willingham did a great job weaving this story together and creating a true mystery! Bravo!

4 stars

I really enjoyed Stacy Willingham's debut novel, and after reading this one I have to say that I am definitely a fan. I find that authors sometimes have what I call a sophomore slump, and this book didn't suffer.

It is a "missing without a trace" trope which isn't necessarily my favorite mystery trope but this one was well done. I found that it took me a little bit longer than normal to figure out the whole thing, but I still figured it all out before the end of the book which is par for the course for me.

The two timeline thing that Stacy does is something that I really like. I will say that the focus on Isabelle's lack of sleep and her being overly tired all the time in the present timeline kind of bothered me, it felt excessive.

Fast-paced, timely reveals that don't feel forced or like it was dragging on, all in all it was a good read and a good time. I definitely recommend it if you are looking for a quick read,

A year ago, Mason Drake was taken from his crib in the middle of the night while his parents slept. Since then, Isabelle, his mother, has dedicated her life to finding out what happened to him. With little evidence to go off of, his disappearance has essentially become a cold case with police. But that’s not stopping his mother.

Isabelle goes to true crime conventions to tell her story. She barely sleeps. Her husband left. But all she wants is Mason’s return. When a true crime podcast host asks to interview her, she immediately declines. She doesn’t want her story being made into more of a mockery. She eventually reluctantly agrees, as maybe there is even just one person out there that knows what happened to Mason.

They have regular meetings discussing Mason’s disappearance, but is he also looking into her? And is she now starting to doubt her role in his disappearance? And was she also involved her sister’s accident when they were younger? Every answer leaves Isabelle with more questions, but she’s determined to find the truth.

All the Dangerous Things is a good book. Although, I didn't find anything outstanding about the book, I did really like Stacy Willingham's first book "A Flicker in the Dark" I just can't say that "All the Dangerous Things" even compares to "A Flicker in the Dark". I look forward to more titles Stacy writes. Hopefully it will give be a clearer outlook on the author.

One of my first 5 stars of the year! I read it with a book club, and we loved discussing our theories 2/3 of the way through. Let me just say, this one took ALL of us by surprise! The twisty ending was perfect. It was a quick and suspenseful read. I enjoyed her first book, but could see the growth in writing between book 1 and this one. I look forward to reading more of this author’s work!

A picture-perfect domestic suspense that checks all the boxes. Missing child, desperate mother, podcaster. No one is who they seem to be. Great twists, satisfying ending.