Overall, this was a solid read and I didn’t want to put it down. The first 10-15% of the book felt oddly familiar to another book I read, but once it took a differentiating turn, the pace accelerated. There were several plot points that I didn’t see coming and kept me intrigued, however I would strongly encourage checking content warnings. One caught me off guard and I felt so sad that I had to take a break and clear my mind.

I am usually hesitant with novels that are rooted in sleep disorders to create unreliable narrators, but this one didn’t rely on it exclusively for the mystery. I have one minor plot gripe with the ending that kept it from being 5 stars for me (see below - it's a spoiler), but I recommend this to thriller lovers who don’t have sensitivities to the CW topics.

Content warnings: Postpartum psychosis, Postpartum depression, Child death, Infidelity, Death, Mental illness

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for providing an advanced copy in exchange for my review – I appreciate it!

***SPOILER BELOW ***

In the end, the murder felt rushed and not needed for closure to the story. It wasn't clear if Ben was involved in Allison's death or Mason's disappearance, so his arrest was rushed too. The revenge part wasn't needed to wrap it up and it detracted from the ending for me. Still a sold 4-4.5 read!

This book was sent to me electronically by Netgalley for review. Thanks to the publisher for the book. Mystery and intrigue…characters who are likable and some not so much. Missing child…secrets…family and friends…love and romance…murder and intrigue…a cannot put down mystery…a whodunit…a talented author…dysfunctional families..parents who hide things…illness…sleep deprivation…vigils…looking for that child…begging to have him returned…this book has all of this and more…the book is fiction but reads like nonfiction. This would make a great movie. My sympathy was with the main character. She had no idea what kind of man she married…she had no clue which person she should trust. Enjoy…

hello hello hello it’s me again! praising my absolute auto-buy author stacy willingham!!!!

after reading her debut novel A FLICKER IN THE DARK last year, I knew she was going to be a new favorite author of mine! that book totally shocked me and kept me 200% invested the entire time - if you know me in person or on social media, you’ll know that it’s become my most recommended book this year 🤪

so, when I tell you I SCREAMED when I got an ARC for her second novel, I’m not lying …

and while A FLICKER IN THE DARK remains my favorite, this one was so unique and different!!! it’s every mother’s worst nightmare, and every person’s biggest true crime obsession!

told from the POV of sleep deprived mother isabelle, she’s determined to get to the bottom of what happened to her son a year ago. I found my brain leaping forward to make my thriller plot twist predictions, and similar to her other novel, I … didn’t guess it 🤯😨

the suspense and blending of past and present storylines kept this story progressing at a beautiful pace - and kept me guessing (and re-guessing and re-guessing) until the very last page!!!

this is definitely going to be one of my favorite thrillers this year (especially after the slump I’ve been in), and I can’t wait for you all to read this one!!!!

a HUGE thank you to minotaur books and netgalley for sending me the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

rating: 4.5 stars
wine pairing: williamette valley pinot noir

Isabelle Drake wakes up one morning to discover her son Mason has been taken from his crib. This is every mothers worst night mare. It has been over a year and the police have no leads.

This story had a lot of potential but fell flat as a psychological thriller. The ending was good and nice twist but the rest was slow and uneventful.

All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham was good but It was quite
introspective which is a tougher read for me to love. The plot was pretty darn good from start to finish but a very small cast of characters with the majority of the story involving only a few. of them. Excellent writing which always helps to complement the story.

Thank you to both Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity in exchange for an honest review.

Book: All The Dangerous Things
Author: Stacy Willingham
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Pub Date: January 10, 2023

I love this author! Flicker In The Dark was a great book and she has done it again. There are lots of twists and turns and it leads you down a path where you think you know what happened and then….bam no you don’t. Absolutely superb writing and I can’t wait for books by Stacy Willingham.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this sneak peak! Publication date is January 10, 2023

Yes! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 for this one! I enjoyed Stacy’s first book, and this one did not disappoint. I was so involved with the characters, especially Isabelle. I am so glad it turned out the way it did. Great resolution! Stacy Willingham will always be one of my go-to authors to read! 🤩

I loved A Flicker in the Dark, and I was very excited when I learned about her new book. Everything I loved about her first book was here. I love how twisty this book is. And how Willingham can make everything seem so obvious but then flip it on its head. This was very well done.

This book has a lot of triggers, especially for me as a mother, but I feel like they were handled well. To give away some of these triggers would be a spoiler, so please use discretion. I really appreciated her thoughts in the author's note at the end.

Read this if you like unreliable narrators, dual timelines, and psychological thrillers.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for letting me read an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

ALL THE DANGEROUS THINGS
BY: STACY WILLINGHAM

"All the Dangerous Things," by a new to me Author, named Stacy Willingham, has written what I would hazard a guess--to be marketed as a psychological thriller. It is a deeply, atmospheric Southern Gothic tale about a mother who is literally hanging on to her sanity by a thread. Sleep deprivation for as long as the main character, named Isabelle is experiencing can do that to you. As this sometimes eerily tale of a mother deeply suffering the disappearance of her toddler Mason. He is her only child whose abduction from his crib is taking a serious toll, on Isabelle his mother, who has not slept for a year. From the morning Isabelle discovers her son is not in his crib, she has reached the one year mark. She hasn't slept for one year, since he had gone mysteriously missing.

Abandoned by her husband Ben, Isabelle travels and talks to live audiences trying to get help from those who attend, in gleaning clues into what happened to Mason. Who could have taken her son during the night and why? As most crime buffs know when a murder or an abduction takes place, unless other evidence points towards a specific suspect, usually the detectives think it is somebody within the family who seems guilty. Both Isabelle and her husband Ben have both been interrogated by the specific detective in charge. They have been brought in to police headquarters and have been questioned separately.

Isabelle has been sleuthing herself by attending these public forums looking for clues or help from the public at large. It is on her flight home after attending one of these talks that she has given, when suddenly the man sitting beside her offers Isabelle his card. At first she balks at the idea and is rude to him.

As I read this mystery I started to ask myself if Isabelle is a reliable narrator? She spends quite a bit of time in this novel in her own head space. After a confrontation with her husband Ben, who urges Isabelle to accept Mason is dead, and to move on with her life. Isabelle cannot believe her ears. Ben after the loss of their only son, has already entered into a new relationship. Isabelle and Ben attend a one year vigil that night to memorialize Mason.

What struck me as the biggest creep factor was how chapters alternated between 1999, and, 2022, with the before chapters being especially chilling. The before chapters have both Isabelle and her little sister, named Margaret living in an old large home with a Marsh behind their home. Isabelle is a sleepwalker. That home was so creepy and, a tragedy strikes.

Stacy Willingham has previously written as her debut called, "A Flicker in the Dark," which was highly acclaimed and what led me to want to read this one. She did in this one pull off writing elegantly a chill factor back story of Isabelle's childhood. Could Isabelle still be sleepwalking in her adult life? Did she harm her son? You will have to read this highly entertaining novel if you are intrigued and are curious about learning what is a big reveal, that I never imagined or could have guessed. This was seemingly a bit longer than most psychological thrillers. I did really like it and would recommend it.

Publication Date: January 10th, 2023

Thank you to Net Galley, Stacy Willingham and St Martin's Press--Minotaur Books for generously providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#AlltheDangerousThings #StacyWillingham #StMartinsPressMinotaurBooks #NetGalley

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, from St. Martin's Press and #NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to preview and review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

What a tantalizing thriller you won't want to put down.

Excellent read. Izzy Drake and her husband wake one morning to find their infant son gone, the nursery window open. A year later, she still hasn’t given up trying to find him, although her husband, who has left her, has. He tries to convince her that their son is dead and that she needs to accept it and move on, like he has.

Memories from Izzy’s childhood keep her off balance and worried that she may have done things that she can’t remember. It’s only after she meets a true crime podcaster that she starts to understand what may have happened.

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read this ARC.

ALL THE DANGEROUS THINGS is the first book I've read by Stacy Willingham and it won't be my last! I loved this twisty psychological thriller! The book is the epitome of a popcorn thriller - it kept me captivated from the beginning to the end. I loved the short chapters and how they held you in suspense. The book is super atmospheric - Willingham has a way with words when describing the scene or setting. The book includes a podcast element but it did not feel tired. I love the direction Willingham went with it. This is a potential spoiler but there is a mental health element and I'm not the biggest fan when it comes to using mental health as a twist. But when reading the Acknowledgements, I'm glad Willingham did her research.

Thanks so much, NetGalley and Minotaur Books, for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you so much to NetGalley + St. Martin’s Press for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

It’s been one year since Isabelle’s son, Mason was taken from his crib in the middle of the night, and the police are no closer to figuring out who took him or where he went - which means Isabelle is no closer to getting a full night’s sleep. Increasingly desperate as the case grows colder and colder, Isabelle agrees to be interviewed by a true-crime podcaster. But between the questions about her past and her insomnia, Isabelle soon can’t trust her own memories - or indeed, herself. But she’s desperate for the truth about her son, no matter the cost.

Between this book and A Flicker in the Dark, I think it’s safe to say that Stacy Willingham is officially an auto-buy author for me. This was another slow burn, deeply-unsettling story, this time of a missing child and a desperate mother’s attempt to find out what happened to him. While I’m not always a fan of the unreliable narrator trope, this book approached it exceptionally well and it really added to the overall tension/unease of the story as opposed to distracting from it. Plus, there were so many great characters! Between Isabelle, her estranged husband, the mysterious podcaster, the aloof detective and others, I felt like my head was on a swivel trying to surmise who was trustworthy and who wasn’t. And while the thriller/mystery world is getting a little inundated with the podcast plot device, I’m going to be honest, I still love it! This is the kind of story that the ending will either make or break, and for me, it was a big thumbs up. A really enjoyable thriller all around, I highly recommend!

📖: All The Dangerous Things
✍🏼: Stacy Willingham
🗓: January 10, 2023
💁🏻‍♀️: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️// 5

🤔💭: First off, thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press/Minotaur Books for providing me this eARC and I am voluntarily leaving my review. So after my book club read Stacy’s debut, “A Flicker in the Dark” and loved it, I was super pumped for this one! All I have to say is OMG! I loved this book sooo much! This thriller totally gripped me right from the beginning where a parents worse nightmare comes true as Isabelle’s son Mason is taken from his crib in the middle of the night while her and her husband were sleeping in the next room. The case quickly went cold as there was not much evidence and very little leads, and Isabelle can’t rest until she finds her son. Her life has completely turned upside down this past year and she finally agrees to interview with a true crime podcaster in hopes to uncover some new clues or witnesses, but is nervous on his interest of her past. His questioning is forcing Isabelle to relive troubling memories from her childhood, making her doubt her recollection of the night Mason disappeared. She is starting to second guess who she can even trust, including herself, but she’s determined to uncover the truth no matter the cost. This book shifts from past to present to give us more perspective into this story and it all tied together very nicely. This was a thriller done right and I would definitely recommend checking this book out when it’s released in January! 👌🏼✅

I found her first book to be enjoyable, but a little predictable so I was unsure of what kind of twists this sophomore thriller would bring. It was a little bit of a slow start for me, and the ending felt a bit rushed, but overall the pacing was good and the characters engaging. I love an unreliable narrator and that is what we got here with two different timelines that were done very well. Overall, I really enjoyed this book, even more than her first book. I am giving this 3.75 stars (which rounds up to 4). Definitely recommend it for a quick, thrilling, and enjoyable read.

I enjoyed this thriller! It tells the story of Isabells whose son Mason is taken out of his crib while she is sleeping. I enjoyed how the story went back and forth to trauma in her childhood and how that connected to this tragedy. It had so many twists and turns that surprised me along the way. A great suspense story that left me satisfied as a reader.

The last quarter of this book is tipsy, turvy, twisting, and fun! There are lots of unexpected revelations and red herrings…I did not guess the ending at all. The beginning of the book felt a bit drawn out and repetitive to me. There are lots of little clues along the way, and it does all come together in the end, which I also remember about A Flicker in the Dark. I appreciated the Author’s Note at the end. If you enjoy psych thrillers, check this one out!

Thank you very much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was a great read! So many twists and turns. I could not put this book down! This kept me guessing! Just when you think you’ve got it figured out, boom! Highly recommend!

Isabelle is a grieving mother who has been struggling with insomnia since her toddler son Mason was kidnapped from his crib exactly a year ago. Just like any mother in her situation would do , she tries all possible things to investigate and try to get her son back.

The author is clearly good at her domestic thrillers and manages to pull off really good twists and turns. I did guess one twist pretty early on but the climax twist was something I did not even consider and it seemed like it was right in front all the time but still I ended up missing it. Most of the book kept me guessing if Something was wrong with Isabelle as her life literally falls apart and her past makes her prime suspect.

There is dual timeline explaining how her past shaped her personality and her family dynamics were a bit abnormal. I liked the eerie vibes about her past and the gothic family mansion.

Overall it is a gripping, fast-paced and a riveting thriller!

Isabelle is a grieving mother- her infant son has been missing for a year, with no leads. Isabelle suffers from severe insomnia after previously being a sleepwalker. She worries that she is to blame for Mason’s disappearance- as well as a tragedy in her past. She agrees to work together with a podcast host to try to solve the case.

This book is full of twists and turns. I thought I’d had it figured out one minute, then I’d be proved wrong in the next chapter. It’s the perfect mystery for fans of unreliable narrators, dual timelines, and Shari LaPena’s The Couple Next Door. The author’s writing is excellent and the pacing keeps you wanting to read more all the way up until the shocking ending. I loved the clues hidden throughout- they make so much sense when it all comes together. I’d recommend this for fans of domestic thrillers! There are a few content warnings surrounding child loss, pregnancy, postpartum, etc so be sure to check into it if needed.

Thank you to netgalley, St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books, and Stacy Willingham for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.