This one was so addictive and once I started, I couldn't stop listening. I think this one was even better than her first book. I did not see the twists coming and I was so addicted to the story. There was also more than one twist which I enjoyed. This story also got to me being a new mother and I couldn't imagine going through what the main character is going through and then not even trusting my own mind. I could feel myself relating to the main character. I really loved the story. I definitely recommend this one and can't wait for her next book!

*NetGalley review*

What a puzzle! I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this one as I tried to figure out what happened to Mason. The "past" chapters were heartbreaking as you could tell how close Isabelle and Margaret were. I truly had no idea where this story was going to end up. If I could critique any of it, it would be that the realization of who did the crime seemed a bit rushed, but still really well written. I was hooked from the beginning and already looking forward to her next book! Thank you NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Stacy Willingham for the chance to listen to this one in exchange for an honest review. Well done!

I was very impressed with Stacy Willingham's first book, A Flicker in the Dark. So I was very excited to get my hands on (and my ears in) her new book, All the Dangerous Things. I'm always drawn to books set in the South, being born and raised (and now retired in) that part of the US. And Willingham does a wonderful job of evoking the feel of the region, it always feels authentic. As to the characters and plot - well done, again. She's created an unreliable narrator in Isabelle - who's insomnia since her son's disappearance has mind and body frayed to the breaking point. Again, she's created a story with some twists and turns that keep the reader guessing until the end. I can't wait to see what she comes up with next. I listened to this on audio and as usual, Karissa Vacker's narration is impeccable.
Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for providing a copy for an unbiased review.

The story centers around Isabelle Drake. Her 18 month old son Mason was kidnapped one year ago and Except for the occasional catnap or small blackout where she loses track of time, she hasn’t slept in a year. With a frustratingly Unreliable narrator this is a Psychological Thriller at its best. Everyone has secrets and everyone is a suspect. Just when you think you know who done it you get more info and have all new set of questions. This one really kept me guessing. Great unexpected twists. Spooky, and chilling and bingable. Multiple timeline but easy to follow. A mystery in the past and another in the present.
Themes motherhood mental health
Isabelle Drake appears to lead a normal life, but behind that facade, she lives with the guilt that she did something really bad as a child.
Isabelle has been giving speeches to packed audiences, pleading with attendees to come forward with any information, no matter how small. From the list of people attending her speeches she tortures herself going through them, seeing if any of them are known criminals, desperately trying to find a link.
Husband Ben is split from her because she wouldn’t let go ..

Her life is consumed by finding her son, Mason. She hasn’t slept; she speaks at public events, telling her story, attempting to find learn who took her child. Her husband, Ben, who has moved out, yet they aren’t divorced, begs her to stop making a spectacle of herself.

I really enjoy this narrator! Her pacing is perfect, she enunciates without it being awkward, her voices are distinctive, and she is able to perfectly convey the necessary tension of the thriller with her voice. I really enjoyed listening to this thriller.

As for the book itself, I found myself picking it back up shortly after putting it down (a great sign) and it kept me guessing. I am a little over the unreliable narrator trope and the true crime podcast element is getting a little old too, but these minor annoyances didn’t hinder my overall enjoyment. An intriguing story with an excellent narrator!

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advance listen. All opinions in this review are my own.

*4 stars* Thank you Netgalley for the audio arc. Stacy Willingham does it again. I really enjoyed the pacing and the plot of this book. Atmosphere was great. I will continue to pick up her books.

Once again, Stacy Willingham as both met and completely exceeded my expectations of a thriller novel. The way the pacing eased us into what we thought was a typical domestic thriller, but quickly took a turn and dove into something much deeper was phenomenal. This is the ideal thriller for anyone who is new to the genre, or seasoned. It will keep you on the edge of your seat and up until the early hours of the morning.

Wow. Let me just start out with wow.

This was only the second book I have read by Stacy Willingham (also it's only the second book she's written or else I would have read more) and she has solidified herself as an autobuy author.

A gripping story of a mother looking for answers to her troubled past and the disappearance of her son. I love a good duel timeline and this does it very well! Adding in the past really helped add to the unreliable nature of the narrator. An unreliable narrator isn't something that is normally my favorite, but I thought it was done exceptionally well here!

10/10 highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a whirlwind. The audiobook for this thriller was fantastic. Much love for this author and her brilliant mind.

✨BOOK REVIEW✨

All The Dangerous Things
By Stacy Willingham (@stacyvwillingham)
Release Date: 1/10/2023
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

If I could give this book 10 stars, I would. It started off exciting right from the beginning! I listened to this on my drive to and from school, and found myself driving around aimlessly so often because I didn’t want to stop listening. But I can’t focus enough to listen anywhere other than in my car. 🙃 I finished this in less than a week of driving (my commute is 15 minutes soooo yeah I drove for no reason a lot). Thank you 2X speed!

A huge thank you to @netgalley @minotaur_books @macmillan.audio and @stacyvwillingham for this audio ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Isabelle Drake has been living a nightmare for the last year since her son Mason went missing, a nightmare made all the worse because her ability to sleep went away when her son did too. Isabelle isn’t a stranger to tragedy, or sleeping issues. When she was a young girl Isabelle sleptwalked, sometimes scaring her little sister Margaret, a sister that tragically died. Determined to discover what happened to her son in the hopes that she is still alive, Isabelle gives talks to keep his case out there while conducting her own investigation. While her husband Ben seems to have given up hope, Isabelle does seem to find an ally in Waylon, a true-crime podcaster who seems rather focused on helping her, but to what end?

Willingham uses a duel timeline which I really liked; the action jumps between Isabelle’s present and past, revealing tidbits of information at just the right time to create suspense and suspicion. In some ways it was hard to fully enjoy All the Dangerous Things because I did not really like Isabelle. I didn’t like how her relationship with Ben began, and that, along with some other character traits, may have affected how I felt about the novel overall. I did like Waylon, and wanting to know how things would work out for him is what kept me reading.

The audiobook was okay. The pace was way too slow for my tastes–I sped it up to 1.5 times–so I didn’t feel any anticipation or wonder at the default speed. I also wasn’t a fan of the male voices, but I did appreciate the feelings and emotions that Vacker brought to the characters through her inflections and changes of pace.

OMG! This book was so good. I loved Isabelle. She was a very complex character, and she did have her flaws. But I loved her determination on finding out what happened to her son, no matter where it took her. The more backstory we learned of her, the more I loved her. I had so much sympathy for her. I also started having my doubts about her as well. In fact I trusted no one in this book. There were so many twists and turns that I was all over the place. I loved how Willingham kept me on my toes, and also had me shedding a tear or two a few times while reading.

I wish I could say more, but anything I say will spoil the book. But if you loved A Flicker in the Dark or are looking for a thriller full of twists and turns that will keep you guessing, then I highly recommend All The Dangerous Things.

I loved the narration of this book!

In All the Dangerous Things, Isabelle, a year ago, found her son, Mason missing from his nursery with no clues as to who may have abducted him. A year later, still, no sign of Mason, Isabelle, desperate, tries everything she can to find the abductor. Her desperation to find her son leads her to speak with a crime podcaster.

I loved that this book was told solely from the POV of Isabelle. It was an interesting perspective as sometimes I felt I couldn’t even believe her and felt her to be unreliable. The “who dun it” was unexpected, and the reveal was quite surprising.

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!

I also had the pleasure of listening to the audio of this novel, which was extremely well done. The narration was fitting and clear, which allowed for the story to come to life.

After listening to and loving Stacy Willingham's debut novel, A Flicker in the Dark, I couldn't wait to read All the Dangerous Things. In this story we meet Isabelle Drake. A year ago, her 18 month old son, Mason was taken from his crib in the middle of night, without a trace. Isabelle hasn't given up trying to find out who took Mason and hoping that he is still alive. She hasn't been able to sleep through the night since it happened. After several months, her husband Ben moved out, wanting to move on and knowing that he wouldn't be able to do that living with Isabelle. It is now the anniversary of the disappearance, and Ben tells her that he has begun dating again. Isabelle is devastated and all that does is get her to up her search for Mason. She meets a true-crime podcaster on a flight home from a presentation and she consents to working with him. Will this finally shake something loose so they can figure out what happened and find the person responsible?

This was another enjoyable and entertaining book by Stacy Willingham, but not as much of a thriller as it was a mystery or domestic drama. My heart broke for Isabelle. I have no idea what I would do in her place, and am glad I never was in that situation. As more information came to light, I thought I had it all figured out, but I was wrong, oh so wrong. The story is told from Isabelle's POV and was told in two timelines, the present and the past when she and Ben first meet and get together. As her story unfolded, my jaw dropped more than once. This was another well written and plotted story that kept me listening from start to finish with few breaks. There were some points that got a bit slow and I wasn't sure why they were included, but as I raced through the last part of the book, it all became clear. Another one recommended to lovers of mystery and domestic thrillers/drama. Karissa Vacker does another wonderful job with this book. I was impressed with her performance and enjoyed the audiobook very much.

This was pretty good. Great thriller. I loved the author’s debut novel: “A flicker in the dark” but her newest book exceed my whole expectations and I loved this one even more than her first work!

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.

Great narrator for this book! Any small, affluent town mystery that weaves in all sorts of interesting characters. Very interesting ending... I look forward to the next one by Stacy! This one really kept me guessing!

I was absolutely obsessed with this book! I love Stacy Willingham. I love that this book touched on mental health and brought up some great topics. I like that there are two storylines/timelines, although it is hard to keep track sometimes on audio. The story was fast-paced with unreliable narrators. This one was great!

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for my audio copy of All The Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham in exchange for my honest review.

A Flicker in the Dark was one of my favorite thrillers that I read last year, so even though I have a hard time reading books involving missing/kidnapped children, I knew I wanted read All the Dangerous Things. I've always had a hard time reading books with missing children, it can really ramp up my anxiety. I am glad I gave this one a change though.

The story really hooked me from the beginning and I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. I was drawn in by the struggles of motherhood, mental health, and the desperation and determination of the main character, Isabella Drake. The story was very well written and had me second and third guessing the ending the whole time, and was shocked by how it actually unfolded.

The book was narrated by Karissa Vacker, who is one of my favorite people to listen too (especially for thrillers)! She is just phenomenal at bringing the raw emotion to the characters and wrapping you up in the story so quickly. The book was just under 10 hours long, but I was able to easily speed it up by 2x.