All the Dangerous Things, by Stacy Willingham, is a highly entertaining, fast-paced, chilling thriller. Isabelle Drake has carried guilt with her for years over her younger sister’s death, thinking her sleep-walking could have somehow been the cause. It’s a dark, unsolved mystery, that has created fractures in her relationship with her parents and a part of her past she tries not to think about. When her son is taken from his crib one night, Isabelle is wracked with grief, extreme insomnia, and haunted by who the culprit might be.

On this exploration into a mother’s innate sense of guilt, grief, and of not being enough, Stacy Willingham creates an emotional thriller that also delves into deeper issues of motherhood. While not a fan of not bestowing responsibility on women who cheat, I did appreciate the other messages and found them sensitively expressed and emotionally impactful.

All the Dangerous Things is a twisty, dark thriller that is gripping and evocative. The narrator, Karissa Vacker, is one of my favorites and she truly brings the story is life and makes it all the more suspenseful and poignant.

This audiobook was amazing! I could not stop listening and even found myself pausing to just reflect on what I heard. I cannot recommend this one enough!!! 5/5 ⭐️

This book was great! Had me at the edge of my seat the whole time, I think the audio was on point with the suspense. What a great way to start off the year

I could not get to the end of this book fast enough. I alternated between the audio version and electronic version so that I would not have to stop the story. Willingham did a great job developing Isabelle’s character and backstory to help the reader sympathize with her. This was one of the best books I’ve read in a while!
One year ago, Isabelle’s life was forever changed as her son, Mason, was taken in the middle of the night from his crib. Isabelle is determined to find out what happened to him, even after others have given up hope. She goes to around the country telling his story and hoping that someone will have information. She meets a true-crime podcaster who wants to interview her. She is skeptical at first but later agrees. As Isabelle continues with the interviews, she begins to doubt people in her life and even herself.

A woman lost her son a year ago. He was taken from their home sometime in the night. Her husband left her and is with a new woman who looks like her and also looks like his previous wife, who is now deceased. Two-thirds into the book, it’s revealed that the police and mostly everyone else suspects that the kidnapper was someone inside the home. The uncertainty of whether or not the main character can be trusted or if she’s unreliable makes it more interesting and I thoroughly enjoyed the ending, 4 stars!

This thriller had me on the edge of my seat. I did not guess how this was going to play out. I haven't read her other book Flicker in The Dark yet…so now I definitely gotta do that!! The MC in this one is Isabelle Drake. Her son has been missing for a year, taken from his room in the middle of the night. There are no leads and no clues. She hasn't slept for that year other than small bouts and catnaps. All she wants to do is find out what happened to her son. She agrees to work with a podcaster who says he wants to help, but now she's wonder what his objective really is. She has a troubled past, and she's starting to think she can't even trust herself. Who CAN she trust??


Omg SO GOOD!! Flew through it, couldn't put it down. You will wonder about every character in this book. So we'll written and unpredictable!! I can't wait to read more by this author.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the gifted copy. Out January 10.

One year ago, Isabelle’s life changed forever when her infant son, Mason, went missing from his crib in the middle of the night. The stress and fear of what happened has caused her to not be able to sleep. Agreeing to be interviewed by a true crime podcaster, she starts to question her own memories of the night and if she was somehow involved in the disappearance.

Told in two timelines, All the Dangerous Things is a psychological thriller that keeps readers engaged with the fast pacing. I thought this novel was significantly better than A Flicker in the Dark and can’t wait to see what she writes next.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Karissa Vacker. I listened at a 1.5x speed which is my usual speed and the pace was good. I enjoyed the emotion she brought to the characters and found the different voices to be clear and distinguishable. I highly enjoyed the listening experience of the audiobook.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced listening copy in exchange for an honest review!

All the Dangerous Things
A Novel
by Stacy Willingham
Narrated by Karissa Vacker

Rating: 4.5/5.0 Stars

Oh my goodness, every parent's worst nightmare. Isabelle's 18-month-old son Mason was taken from his crib, and a year later, she still hasn't found him. Now she's going to be featured on a true crime podcast, and memories from that night aren't what they seemed. I really enjoyed this story and had absolutely no idea how it was going to end, which is great. Suspense novels that make the "Whodunnit" question easy just disappoint. I definitely recommend getting on this wild ride of a book. Ms. Willingham developed the characters well and made me feel. Whether is was loving a character or really disliking them, she was great with her descriptions and writing. Ms. Vacker once again did not disappoint with her narration either.

Thanks #NetGalley #MacmillanAudio and the author, for the chance to listen to and review this ARC!

DNF @ 43%

I have unfortunately found that this author is just not for me. I was not a big fan of A Flicker in the Dark and am not crazy about this one either. Something about the way she handles dual timelines frustrates me and removes me from my immersion. I also find the excess of genre cliches a bit unfortunate.

Looking over the reviews for this I feel like the Black Sheep of this one. Although I liked her debut, I didn't like this one very much. I liked the concept, but not the execution. And just like in the first one, i was able to guess what happened. And I'm talking as soon as they popped up. And that was just disappointing.

Ok, so first things first. I didn't enjoy the execution because I was bored in the middle. It just seemed like it was the same thing happening over and over. She was looking at footage, she was talking to the one guy, she was finding a clue that was shocking and helped move the case along. It was just the same thing over and over. What saved this for me was the unexpected thing at the end. I was not expecting to get the one person back, so when we did and found out what actually happened, that made me happy. I was glad to have something unexpected pop up.

Then comes the ending to the mystery. I saw the one person and who they were from a mile away. I saw that coming. But then rest of it, I also saw that coming. I think if I hadn't read her previous release I wouldn't have thought about it, but seeing as she was predictable before, I knew as soon as they popped up what was happening. And sure enough it was what happened. This is the one that made me mad tho. Because I thought she would have learned from the first time. (I wasn't alone when I guessed who it was the first time.)

BUT I still enjoyed this because I do actually like the author's voice. I won't say writing style since I guessed the person in both her stories, but I was still entertained? Like I didn't DNF even though I was quite certain who the person was as soon as I saw them. So I don't really know what that says about me or the way she writes, but for whatever reason I still liked it.

I also still enjoyed the audio of this. I do think if I was reading this with my eyeballs I would have skipped to the end to see whodunit and then I would have been done. But since I was listening to this, I was still interested in Vacker's narration. This isn't the first time I've listened to Vacker's narration, but I don't think I realized how much I liked their narration style until I finished this one. Because I've actually listened to a number of books they've done. And they've did a bang up job every time!

I still don't know how I feel about Willingham's writing, but I do know if there's another, I'm still going to read it. Especially if Vacker is back for a third time. They really pair well together!

4.5 stars!

I absolutely loved the author’s debut, A Flicker in the Dark, and was so excited to read ALL THE DANGEROUS THINGS. It was so compelling, and I both read and listened as an audiobook, and completely immersed myself in the story.

*many thanks to Minotaur, Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the gifted copy for review

This was such a good thriller we have Emily who has lost her son Mason a year ago and sense than she has not been able to sleep and her mind is set on finding out what happened to Mason, she goes over every little detail and goes and does speeches to see who shows up and uses that as a list as suspects. On the flight home from this she meets Waylon who has a podcast and he ask her if she would like to do it at first she says no but after the year of nothing and the cops giving up and treating her like she was crazy she finally agrees. As this goes on we have dual time lines form when she was growing up and she use to sleep walk as a kid with her sister, something she doesn’t want to remember something she has blamed her self for years. And we learn about Emily years before she had Mason. As this goes on the more Emily starts to doubt her self and really starts to believe that she might have done something to her son like she thought she did when she was a kid. But to find out what happened now she has to find out what happened back than and it really takes you on a wild ride! The connections and the twist and turns in this thriller are so good! I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was so good! This really shines a light on how bad PPD can be and how quick people are to the blame the mother. This is out now!

3.5 stars rounded up.

Initially, I couldn’t get into this, but it turned around and captured my interest.

Things I loved about this book:

- The plot & twists - The story was intriguing, and I didn’t see the twists coming
- The ending - I liked how it all came together in the end
- The narration - I was lucky to have both the eBook and audiobook. I found myself gravitating towards the audio as the narrator was excellent.
- Themes of family, grief, and hope
- The cover!

Things I didn’t enjoy as much:
- The writing style and pacing - at times, this felt like an overly wordy, slow burn.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to those who enjoy psychological thrillers and mystery.

I look forward to reading what Stacy Willingham writes next.

Don't miss this book if you like a good twisty mystery! All the Dangerous Things is told through the eyes of Isabelle, a mother whose toddler son was taken from her during the night. The narration flips between two timelines - the present and Isabelle's childhood.

This book definitely has a true crime vibe to it; the book starts with Isabelle presenting the key note at a true crime conference, and she's dedicated her dining room to finding suspects in her son's case.

What's interesting about Isabelle is that ever since her son was taken, she can't sleep - making the reader wonder is she a reliable narrator, or is her judgement affected due to sleep deprivation?

I listened to the audiobook, and it was fantastic. I always enjoy books narrated by Karissa Vacker, and this was no exception. She does a great job bringing Isabelle and this page-turning mystery to life.

ARC AUDIOBOOK REVIEW

All the Dangerous Things
by Stacy Willingham
Thriller/Suspense
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Thank you @netgalley @macmillan.audio and @minotaur_books for this digital ARC of All the Dangerous Things, from the same author of NY Times Bestseller, A Flicker in the Dark.

A year ago, Isabelle's son, Mason, was kidnapped from his crib while her and her husband were sound asleep in the room next door. Isabelle has had insomia ever since trying to figure out what happened to her son.

Unwilling to let her son's case go cold, Isabelle agrees to be interviewed by a true-crime podcast. As more questions are asked, uncomfortable memories are brought to light. Isabelle confronts her own childhood, her failed marriage, and begins to question her recollection of the events on the night of Mason's disappearance.

This book is a slow-burn. The further you read, the more intense the story becomes. The book is told from dual POV, which to me, deepened the mystery. I thought the audiobook narrator did a fantastic job telling the story and bringing the characters to life. The only thing I would’ve changed is the pacing.

Expected publish date: 1/10/2023

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an audio arc in exchange for an honest review.

One year ago to the date, Isabelle Drake began living her worst nightmare, her baby son disappeared from his crib and has not been seen from since. There are no clues, her husband has left her and the police have stopped looking for new clues. That's because they suspect it could have been Isabelle who took the baby, after all she has been involved in a mysterious death before. In her desperation she has started doing public appearances at true crime conventions where she meets podcaster, Waylon Spencer and agrees to an interview. Waylon is motivated to help her but knows more than he lets on including her sordid past. Can she find her missing baby or is she the true cause of her worst nightmare?

I really enjoyed this suspense because it kept unraveling new twists without being too obvious. Isabelle is a flawed but sympathetic character, she is culpable for many of her circumstances but we, like her, never know if she's victim or perpetrator. The story is told from Isabelle's perspectives with flashbacks of her younger years with her sister. This is the second novel I have read from Willingham and she does another spectacular job creating a deep story with mystery and surprises. I highly recommend picking up this novel.

I had the audio version read by one of my favorite narrators, Karissa Vacker. She is enjoyable to listen to with depth to her performance. Highly recommend her work as well.

All the Dangerous Things
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Thriller
Format: Kindle eBook and Audiobook
Date Published: 1/10/23
Author: Stacy Willingham
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio
Narrator: Karissa Vacker
GR: 4.24

TW ⚠️: Child Kidnapping/Missing and Mental Health Issues

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

My Thoughts: I fell back in love with books with Willingham’s debut novel, Flicker, and she quickly became one of my favorite thriller writers. This novel was NO different, maybe even better than Flicker. The story opens up at a conference with our MC, Isabelle, telling her story once again, her son, Mason, was taken from his crib in the middle of the night. She has also been diagnosed as a sleepwalker early on and still suffers with this condition. Secrets and betrayal run deep throughout this novel. This novel will not be for everybody, especially people who have triggers with children missing, I strongly urge you to consider the trigger warning. The narrator is absolutely amazing, has great voice structure with the varying characters, and really brings Isabelle to life through the story unfolding.

The atmosphere was built as moody and intense, and the author builds good tension throughout the story. The descriptions was top notch and pulls you into the storyline. The story is narrated in a dual timeline, past and present tense, by our MC, Isabelle, through her POV. The past timeline was from 1999 when she was younger, when something extremely tragic happened in her household. The characters were well fleshed out, well developed, had depth, were mysterious, and brilliantly created. The characters were built up well, the plot is delivered in many twists, and the ending was absolutely amazing. The author’s writing style was complex, multifaceted, suspenseful, twisty, and just brilliant. Some of the twists were predictable but there were a few that I did not see coming, which I love when an author can surprise me.

I had the pleasure of having the ebook and audiobook. I preferred the audiobook, the narrator just brought this story to life and I could not stop listening once I started. If you enjoyed the first novel, you will definitely enjoy this one, as long as you can get pass the warning. I cannot recommend this book enough. One of the top five star reads this year for me and I have a feeling it will remain in my top ten. This novel was gripping, clever, captivating, and kept me on the edge of my seat, not wanting to put down, cover to cover. Go buy this book, borrow from your library, or borrow from a friend, whatever you need to do to get this book in your hands!

👩‍👦A L C • R E V I E W 👩‍👦
•
Title: All The Dangerous Things
Author: Stacy Willingham
Rating: 5/5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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"And I'm not just talking about mom guilt that secret society reserved for mothers that batters one single notion over and over again, that no matter how hard we try were doing it all wrong. That every little thing is our fault. That we are unfit, unworthy. That our shortcomings are the cause of every scream and tear and trembling lip. But this is more than that."
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Stacy Willingham does it again with an absolute smashing and enticing thriller. She is easily becoming an auto buy author for me.
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I loved that this thriller was about memory, about questioning oneself, about how far we will go for those we love. The unreliable narrator trope was spot on in this one. Izzy can't be trusted because of a past of sleep walking where an incident occurred? Now her son is missing?! I was hooked. I found myself glued to my air pods unable to put the audio down because I needed to know more, I needed to know what was happening. This definitely wasn't the easiest read for me, especially with being a new mom, but the story was just so gripping I needed to know how this one ended. But.... I loved that we learned about Izzy's past all while following along with Izzy's present. It was all just written so perfectly.
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And those twists, seriously, TWISTS, there were so many!! WHOA, seriously I was left shocked as hell and felt like every single one of them was placed at the ideal moment in the story to leave us with our jaws on the ground. Phenomenal story from start to finish.
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I listened to this one, and it was narrated by Karissa Vacker and it was done great. I was instantly drawn into the story, unable to put it down!!
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This one was released on January 10th and I have seen such rave reviews and let me tell you guys - they hype is most definitely real!! Go pick this one up and read it or listen to it, either way you will not be disappointed!! Huge thank you to @netgalley and @stacywillingham and @macmillinaudio for the ALC in exchange for my honest review. 
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#fivestarbookreview #netgalley #ALC #advancedlistenerscopy #memory #thriller #twistsgalore #pastcatchingupwiththepresent #unreliablenarrator #podcasts #thehypeisreal #allthedangerousthings #stacywillingham #macmillinaudio

I absolutely love the audio of this book. This was such an amazing thrill of a ride book to read and listen to. I loved it so much with the audio I bought myself the actual physical copy of the book. The narrator made the story come to life. Highly recommend

⭐️⭐️.5

𝘼 𝙩𝙤𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙜𝙧𝙞𝙥𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙖 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖 𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙩.

📍 Read if you like:
• Unreliable Narrators
• Dual Timelines
• Unexpected Twists
• Motherhood

Honestly, I should’ve known I wasn’t going to enjoy this slow-paced thriller. While I did “like” A Flicker in the Dark last year, I feel like I struggled so much with the pacing and how predictable it was.

I wanted to enjoy this one as so many people have loved it, but it just didn’t work for me. The premise was so interesting, but the pacing was so difficult to get into. I even tried the audiobook and still struggled.

The whole time I wanted to skim through and just get to the twists. There was so much going on that I felt was super unnecessary and I wished the story got to the twists quicker.

Isabella’s character was a bit interesting. I obviously felt horrible for her, but I didn’t really connect with her. I was rooting for her to find her son though.

I wish there was more to the story. The one unreliable narrator just didn’t work for me. I also struggled with the dual timelines, which usually is something I love.

Also, that ending was a bit predictable. I know many others found it to be super shocking and twisty, but to me, it didn’t feel like that.

I do realize this is more of a “me” thing as it has glowing reviews on Goodreads, so please don’t come at me… but the book just didn’t work for me unfortunately. Ultimately, I do think others will love this so please take my review with a grain of salt.