Book Review - All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham

Title: All the Dangerous Things
Author: Stacy Willingham
Genre: Thriller/ Mystery
Published: 2023
 
Description: One year ago, Isabelle Drake’s life changed forever: her son Mason was take out of his crib in the middle of the night while she and her husband were asleep in the next room. With little evidence and few leads for the police to chase, the case quickly went cold. However, Isabelle cannot rest until mason is returned to her, literally. Except for the occasional nap or small blackout where she loses track of time, she hasn’t slept in a year.
 
Isabelle’s entire existence now revolves around finding him, but she knows she can’t go on this way forever. In hopes of jarring loose a new witness or buried clue, she agrees to be interviewed by a true-crime podcaster – but his interest in Isabelle’s past makes her nervous. His incessant questioning paired with her severe insomnia has brought up uncomfortable memories from her own childhood, making Isabelle start to doubt her recollection of the night of mason’s disappearance, as well as second-guess who she can trust.. including herself. But she is determined to figure out the truth no matter where it leads.
 
Review: After her very successful debut novel “A Flicker in the Dark”, author Stacy Willingham is back with “All the Dangerous Things”. A compelling mystery that focuses on the nightmare of a mother and the dangerous secrets she discovers while looking for the truth. “A Flicker in the Dark” was a good book, I enjoyed it, but it wasn’t anything spectacular. The same goes for “All the Dangerous Things” even though I liked it a little bit more.
 
We meet Isabelle, a mother whose son Mason was taken from his crib in the middle of the night, now one year ago. They never found him or anything that would lead to a suspect. But Isabelle never managed to let go. When she agrees to be interviewed for a true-crime podcast, Isabelle discovers dark secrets that could lead her to the truth. And she doesn’t know who she can and cannot trust, including herself.
 
We follow the story from Isabelle’s perspective. Because she is mentally unstable due to the lack of sleep and her past as a sleepwalker, she is an unreliable narrator. I always love that trope. We also jump back in time a couple of times, where we learn about her life as a child and how she met her husband Ben, whom she is now separated from.
 
It takes some time to get into the book, it’s not a very fast paced story. But eventually you really become invested and there are some good twists and turns. There was one that I didn’t particularly liked, but overall the twist were surprising and strong.
 
If you have liked or loved Stacy Willingham’s first book, you will also enjoy “All the Dangerous Things”. A very solid thriller, with strong character building and some nice twists.
 
Rating: 3,5/ 5