Reviews with content warning for Suicide attempt - All the Dangerous Things

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘰, 𝘯𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘺, 𝘸𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘶𝘭𝘵; 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘵, 𝘶𝘯𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘱.

𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢 𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬:
Isabelle Drake's toddler son Mason was abducted a year ago while the family slept. With the case cold, Isabelle, plagued by insomnia, becomes obsessed with finding him. She agrees to a true-crime podcast interview, hoping for new leads. However, the podcaster's probing questions about her past, combined with her sleep deprivation, cause Isabelle to question her memories of the night Mason disappeared and even her own trustworthiness. Despite this, she remains determined to uncover the truth about her son's fate.
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My first Stacy Willingham book and it was an utterly gripping psychological thriller! Stacy's portrayal of maternal anguish and guilt resonated powerfully with me. I felt every ounce of Isabelle's desperation and guilt as she searches for her missing son. I also found myself getting sad and angry for her (especially with her encounters with the detective!). The story expertly blends past and present, creating an unreliable narrator that had me constantly second-guessing.

If you do decide to read this and I hope you do, please please don't skip the Author's Note at the end. Stacy's reasons for writing this book and her thoughts on motherhood hit so close to home.

𝙒𝙚 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩'𝙨 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙨𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙮.

I highly recommend the audiobook. Karissa Vacker narrates this brilliantly, intensifying Isabelle's heart-wrenching journey. With unexpected twists, complex characters, and a deep dive into the psyche of a sleep-deprived, traumatized mother, this book is impossible to put down. A must-read for thriller fans, especially those who appreciate intricate character studies and exploring the depths of maternal instinct.

What to expect:
🖤 unreliable narrator
🩶 missing child
🤍 true crime podcast
🖤 past and present timelines

*please check TWs before reading

Content Warnings

chocolateturtle's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Content Warnings

cursed_sapphire's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This is the first thriller I've read in a while where I've come out remembering I still like thrillers.

I won't say this is the most groundbreaking thriller with the most unique plot, most amazing characters, or the most fascinating twists. But I will say this book is thriller done right.

It probably helped that the main character's sleep deprivation and clearly-defined childhood traumas helped explain away some of the conclusion-jumping and bad decisions that I've come to learn are synonymous with modern thrillers. Where in most books I find that kind of thing infuriating and poorly-handled, here it made perfect sense for our protagonist, who hasn't had a full night's rest in a year.

This book also handled it's themes better than most thrillers I've read. While all the characters are hiding secrets, I didn't leave the novel despising everyone like I have with some other thrillers. This book also refreshingly had a well-written, non-horrible male character

who kept his secret because he wanted to seek justice for his sister's murder. There was no plot twist where it turned out he was leading the main character on or was secretly evil in his past or was complicit in the kidnapping of the protagonist's child, which I have found so exhausting from other thrillers

. The exploration of motherhood, trauma, masculine vs. feminine gender roles, and sleep deprivation were all well handled and complex without being confusing, a tight-rope hard to balance.

So if you're looking for a solid thriller read, even if you're as tired as mediocre ones as I am, I still say give this one a try. It's not a perfect novel-the middle drags a bit and there are some characters that aren't as well defined as others, among a few other nitpicks- but it's overall a compelling, entertaining time.

Content Warnings