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tierraskye's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
erinreadstoomuch's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Child death, Mental illness, Kidnapping, and Stalking
throwback682's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I think the author did a really good job of keeping you guessing and adding plenty of twists without it being heavy handed or corny. The narrator is both deeply sympathetic and deeply unsympathetic at the same time somehow. This was one I couldn’t put down.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Sexism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Infertility, Sexual content, and Stalking
It’s hard to give TW without spoiling but many of the major trigger warnings surround motherhood in some waybookssupremacy8920's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Minor: Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug use, Infertility, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
"All the Dangerous Things" follows a woman named Isabelle. One year ago, Isabelle's life was forever changed when she woke up and realized her toddler son, Mason, was taken from his nursery in the middle of the night. Unfortunately, there was not very much evidence to go on, and the case went cold, but Isabelle will not stop searching until Mason is home safe and sound.
I really enjoyed the complexities of Isabelle's character and not only learning the mystery of what happened to Mason, but what happened to Isabelle's sister when they were young. There was an incident when Isabelle was just a child and asleep, and she has lived with that guilt for her entire life. Because of this, she does not trust herself to sleep, and she cannot one hundred percent claim her innocence for what happened to Mason. This grief, guilt, and twist made the story with Mason all the more interesting.
I hated Isabelle's husband. He was such a grimy lowlife who clearly was constantly chasing the next woman to give him the attention his fragile ego needed to sustain his abysmal existence. I understand and empathize that losing a child is difficult on a marriage, but he was clearly cheating on Isabelle for a while and left her so soon after Mason's disappearance. His plotline was important for the story, but I hated reading scenes with him.
I thought the ultimate mystery was interesting, but not groundbreaking. I was invested in the story, but more from afar. I did enjoy this idea of a mystery centered around how pure and all-encompassing a mother's love can be.
I will definitely pick up more from Stacy Willingham in the future.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Pregnancy
tarynlannister's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This reminded me of The Girl on the Train in construction and some themes, so if you enjoyed that I think you will enjoy this.
EDIT: (mild thematic spoilers)
True crime content is mostly consumed by women, and many women are at least partially motivated by a sense that learning about the tragedies of other women can make them safer, that they might be able to avoid a mistake that cost others their lives. The book comes so close to that idea, talking about "the violence" that can suddenly come into anyone's life without warning. I just wish if Willingham had wanted to touch on the complexity of true crime media consumption, she could have gone even just a little deeper than seeming to paint all consumers as ghouls feeding on others' pain.
Graphic: Kidnapping and Gaslighting
Moderate: Child death, Death, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Alcohol
Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Miscarriage, Violence, Blood, Stalking, and Pregnancy
Overall, fairly mild violence for a mystery novel involving or referring to a few deaths. There is some discussion of a mother attempting murder-suicide with her child during a case of postpartum mental illness, and (late book spoilers, but should read if that theme would bother you)