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A review by savvyrosereads
All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Out January 10, 2023 [Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review!]
Rating: 5/5 stars
Isabelle Drake hasn’t slept in a year—since the day her eighteen-month-old son Mason disappeared from his crib in the middle of the night. When a true crime podcaster approaches Isabelle, she may finally have a way to move the investigation down a new path…but that path may just lead to a dark past better left forgotten.
Stacy Willingham’s debut, A Flicker in the Dark, was one of my favorite thrillers of 2021 (I read it in December before it released in January 2022) and All the Dangerous Things just became one of my favorite thrillers of 2022. From start to finish, this book is smart, sharp, engaging, and insightful. It’s also packed full of twists and reveals (and I only figured out one of them ahead of time!), and the southern city setting and childhood flashbacks add a fun Gothic layer that really pulled me in.
As a single POV book told mostly in a single primary timeline (with flashbacks), All the Dangerous Things is also a character study examining the mind of a compelling, sometimes infuriating, but always fascinating main character. Through this lens, the book challenges us with questions and commentary about motherhood and womanhood that complement and add to the overall plot and make the novel all the more gripping. I love a book that can be equal parts entertaining and thought-provoking, and this one is the ideal “smart thriller.” I’m so excited for everyone to get to experience it!
Recommended to anyone, but especially if you like: first person single POV; reflections on motherhood; southern neo-Gothic vibes.
CW: Kidnapping; child death; miscarriage; loss of loved one; grief; infidelity; suicide.
Rating: 5/5 stars
Isabelle Drake hasn’t slept in a year—since the day her eighteen-month-old son Mason disappeared from his crib in the middle of the night. When a true crime podcaster approaches Isabelle, she may finally have a way to move the investigation down a new path…but that path may just lead to a dark past better left forgotten.
Stacy Willingham’s debut, A Flicker in the Dark, was one of my favorite thrillers of 2021 (I read it in December before it released in January 2022) and All the Dangerous Things just became one of my favorite thrillers of 2022. From start to finish, this book is smart, sharp, engaging, and insightful. It’s also packed full of twists and reveals (and I only figured out one of them ahead of time!), and the southern city setting and childhood flashbacks add a fun Gothic layer that really pulled me in.
As a single POV book told mostly in a single primary timeline (with flashbacks), All the Dangerous Things is also a character study examining the mind of a compelling, sometimes infuriating, but always fascinating main character. Through this lens, the book challenges us with questions and commentary about motherhood and womanhood that complement and add to the overall plot and make the novel all the more gripping. I love a book that can be equal parts entertaining and thought-provoking, and this one is the ideal “smart thriller.” I’m so excited for everyone to get to experience it!
Recommended to anyone, but especially if you like: first person single POV; reflections on motherhood; southern neo-Gothic vibes.
CW: Kidnapping; child death; miscarriage; loss of loved one; grief; infidelity; suicide.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Miscarriage, Self harm, and Suicide
Minor: Infertility