Told in two timelines--in the present and in the past. Present day, Isabelle and Ben's young son Mason disappeared from his crib in the middle of the night one year ago. Their marriage has split up and Ben has moved out. Isabelle is obsessed with figuring out what happened to her son. She isn't sleeping at all and she goes to different true crime conventions in the hope that she can get the word out about her son. The past timeline is when Isabelle was growing up, she was a very deep sleepwalker and one night something happened that Isabelle thinks might have been her fault. Was Mason's disappearance her fault as well? Terrific... Willingham’s strong affinity for characters and her superior plotting elevate All the Dangerous Things. . . seals her place as a talented novelist." – South Florida Sun Sentinel This is where Isabelle finds herself when her son goes missing in the middle of the night. "I was asleep the whole night" she says when the police ask, and it's true-- she was. As this is advertised as a thriller in every blurb and almost every review, I was hoping for something fast and high-octane. But this was too slow and meandering for my mood. Thank God for the audiobook!

I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher Minotaur, through Edelweiss. It was my pleasure to read and review this terrific thriller. All the Dangerous Things" is a story about mental health and motherhood. It's told in two timelines, now and in 1999 from a sleep-deprived mother seeking answers. There are many twists and surprises along the way which I much prefer over the reveals unloaded in the last few chapters. I was completely blindsided by this one and all theories I had were tossed out the window. Loooved when this happens!! Thank you so much to the publisher, Minotaur Books and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review.The portrayal of different female characters was very good. All of them felt genuine, authentic, but flawed and complex. Yet I didn’t find myself rooting for any one of them which is unusual given the subject matter – missing child, working mother, spurned woman etc.. and the reason was because Isabelle wasn’t very likeable – nor were any of the other women for that matter.

My only minor critique of her first book was that I thought she had written one twist TOO many and should have stopped after the first one. The writing style was punchy and flowed well. Perfect along with the short chapters for creating the tension and suspense that kept me hooked to the end despite working out the plot too early. The only sign of an intruder was an open window in Mason's room. With zero other leads, or evidence though, the police had nothing to go on. The case goes cold. I step into the light, walking with purpose toward the host as he signals me onstage. The crowd continues to yell, some of them standing, clapping, the beady little eyes of their iPhones pointed in my direction, taking me in, unblinking. I turn toward the audience, squinting at their silhouettes. My eyes adjust a bit, and I wave, smiling weakly before coming to a halt in the center. Izzy encounters a true-crime podcaster Waylon Spencer who had success solving a case. Although reluctant at first, Izzy gave in for an interview. He seems to be interested in her past and keeps digging but it's something Izzy wants to forget.I’m beginning to hate the use of first person in this genre. All we get is “I think”, “I wonder”, “I imagine”, “I feel”,… after every few lines. It kills the momentum of the plot. I understand that first person povs will always have some inner monologues, but there should be a limit to them, especially in genres that function on pace. Isabelle Drake appears to lead a normal life, but behind that facade, she lives with the guilt that she did something really bad as a child. Her husband Ben already lost his hope and moved on in his life, dating with a new woman who is younger version of Isabella. After some thought, Isabelle agrees and Waylon comes to stay in Savannah, to be near her and make the interview process easier on them both. Thus, it begins.

I wouldn't describe this as being fast-paced, it was more of a steady pace with great tension throughout. Each chapter fills in more and more of the puzzle and it was really hard to put it down. Eventually she agrees to be interviewed by true crime podcaster Waylon, and they’re soon working as a team. Much is to be discovered, not just about herself, but others too, and a it’s gripping read just wanting to know where it will all end. Recommended!

Customer reviews

This is a novel of a mother’s worst nightmare, almost unimaginable!! Isabelle Drake put her toddler son to bed one evening and upon awakening she found that Mason was GONE!! No signs of forced entry but a window was open in the nursery. And, now Isabelle Drake is the keynote speaker at TrueCrimeCon-the largest true crime conference in the world-drawing a global attendance of over 10,000-trying to keep her son’s case alive, as it grows COLD-still with no leads. She hates that the people who attend sit behind their computers and tablets like this is a just a puzzle to be solved-when it’s the reality of her life-but she does this because they offer her the only HOPE she has left. Isabelle Drake tirelessly pounds the true crime circuit desperate to keep her 18 month old son Mason in the public eye after his kidnapping a year ago. It’s gruelling and punishing in more ways that one as Isabelle has had little more than micro-sleep since Masons disappearance. She drives herself forward stoked up with caffeine in a relentless bid to discover the truth. After one keynote speech she meets podcaster Waylon Spencer on the flight home and he offers his services. One thing is for absolute sure, no parents would want to walk a mile in her shoes. This extremely well written novel examines motherhood and Isabelle Drake has never been perfect. In fact, she's felt extreme guilt since she was a child. But so much about her childhood seems to be behind a curtain of things she doesn't want to think about and things she can't quite remember. Instead, she moves forward and is thrilled when she is hired at her dream job. All the Dangerous Things is much more than a crime story about a toddler’s disappearance; it’s an examination of motherhood and the expectations of women—the making of a family and the secrets that break them. Where does All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham take place?