All the Dangerous Things
Ratings135
Average rating3.8
This was twisty and mind-bending pulling me in so many different directions but left me with a major headache at the end.
I struggled with connecting to Isabelle. She came across as flat and emotionless. But, i tried to give her the benefit of the doubt and thought that this woman hasn't had a decent nights sleep in over a year so that tracks with her being void and blank.
Still though her decision making skills and thought process was weak and didn't always make sense. It was like she was incapable of reading a room and utilizing context clues to navigate situations.
And I completely understand this is a tactic utilized when setting up a character as an unreliable narrator but it felt forced. I get that the insomnia and sleepwalking make her questionable but show me more about how she's untrustworthy in a high stakes way that makes sense.
Maybe I don't like the unreliable narrator trope.
I enjoyed this book. My only gripe with it was that the book didn’t keep that guessing feeling throughout the book. The book went so hard trying to lead you to believe one thing that you just know it it wasn’t going to be that. By it doing that it took some of the suspense out of it for me. The ending was a little messy in my opinion, but overall still a decent read.
This started out really slow for me, but the ending definitely made up for it. The last 100 pages really pack a punch
I was all over the place with this book. I liked it, hated it, then liked it and so on. Isabelle drove me nuts sometimes, but in the end I really liked this one. Just when I figured out what was going on, it shifted. It didn't do a complete 180, but it would be enough for me to question if I really knew what I thought I knew! Good stuff!
In the book in this one chapter when they mention Casey Anthony's name when that case happened murdering her own daughter and she should have gotten life instead being out free. And I followed that case every single day when the news would talk about it and a popular I couldn't and still can't stand that woman. And I think Isabelle should have sit in a support group for losing Mason and Ben should have been there for his wife supporting her not ignoring her. Maybe Isabelle should changed the batteries in the baby monitor maybe se would had her answer about how Mason went missing and if my baby was missing the first person is to call the cops and not wait till middle of the day to call them and Ben seemed like he didn't care about Mason disappeared. And also find Margaret Isabelle's sister to be annoying and in some point in the book I didn't know that Margaret and Isabelle had another sister. And how can parents of 2 kids with no air conditioning and why would want to sleep next to someone when it was disgustingly hot out. And apparently Ben cheated on his wife with Isabelle she or should I say they both should be ashamed of themselves on what they were doing to Allison and apparently he was cheating and telling lies to Valerie about Isabelle and making her sound crazy and didn't want to be a mother. Ben deserved to be in jail for murdering Allison and Valerie had no right to give away Mason to someone else. I gave this book a 3 1/2 stars cause on how Isabelle changed my opinion on her for getting some kind of answers that she was finally got and another thing that I didn't like what Isabelle did how can she ignored her poor dog he needed to be taking care of but she was ignoring that. And also I didn't like how she was snooping into Waylon's things and another thing the story could of left out how a snake was getting killed I didn't need the full details about the poor thing I don't like snakes or any other kind of animal but I can't see myself killing it.
Addicting mystery-thriller that portrays a dark edge to sleep walking. I didn't find the resolution at the end of the book satisfying but I was immersed in the build up and portrayal of Isabelle's world. Who do you trust when you can't discern reality from your own thoughts? Especially if those around you are spinning their own reality. Overall enjoyable read.
I enjoyed this book. It is a 3.5, rounded down.
I had figured out a few things early, and found it a little long and ... Like certain things were drug out.
But the overall story is good, and there are twist that will surprise a lot of people I think.
Great, engaging read with twists and turns through the story. I definitely had a moment or two of woooow... and stopping to tell my (totally uninterested) husband about it. When given a rundown of characters and major actions towards the end, he said something to the effect of “whoa... interesting” but he's not much of a reader. Definitely a recommended read for anyone interested in murder/mystery/crime/parenting.
I wasn't expecting that ending. Ben is a piece of shit and I can't even begin to explain how dumb I feel for not noticing it earlier.
All The Dangerous Things
Stacy Willingham
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Beautifully told story of heartbreak and lies. The author tells the story in such a way you feel like you are apart of the story, you feel the feels, you smell the smells. Willingham has a great way with words. I didn't want to put this book down. I couldn't get to the end fast enough. I definitely did not guess the ending. Definitely recommend this one!!
One year ago, Isabelle Drake's life changed forever: her toddler son, Mason, was taken 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.
Isabelle used to be a heavy sleepers but now she hasn't slept in a year. Sleep deprivation has taken its toll on her.
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 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.
I haven't read the author's debut novel A Flicker In The Dark yet (but intend to) but this second book of her is well written, in my opinion. It's quiet rare I meet a good thriller but this is a good one. The revelation of what really happen on the night Mason disappeared reveals in the last chapters, some of it I could predict but the other one, I didn't see it coming.
All the tropes in one book, and so very predictable. I liked the ending so I upped it a star, but in general I didn't enjoy this book.
All the tropes in one book, and so very predictable. I liked the ending so I upped it a star, but in general I didn't enjoy this book.
I read this author's debut, A Flicker in the Dark, and enjoyed it. Just like her debut, I sped through All the Dangerous Things and overall felt it was a good read.
A friend of mine and I read this together. If you have a friend who loves thrillers and mysteries this would be a fun one to read together. We were throwing out theories left and right and wouldn't you know it ... they proved to be correct
It took me awhile to get into this book but once I made it to a certain point I just had to keep reading. It did jump back and forth in time but needed to so we could learn about Isabelle's younger years and why she thought she was the way she was. There were twists and turns at the end!
This book features an unforgettable protagonist in Isabelle Drake, whose complex and multi-layered personality is a major highlight of the story - and how her troubled, albeit mysterious past keeps dragging herself in muddy waters.
Sometimes, the stories we create are about ourselves. Sometimes, other people. But as long as we believe them—as long as we can convince others to believe them—they keep their power. They remain true.
This is a story of a determined mother, of a woman on mission of finding her missing son. And in the process, her past unraveled, intertwining with her present and jolting her world.
I like this book better than her first work. All the Dangerous Things is thoroughly engaging, although it kinda starts a bit too slow for my preference but as we go deeper into the story, you'll find yourself biting your nails, wanting to know what exactly happened to Isabelle, whether her son will be found, whether it will all end well.
Overall, an excellent read that will keep you at the edge of your seat.
This was a solid page turning thriller for me. I couldn't put it down. I normally have an easy time guessing twists in a story (be it book, video game, movie, etc.) but this really did keep me guessing up until the final chapter. It is a bit slow when it comes to revealing things to the reader, there aren't any real action packed or exciting moments. This is a story filled with dread and worry and you don't know who you can trust.
I also am a huge fan of Willingham's writing style! The way it is written really puts me the reader in Izzy's shoes.
For the past year, Isabelle Drake hasn't had a good night's sleep. Really, she's lucky when she manages to get an hour or two. It started when her son, Mason, was taken and has yet to be found. She doesn't care what measures she has to go to find the culprit be it attending true crime conventions or investigating her neighbors. But as memories of her childhood begin to surface, she starts to wonder if maybe she is the one to blame.
The book jumps around three key points in Isabelle's life: Her childhood with her sister Margaret, meeting her now ex-husband, Ben, and the present day where she meets a true crime podcaster whom she eventually agrees to do an interview with. The timelines are woven together wonderfully and are full of suspense.
I found the characterization to be rich and the most enjoyable part of the story but I loved the plot as well. Though there were certainly predictable moments, it still had a twisty vibe and little details were placed well that they can get pushed to the back of the mind until they're brought up again. Super atmospheric, too.
The writing style isn't my favorite but I didn't notice the over-description so much on the audiobook version. However, I did find the narrator a little bit overdramatic. Not in the sense where it was read more like a drama, but rather that so much of it was read in a half-whisper. It distracted me. Otherwise, she did a good job.
I read A Flicker in the Dark last year and found it just okay. All the Dangerous Things greatly surpasses it in my mind and I'm very excited to see what Stacy Willingham has in store for us next.
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with a free audio copy of the book to listen to and review!
I just finished All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham and here are my musings.
It's been a year. A year since Isabelle's life was turned upside down. Her son, her toddler son Mason, was stolen from his crib while she and her husband slept. There are no leads, no clues and no rest for Isabelle.
She is running on virtually no sleep and talking to true crime people to get her story out there. On the flight home from her latest keynote, Isabelle ends up sitting next to a true crime podcaster.... The police still have nothing so she decides to go on the podcast in hopes someone can give her some fresh perspective and new leads. Little does she know that the interviews will shake loose things she had forgotten in her past... Beginning to not trust what she remembers, Isabelle begins to question everything and everyone around her....
This is the kind of thriller that once you pick up, you can't put down until you are finished. I don't think you know how hard it is to do things with one hand when you won't put your kindle down but you have chores to do. It was worth it though. The author weaved a dark tale with the kind of twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the very end.
Isabelle is the epitome of an unreliable narrator and her journey in trying to discover what happened to her son was a whirlwind of darkness and hidden trauma. I always felt the underlying mild panic of being completely unnerved by what was happening. I didn't much care for any of the characters in it and everyone seemed to have secrets and agendas which just added to the excitement.
If you love a good twister thriller that will keep you on your toes.... This is the book for you!
5 stars! Genius writing.
Thank you to @netgalley and @minotaurbooks for my review copy!
slow start but it definitely picks up around the halfway point i almost dnf'd it but i am happy i didnt 3.5