I thoroughly enjoyed A Flicker in the Dark, Stacy’s debut novel, so I was thrilled to get started on her second book, with very high hopes! And, well, I was far from disappointed and would say that she has taken it to the next level with this new book and it is an absolute stunner!

The story centres around Isabelle Drake – a very complex woman. Her son Mason was stolen from his crib during the night whilst she and her husband were asleep. It is now one year later and her life has crumbled: she is fixated on finding out where her son is. Desperate, she agrees to be interviewed by a true crime podcaster, in the hope of new leads appearing.

The combination of Weylon entering her life, and her flashbacks to her childhood sleepwalking and memories of what happened when she would younger, begin to make her question what might have happened that night.

Everything about this was just captivating and wonderful. The storytelling – Stacy Willingham just has such a skilled writing style which really conjures up an atmosphere of dread and creepiness! The descriptions are so intricate and loaded and then suddenly – bam! – there will be just one stark sentence that is genuinely scary! Just amazing.

The characters are so well-thought-out, genuinely complex and interesting women with pasts and motivations of their own.

And the story itself – well, it slowly builds up and rumbles along until those last few chapters which will take your breath away! So clever and powerful.

I know they are making a TV series out of A Flicker in the Dark and I would be surprised/disappointed if there isn’t one about All the Dangerous Things too – it would make an excellent series.

I loved A Flicked in the Dark and I loved this just as much, if not more than that brilliant debut by Stacy Willingham. Centred around Isabelle and her determination to find out what has happened to her son who disappeared from his crib a year ago. The author weaves a twisty slow burner that relies on some very clever character creations with a well developed sense of what it is to be a mother. It’s a gripping and dark storyline that had me holding my breath at times especially as things started to unravel towards that shocking denouement.
A brilliant book that I can highly recommend.

Thank you to the author, publishers HarperCollins and NetGalley UK for access to this as an advance reader’s ebook. This is an honest and voluntary review.

Talking about the disappearance of her son Mason is how Isabelle keeps his memory alive. She tours true crime conventions in the hope that his kidnapper will show their face. Hope is all she has as both her husband and the lead detective seem to have given up.

The guilt, emotions and heightened anxieties of sleepless nights which come hand in hand with being a new parent take on a sinister tone in this second novel from Stacy Willingham. The main character Isabelle is easy to empathise with, even as some of her poor decision making and fears about what she might be blocking from her memories become apparent, it’s presented in a way which remains human and understandable.

I really enjoyed this emotional and tense thriller.

All the Dangerous Things is psychological/domestic thriller by author, Stacey Willingham. I read her debut, A Flicker in the Dark and absolutely loved it, so was excited to read this next book by the same author.
While I preferred A Flicker in the Dark, this one was a solid exciting and thrilling second book which featured one of my all time favorite mystery tropes – unreliable narrator! We have our main character, Isabelle who had struggled with severe insomnia since her son was kidnapped from his bedroom in the night 12 months prior to the start of the novel. This clever plot element means that we never really know if we can trust her account, was she involved, did she take her own son, its so much fun reading along as we learn about the truth of that night alongside the main character.
The ending comes as a shock and wraps everything up nicely with no cliffhanger. The story was well-paced and kept my interest the whole time. I read it over one sitting. It was easy to read and become immersed in.
I am already a huge fan of this author, and will continue to read anything she puts out. I hope we don’t have to wait too long for the next book.
Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Wow!
from the outset your heart goes out to Isabelle- what can be worse than a child disappearing from the safety of their own home?
However it rapidly becomes apparent that all is not quite as she believes, with the police seemingly brushing her off at every turn as she tries to continue the investigation on her own.
The story jumps between the very real present and Isabelle's past, where her childhood is less than idyllic and her relationship with her parents is strained.
She is struggling with her mental health and left feeling like she may be the one at fault,.
Great plot twists and a husband who ....well...read and find out for yourself!.
nothing not to love!

A very powerful and chilling book, with plenty of twists, turns and shock discoveries.
The thought of your child being kidnapped is obviously every parent’s nightmare but to have self doubts about whether you are in some way to blame for this or for the death, in childhood, of your sister must be excruciating and this is what the main character faces.
The murky psychological realms of sleepwalking are also perfectly portrayed and the uncertainly of your own actions whilst doing so are expertly as the mother of a sleepwalker myself this was both accurate, sad and chilling in equal measures!
I loved the frank portrayal of parenthood and the realisations that our own parents are only human and not without flaw was poignant. Also the many betrayals in the book from various people was a dark and stark comment on human nature
I loved this and would definitely recommend the book.

A year on from the abduction of her young son Isabelle Drake refuses to give up hope that he's still alive. Isabelle is convinced that someone in her community knows something. The police seem to have given up so Isabelle continues the investigation on her own, including attending True Crime conferences as a keynote speaker. Isabelle is convinced that someone connected to the abduction will be unable to resist the lure of seeing her. Through one of these conferences she meets a podcaster who offers new opportunities in the investigation.

Right from the beginning you are gripped by the story. The thought of a toddler being abducted from his bed in the middle of the night is horrific. Added to this is the thought that a year on, with no clues, we immediately assume the worst.

The mother, Isabelle Drake, is a sympathetic character. Her mission in life is to discover what happened to her son, Mason. Driven to unearth the truth has resulted in Isabelle suffering from insomnia. This insomnia, combined with her obsession, means that you slowly begin to doubt her reliability as a narrator.

As the story progresses memories from her childhood begin to surface. We learn that Isabelle had a younger sister but something happened to her, an event Isabelle cannot remember because she suffered from bouts of sleep-walking as a child. All of this really does throw into question Isabelle's innocence in her son's disappearance. Any sympathy from the opening of the novel slowly leaches away as more of the past is revealed.

The pace of the story is gradual, a somnolent pace to match the sleep-deprived haze of Isabelle. This slow pace adds real atmosphere to the story, slowly building the sense of dread as we learn more about the past and the present. I was filled with a growing sense of unease as the climax of both elements of the story approached.

I really enjoyed this book, a fantastic thriller that explores every parents nightmare.

Stacy explores the dark places that humans fall into when they lose someone they love, and how that can ever more complicated, when that person has disappeared.

The book also explores the lengths that a mother will go to, to find their child. As a mum, I know I'd do what Isabelle, the main protagonist, does in this story. She never gives up and when everyone else around her gives up, she keeps going.

Full of twists and turns, with some great surprises, this was a great read.

Sensational!! Another clever and twisted tale by the author. 

It's been one year since Isabelle (Izzy) Drake's son, Mason, was taken from his bedroom at just 18 months old and a year since she's had a full night's sleep. Everyone has moved on from the case, including her estranged husband but she won't let it go. Moving through life in a daze, sleep deprived and desperate to find out what happened to her son, she finds a friend in true crime podcaster, Waylon Spencer. They begin to go over the case again but Waylon has his own motives and Isabelle's own dark past won't stop haunting her. 
This was such a fast moving and intriguing mystery. It had flashbacks to Izzy's own dark past and the list of suspicious characters grew as I read. Highly recommend.

All The Dangerous Things is Stacy Willingham’s second novel and is a standalone psychological thriller based on every parent’s worst nightmare – child abduction.

Isabella Drake hasn’t slept in over a year, ever since her 18 month old son Mason was abducted from his crib in the middle of the night. There are no clues, no suspects and the police are unable to find Mason. Isabella, understandably, won’t let this rest and can’t rest herself until she finds out what happened to her baby.

Her story is known throughout the States and she won’t stop sharing it until the truth is uncovered. Whilst speaking at a TrueCrime convention she is approached by Waylon Spencer who runs a successful podcast solving cold cases. He offers to help Isabella and get her story out to a wider audience with the hope of finding Mason, however he wants to delve deeper into Isabelle’s background which is causing some unwanted memories to resurface.

This is a really enjoyable edge-of-your-seat thriller which kept me entertained and guessing throughout. I would highly recommend it to all armchair detectives who enjoy twists and turns and a really gripping story.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

A scary story apparently about a missing child, but in fact about a whole lot more. The book explores issues of mental health including parenthood and post natal depression leading to acts which have immense effects on family life.
The final part of the book finally describes the end of the story and tidies up themes which have been floating in the story since the beginning.
I found the main character irritating at the beginning and felt that her desperate attempts to find out what happened were unhelpful. As the facts were revealed, it seems that she suddenly felt the truth of what happened. I m not sure that these feelings were evidence based??

When I saw all of the outstanding reviews of All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham, I was skeptical. Every review was praising this book. So I had to read it and read it I did!

All The Dangerous Things was read in one (Yes ONE) single sitting. I did nothing else but read this book. Lazy, I know but that's just how good it actually was. I'm not really one for slow burning books, I get impatient. I want action, something. But Stacy (Author) really drew me in. I think all of us at one time or another have been sleep deprived. But what Isabelle is going through is much more than that. Add to it, the sleep walking disorder. Have I got you interested yet? A book which is told solely from Isabelle's point of view, a character whom is questioning her own mind, thoughts, memories. Is what she sees and thinks an illusion? Is it real? I love an unreliable narrator and Isabelle is just that. But there's more, I felt such empathy for her and her missing son Mason, as a parent its your worst nightmare! What had happened to him? Who had taken him? Was he even alive?

This book is all about questions really and if I'm honest (As I mentioned this is a slow burn till about 70%), you don't really get many answers till that last 30%. I loved how Stacy tied up all those loose ends, but being someone who likes to work out the who's and why's, this meant it got taken from me. But it didn't spoil my enjoyment either. In fact, I felt those final conclusions really made this book so well thought out that I wonder if I'd have worked it out at all?!

All The Dangerous Things is worth EVERY good review I've read and mine included. I am not exaggerating. I felt Isabelle's pain and anguish. I loved meeting the new characters and wondering if they were to be trusted, but most of all I loved the back story of Margaret, Isabelle's sister.

A solid 4 stars, I highly recommend this story to those who enjoy a good mystery. For those who do suffer with sleep walking disorders, I'd err on the side of caution, as it may destress them.

Thank you to NetGalley, HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction for this ARC in exchange of an honest review.

All the Dangerous Things

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Book 59/55 2022

The Good

☕️ Willingham did a great job of describing Isabelle's insomnia and exhaustion - it made me feel everything she was feeling, and as I often read at bedtime it helped me to feel very tired ready for sleep!

☕️ The atmosphere created was intense and close and oppressive. This really brought you into the emotions and life of the main character and was was very effective.

☕️ I appreciated the author's honesty around the less socially acceptable side of motherhood and those bizarre thoughts that accompany you on sleepless nights.

☕️ As the book went on I found myself less and less able to put it down. There were plenty of twists and turns and I didn't guess the ending.

The Bad

⏱️ I struggled to get into the story initially and found the main character to be frustratingly closed off and unreliable - although the reasons for all this became clear so I'm glad I stuck with it.

⏱️ The ending was well tied up apart from slightly bizarre police behaviour (no spoilers but I'm pretty sure they have protocols to follow!)

Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC.

After loving Flicker in the Dark, I knew I had to read this one.
The slow start didn't quite entrance me as much as the last, but I chose to persevere. I liked the unreliable narrator concept, but the different time periods didn't work for me- I felt it jumped around a little too much.

Some surprising moments, but so much description in this I felt it lost its intensity at times.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book. This book was absolutely fantastic. The storyline was amazing. It’s heartbreaking that this actually happens in the real world. Brilliant book so well written. Definitely worth 5stars and more.

Thanks to Stacy and NetGalley for allowing me to read All the Dangerous Things before publication date.

A missing child, a distraught mother, a broken marriage.

The main character in the book is Isabelle Drake, a woman who has been prone to sleep walking since she was a child.
Stacy has used 2 threads to tell Isabelle’s story, the first of which relates to the young Isabelle’s life when, at 9 years old, she is told that Margaret, her young sister has died.
The second thread is in the current time as Isabelle struggles with the aftermath of the abduction of her toddler son.
As the story evolves with a host of red herrings, the secrets and lies are exposed and the reader starts to gain an insight into Isabelle’s character.

Wow!!!!! I absolutely devoured this one in just two sittings!!!!!! I loved A Flicker In The Dark so I already had a feeling I was going to love this one too. I was so invested in all 3 timelines and I just couldn’t stop reading!!! I had my suspicions throughout and was only right about ONE of them! I love when books can completely pull the rug from under your feet and this one certainly did! Definitely need to keep an eye on this author!!!!!!! 😍😍😍

Loved this book about a woman called Isabelle and her journey trying to find her son who went missing one night.
The story goes back to when Isabelle was growing up and her sister died and how she suffers with insomnia and then to the present and trying to find the truth about the disappearance of her son and who took him from his bedroom.
Totally gripped and could not put it down and a great ending.
Highly recommend and thanks to NetGalley & HarperCollins UK,

After a very slow start, I started to get into this book. Isabelle is hunting for her two year old son, Mason who vanished one night from his bed. Since then Isabelle has not been able to sleep, thus affecting her mental health. She teams up with a crime podcaster, but you wonder what his motives are. There are many layers to this story and is told in past and present tense. As the story unfolds, you get to see all the past tragedy and her separation from her husband, Ben. Isabelle seems to be quite an insipid person but determined to find her son. Lots of twists and a good read.

A great story with so many twists it leaves you questioning everyone for so much of the book. Then a great ending.