All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham

All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham

Stacy Willingham's debut novel, A Flicker in the Dark, quickly became a New York Times bestseller, so her sophomore attempt, All the Dangerous Things, had a lot to live up to. It has become one of Amazon's Editor's Picks for Best Mystery, thriller, and Suspense, and Stacy Willingham has gone on to publish Only If You're Lucky and her most recent book, Forget Me Not, is scheduled to release in August of this year. All the Dangerous Things deals with infidelity, self harm and suicidal thoughts, death - including that of children, some drug abuse and alcohol, toxic relationships, kidnapping and trafficking, abandonment, pregnancy, brief mentions of fire, murder, grief, and insomnia.

One year ago, almost to the day, Isabelle Drake's son was kidnapped from his crib in the middle of the night as both of his parents slept soundly next door. The case quickly went cold, the only lead was Mason's stuffed animal that he slept with, which had been found near the marshes. That night was the last time Isabelle really slept. Now, she is incredibly sleep deprived - to the point of sometimes hearing things that are not there, her marriage has crumbled, and she is so secluded that the only contact she regularly has is with her dog and her numerous phone calls to the detective on her son's case. But she cannot stop looking for Mason. She tries to draw attention to his case by speaking at true crime events and holding vigils, and Isabelle has finally agreed to speak to a true crime podcaster. Between the podcaster's questions and Isabelle's lack of sleep, she begins to recall things from her childhood, from when she first met her husband, from when her son went missing. She just wishes she could tell what was real and what was her mind playing tricks on her from the lack of sleep.

This book was really well put together. It deals with three different timelines. The present as Isabelle continues to search for her son, as well as two different timelines in the past. One from when she was eight, focusing on her relationship with her sister Margaret, and the other from when she first met her husband Ben. It was very easy to keep these timelines separate, I didn't find it confusing at all, and I really liked seeing certain things come together for Isabelle. The plot was clearly well developed before the author started actually writing the story and it came together nicely. It was a quick read, and though it was not very fast paced but it did not drag at all and I never felt bored. As for the characters, Isabelle was passionate and I felt sympathy for her, but I wouldn't say I liked her. I would say I liked her the most out of everybody in the whole book. There was one moment towards the end - when things are looking particularly bad for Isabelle - that completely shocked me. She figures something out that was staring right at us, and I was absolutely stunned. I gasped so loud that both my husband and daughter were concerned for my life, and I was in a completely different room. So that is a big item in the pro column.

All in all, I'm giving All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham 4 stars out of 5. I did enjoy it but it didn't hit like I was hoping it would, maybe I hyped it up a bit too much in my own head. I did not love the ending but I didn't hate it, the author leaves it a little open ended, which I did like a lot. If you like mystery or suspense, give this one a try. I will probably read Stacy Willingham's first novel at some point, but not just yet.

For more from Stacy Willingham, check out her website at https://www.stacywillingham.com/

Pairs well with chicken marsala and taking catnaps.