Library book: All the Dangerous Things by Stacey Willingham

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Published: 1/10/2023

Pages: 332

Genre: Suspense/ Mystery Thriller

Review: library book

Amazon

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.

Except for the occasional catnap or small blackout where she loses track of time, she hasn’t slept in a year.

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 incessant 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 was so not expecting this book to go this way! I was thoroughly surprised, and I liked it!  I had read another book by this author, and I loved how she surprised you at the end of the story. You were left guessing the entire time; this one was no different. 

Imagine you think you have this perfect life until you don't. Your son is missing, and you feel you are the only one actively searching for him. You talk about his story to pretty much crime junkie people, and it stares you in your face the whole time. You get pretty much no sleep, and you start questioning many things around you. It is a mother's worse fear. You no longer have your child, and there are no leads. 

As our story continues, we go back and forth between the present and the past with Isabelle, and at times you question some things, but then it slowly all comes together and makes sense. 

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves good suspense, as this was an easy 5 stars for me. 

My favorite quotes: 

" Sometimes, the mind is just stronger than our attempts to override it."

" I understand that there's something even more unsettling than being alone in the dark. It is realizing that you're not really alone at all."

" I come to think of him as a library book, entering my life on rented time. Something I could enjoy for a few hours, curled up and comfortable, devouring as much of him as possible before our time was up. And because he wasn't mine, I couldn't scribble in the margins or write my name on the spine; I couldn't leave my mark on him in any discernable way.

" After all, the violence always comes to us in ways we could never expect; quickly, quietly. Masked as something else. Been has always known that you don't have to pull the trigger to get away with murder-sometimes, all you need to do is load the gun and let it go off on its own."

Stacy's debut novel, A Flicker in the Dark, was published on January 11, 2022 and went on to become an Instant New York Times bestseller. Her second, All the Dangerous Things, will be published on January 10, 2023.

Prior to writing fiction full time, Stacy worked as a copywriter and brand strategist. She earned her BA in Magazine Journalism from the University of Georgia and MFA in Writing from the Savannah College of Art & Design.

She currently lives in Charleston, South Carolina, with her husband, Britt, and her Labradoodle, Mako.