Reviews tagging 'Schizophrenia/Psychosis '

All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham

51 reviews

sagesanctum's review

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dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Wow. I was surprised by this one.

This is my first real venture into the horror/thriller genre; typically I'm more of a "only books with a guaranteed happy ending" type of reader. I read to improve my mood, so I usually don't try anything I think might be too depressing. Despite this, I joined the local book club in an effort to broaden my horizons, and All the Dangerous Things was the book chosen.

Right out the gate, I wasn't thrilled to be reading this one. I'm a parent to young children and I DO NOT enjoy reading literally anything involving even the possibility of child harm or death, so the idea of reading a book about a missing child truly did not appeal to me. And honestly, for a good... half? three-quarters of the way through the book? Still wasn't vibing with it. Most of the characters are unlikable. Isabelle herself, despite being a sympathetic character because of her circumstances, quickly and progressively becomes less likable through the story. Other characters--either through their own behavior or simply because we're learning about them through Isabelle's lens--are also unpleasant for different reasons. Some things that happen in the book? Not my cup of tea.

However, I did like the writing style. Some people complained about the sprawling descriptions and metaphoric language, but I really liked it. I feel like it fits Isabelle's character, given her career choice. I do agree the pacing could use some more progressive ramp-up, since I think I didn't really start feeling much tension until maybe 200+ pages in? Which I suspect is a bit slow for a thriller. That being said, the twist was spectacular and the ending was both unexpected and satisfying.

Thus, I am giving it 3.75 stars. It's solidly written, the conclusion makes the story worth a try if you can tolerate the initially-slow buildup, but I don't think I'd read it more than one time.

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lrecord's review

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emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I listened to this book while I worked. It was easy to listen to and follow along even though I was busy with other things.

I really love how the author wrote her characters as women who made good choices, bad choices and everything in-between. There is so much nuance to the characters and why they do the things they do. 

There were definitely twists and turns.

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cursed_sapphire's review

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dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This is the first thriller I've read in a while where I've come out remembering I still like thrillers. 

I won't say this is the most groundbreaking thriller with the most unique plot, most amazing characters, or the most fascinating twists. But I will say this book is thriller done right. 

It probably helped that the main character's sleep deprivation and clearly-defined childhood traumas helped explain away some of the conclusion-jumping and bad decisions that I've come to learn are synonymous with modern thrillers. Where in most books I find that kind of thing infuriating and poorly-handled, here it made perfect sense for our protagonist, who hasn't had a full night's rest in a year. 

This book also handled it's themes better than most thrillers I've read. While all the characters are hiding secrets, I didn't leave the novel despising everyone like I have with some other thrillers. This book also refreshingly had a well-written, non-horrible male character
who kept his secret because he wanted to seek justice for his sister's murder. There was no plot twist where it turned out he was leading the main character on or was secretly evil in his past or was complicit in the kidnapping of the protagonist's child, which I have found so exhausting from other thrillers
. The exploration of motherhood, trauma, masculine vs. feminine gender roles, and sleep deprivation were all  well handled and complex without being confusing, a tight-rope hard to balance. 

So if you're looking for a solid thriller read, even if you're as tired as mediocre ones as I am, I still say give this one a try. It's not a perfect novel-the middle drags a bit and there are some characters that aren't as well defined as others, among a few other nitpicks- but it's overall a compelling, entertaining time.  

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aharrison_33's review

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dark emotional mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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kristihiggi's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I could not figure this story out. I was desperate to know what happened to her son. It kept taking new turns that were plausible. The ending was fantastic! It made sense but I never guessed it. I couldn't understand Isabel's mother until I read the authors note at the end. I recommend reading that to understand why she wrote the mother the way she did. 

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angelamonahan's review

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dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5


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hmstumfoll's review

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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clo_l's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I’m not entirely sure how I feel about this book. 
I respect it for the fact that I am a mother to a baby, who struggles with postpartum depression & strongly feels that postpartum mental health should be talked about it more. I appreciate the struggles of motherhood being talking about, seen from both the viewpoints of Izzy & her mother.
This book was slow. So incredibly slow. I wanted to give up so many times. It felt boring, all these details and flashbacks and info that just drug on & on & on. It didn’t start getting good until the last like 70 pages? If it wasn’t for the sheer fact that I needed to know what happened to her son and that I hate not finishing books, I wouldn’t stopped reading like halfway through. 
I’m used to books taking the first half slow, to build up and the last half getting intense but I feel like this book never truly reached that part. I didn’t predict what happened, which is good but it still didn’t have that shock effect. 
Idk. I really really really wanted to love this book. To love Izzy. To connect deeper. But I just didn’t. 

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feralbookwife's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Fast paced, solid mystery. Kept me guessing until the end. 

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annie_burns's review

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3.5


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