A review by snugglesandpages
All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.5

"𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒏'𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒐𝒖𝒓 π’π’Šπ’—π’†π’” 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 π’”π’•π’π’“π’Šπ’†π’” π’˜π’† 𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔? π‘Ίπ’•π’π’“π’Šπ’†π’” π’˜π’† π’•π’“π’Šπ’†π’… 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒓𝒂𝒇𝒕 𝒔𝒐 π’‘π’†π’“π’‡π’†π’„π’•π’π’š 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒖𝒕 π’Šπ’π’•π’ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’˜π’π’“π’π’…, π’”π’•π’π’“π’Šπ’†π’” 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 π’ƒπ’†π’„π’π’Žπ’† 𝒔𝒐 π’—π’Šπ’—π’Šπ’…, 𝒔𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 π’†π’—π’†π’π’•π’–π’‚π’π’π’š 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒕𝒐 π’ƒπ’†π’π’Šπ’†π’—π’† π’•π’‰π’†π’Ž 𝒕𝒐𝒐."

πŸ“– One year ago, 18 month old Mason was taken from his crib in the middle of the night and Isabell has been plagued by insomnia ever since. When true crime podcaster, Waylan offers Isabell an opportunity tell her story, she agrees with the hope it will unearth a new lead that will bring Mason home. When all the probing questions trigger fractured memories from her childhood to resurface, Isabelle starts to doubt everything she thought she knew, and soon realises that confronting her past could be the key to unlocking the truth about what happened to Mason.

πŸ’¬ Thoughts: Willingham expertly spins a web of half-truths and uncertainties, which mirrors the fractured memories of our narrator. As the story unfolded, I was reminded of two of my favourite psychological thrillers which utilise this style and trope, Insomnia and Awake. While there were similarities, ALL THE DANGEROUS THINGS stands tall on its own with its gripping slow-burn mystery and captivatingly flawed characters.

I devoured this on audiobook over two sittings, and I was taken by how well the narration enhanced Stacy's immersive writing style. She is very good at creating a strong sense of place that pulls you into this multifaceted story. The 'then' chapters lend an overwhelming sense of foreboding to the events that occurred in the more recent past. All the clues swirl just out of reach, ensuring you don't make a connection too soon, all the while pondering if Isabelle's desperate search for answers to what happened to her son is hinged by obsession or madness. 

The first major reveal blew my mind, I hadn't anticipated it at all, and from there everything else started to click into place, piece by piece with gut wrenching satisfaction before taking a turn that totally blindsided me. πŸ‘πŸΌ

Once I take a beat to recover from this one, I'll be jumping into Stacy's most recent release, ONLY IF YOU'RE LUCKY.