All The Dangerous Things: 5 Glowing Stars

All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham
Genres: Mystery/Thriller
Pages: 326
Goodreads

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.

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FINALLY. A FIVE STAR READ! 

This book was great from beginning to end. Oh, the twists. Oh, the turns. I was ranting and raving all through the house while listening to this one (in the best of ways).

I have not read Willingham’s debut, A Flicker in the Dark, but if it is anything like this one, I need to jump on that ASAP. All The Dangerous Things is exactly what I’ve been looking for in the thrillers I’ve been reading lately. It just kept throwing curveballs. Whenever I thought I figured something out, I was proven to be absolutely wrong, again and again and again. Then I got to the end of the book and realized just how well this story was weaved together.

Look, this book is incredibly hard to write a lengthy review for without spoiling things. I really do not want to take away from any of the big reveals or moments in the book if you do decide to read it. So, this is going to be short and I’m going to try to be as vague as possible. 

The best part of the story was the main character. Isabelle is written superbly. Her character takes you on a rollercoaster of emotions as you root for her, question her, and want to know more about her and her family. All of the mysteries surrounding her make her an unreliable narrator – and it’s perfect.

Another aspect that makes me give this book FIVE GLOWING STARS is the way Willingham takes you on a journey with so many interconnected plot lines, but you don’t even realize it’s happening until the end. This started as a story about a missing child, then became so much more with all the mysteries weaved together. And it works. Oh, does it work! It doesn’t feel like too much is going on. Instead, it keeps you guessing, listening (or reading), and on the edge of your seat until the mystery is solved.

By the end of this one, I had to stop doing the dishes, to go tell my entire family about it. Finally, the dishes were not only boring, but they were a bother while I was trying to have a mini freak out over the end of this story. So, do I recommend this? Heck yes. Do I recommend this to your aunt, your uncle, your doctor, your nail technician, your neighbor, your dog? Yes, yes, I do. Go read it.