BOTM Monday: All the Dangerous Things

Author: Stacy Willingham Title: All the Dangerous Things Publisher: Minotaur Books Date Published: 01/10/2023

Read Dates: 03/27/2025- 03/29/2025
Rating:

I did not pick a BOTM book in March. This was a Book of the Month club add-on from December 2024. 

All the Dangerous Things is a single POV thriller told from the perspective of Isabelle, a grieving, sleep-deprived mother who’s toddler son went missing a year ago. She’s never given up her search for him even though the case had gone cold, her husband had moved out, and her life was upside down. She teams up with a podcaster in the hopes of getting the story out there, but the telling of it just raises more questions to the point that Isabelle questions everyone, even herself.

This was my second thriller by Stacy Willingham and definitely won’t be the last. I enjoy her storytelling and the way that this one kept me guessing. Even when I guessed some of the twists there was enough to keep me surprised and a very satisfying ending.

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.