All The Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham #BookReview #MysteryThriller #PsychologicalThrillers #CrimeFiction @NetGalley @HarperFiction — Rain’n’books

My Rating

Rating: 5 out of 5.

I know am late to the party for this one, but as they say better late than never.

Stacy Willingham’s debut novel A Flicker In The Dark was such a roaring bestseller that it was probably hard to follow up with another successful one as the second. But just like her debut novel which felt more like a seasoned author’s work rather than a debut, All The Dangerous Things establishes her as the author to watch out for.

The writing by the author is phenomenal, I have felt the same in her first book too, the narration raises goosebumps. There is this sense of darkness hovering, a calamitous entity just there to grab you in a vise and never let go. The emotions are visceral, the author manages to tap into the worst nightmare of a mother and the roller coaster ride she puts us thru in this book was exceptional. The brilliance of her work is the subtle storytelling she immerses the reader in. Yes, a child is missing but the violence is not on your face. The desperation of the mother Isabella and the traumatic journey of delving into her own deepest past opening up the can of worms was utterly chilling and one of the best I have read in the recent past.

365 days Isabella has been waiting for some closure to know the fate of her child, but it is not only the mystery of her missing child but the parallels she seems to find in her culpability with her sleepwalking that gives her nightmares. Unaware of the extent of the damage she might have caused, the specter of her sister’s death hanging over her head always causes her to forgo sleep altogether and function solely on catnaps. The ingenious manipulation is so finely crafted thru the layers of the story that until it was slapped on my face, I failed to catch on to it. Almost all the surprising twists are like that, out of the blue leaving the readers stunned and scampering to catch up with what just happened.

Another doozy from the author!

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.

Many thanks to Net Galley, Harper Fiction UK, and the author for a chance to read and review this book. All opinions are expressed voluntarily.

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Originally published at https://rainnbooks.com on March 18, 2023.