Book Review: ALL THE DANGEROUS THINGS by Stacy Willingham

ALL THE DANGEROUS THINGS by Stacy Willingham (Kindle edition, January 10, 2023) 320 pages. 

Synopsis on the Goodreads website . . . . .

A totally gripping thriller about a desperate mother with a troubled past.

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.

My Four-Star review on the Goodreads website . . . . .

This was hard to put down. Main character Izzy (Isobelle) is extremely interesting, as well as a flawed character. (I don't like them as much when they are perfect).

     After I had read only about 11% of the kindle edition I felt empathy for Izzy and her mental and physical state: exhausted, discouraged, cynical, guilt feelings. The best passage at this point was about "crime porn" and human fascination but at a comfortable distance. So true.

     The back and forth (then and now) with Izzy's narration adds to the flavoring and drops insights/hints all along the way. 

     Throughout my reading I had three suspects in mind, with one of them I felt most strongly about. In spite of my careful noting of possible clues the author still managed to surprise me with all of the final reveals, and there are several. Everything was plausible and I did not feel tricked or that the author deliberately left out any important details until the end.

     A great read, with plenty of descriptive metaphors and similes. I'm impressed with the writing style of Willingham.