All The Dangerous Things

My feelings were all over the place with this domestic thriller that centres around a missing toddler and his mother who suffers from extreme sleep deprivation and irrational behaviours, leading the police to suspect that she may have harmed her son.

Set in two timelines, Isabelle is the sole narrator as the story jumps between her childhood with her parents and sister Margaret, and present day as she continues the year-long search for her toddler son. Isabelle is the epitome of an unreliable narrator and readers are pulled into her convoluted thought processes that are greatly influenced by her lack of sleep, hallucinations, and problematic memory.

The sleep deprivation angle is interesting, but readers are limited to only Isabelle's POV and her mind was a convoluted place to hang out. My big issue with this book was the pacing which was painfully slow for the first three-quarters of the book. Willingham throws in some twists and character connections (one was obvious to me) and after the 75% mark, the pieces finally begin to fall into place and the book ends on a high note. I just wish we could have gotten there a lot sooner.

I applaud the author for addressing important issues related to motherhood (make sure to read the author's note after reading this book). There are a lot of important issues, but it felt like she was trying to throw in so many of these topics that it negatively affected the story's flow and tension. Isabelle's childhood revealed why she is the way she is, but it also felt extraneous with its revelation a bit of a letdown and its main purpose was mainly to introduce another issue.

All The Dangerous Things is filled with flawed characters, manipulation, and deception and if readers are patient, they will find a compelling story that shines a spotlight on the impact societal expectations continue to have upon motherhood.

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Minotaur Books for the complimentary digital copy of this book which was provided in exchange for my honest review.

My Rating: 3.5 stars

Author: Stacy Willingham

Genre: Suspense

Type and Source: eBook from publisher via NetGalley

Publisher: Minotaur Books

First Published: January 10, 2023

Book Description from 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.