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.
Review
I don’t even know where to start with this book. What an absolute ride. It’s been a while since I started reading a book where I could not move until it was finished. If I were to sum up my feelings in one sentence, it would be to say that Stacy Willingham is now an auto-buy author for me.
The plot twists were amazing in All The Dangerous Things but that’s not what made this an excellent read, it was how the plot was laid out by the author. Something is always happening in this book. It might not be big and in your face but there are always crumbs being dropped that make you want to keep following the path. The author is the best at planting seeds and it means that when there are big reveals, they make perfect sense. How she managed to do that without enabling me to guess what is coming next is outstanding. What I also loved about the plot was the twist it had on a tried and tested story. Chances are you have already read many books about abducted children, but you won’t have read any like this.
The characters were also amazing. While reading the book, I solely saw them for their entertainment value. Isabelle was so intriguing and I knew from the start there would be so much to unpack with her. I felt empathy but also felt like I was being kept at arms length. At the end, I read the author’s note and I had a new level of respect for Isabelle and all the other female characters in the book. The author uses them to touch on very important topics and helps open our mind, while also keeping us hooked on our fictional world.
Overall, I can’t fault this book. It’s already a strong contender for my book of the year. I can only encourage you to pick up your own copy here.
Joyful Antidotes 