All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham

Genre: Thriller, Suspense
Format: Print, Hardcover
Pages: 320
Start Date: February 9th, 2023
End Date: February 11th, 2023
My Ratings
Overall: ★★★★★
Character Development: ★★★★★
Ending: ★★★★
Suspense Level: 🔪🔪🔪🔪
Readability: Easy, Quick Read
Tiggers: Mental Health, Child Loss

Summary In My Words

Isabelle's life & sleep stops when her toddler son, Mason, is taken from her home one night while she & her husband are asleep. Her entire life is dedicated to finding out what happened to her son, determined to bring him home she stops at nothing to find out what happened that night. 

My Thoughts - Contains Spoilers, Continue at Your Own Risk

I throughly enjoyed this book! It started about with a humbling reminder about True Crime which I greatly appreciated, that those us us consuming that sort of content often forget that the stories aren't just stories. They are the REAL lives of people, shared to help find the victim or spread awareness of the heinous crimes committed. 

I think this book did a very good job highlighting the reality of mental heath in motherhood. How women often suffer alone & in silence with the difficulties it can sometimes bring. Displaying the horrible things that COULD happen if ignored. I think this book actually had various take-away lessons throughout, determining right from wrong, putting your family first, & what is means to stand up for yourself.

This time I did things a little differently & took notes as I read - my theories & my questions along the way. This was a fun way to keep my predicictions genuine as they came, but be cautious as you read because there will surely be spoilers. By page 87 I had Isabelle's mom pegged to have Postpartum related issues - what I didn't realize was that it wasn't because of Isabelle or Margaret, but it should have made sense being that they were 8 & 6 at the time. Before I even STARTED chapter 32 I had this gut feeling that Waylon was Allison's brother - hit that nail right on the head. Those two things would make you think that you've got the whole book figured out, you've got the reason Waylon is there & you've figured out what happened in Isabelle's past - almost obsolving her as a suspect leaving the husband . . . & it's always the husband - or is it?

I'm Curious

1. Did you recognize the signs of postpartum anxiety/depression in Isabelle's mother? Are you aware of how serious they can be if left untreated? This is something I think anyone that know someone to have a baby should be able to reconize, it could save lives.

2. Did you know who Waylon was? I felt like it was kinda obvious, but I don't think that it ruined the story being something predictable at all.

3. If you were suspicious of the ex-husband, what was your first clue? Mine was being so comfortable with "moving on" or "accepting" that their child was gone, I would never, could never accept that, even if it were the truth as easily as he appeared to.

Next Book: A Slow Fire Burning by Paula Hawkins