All the Dangerous Things: The gripping new psychological thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of A Flicker in the Dark

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All the Dangerous Things is a now/then narrative. We follow the present-day Isabelle (“Izzy”) Drake as well as the “then” Isabelle—a young girl in the South who has a tendency to sleepwalk often, which scares her little sister, Margaret. Eventually she agrees to be interviewed by true crime podcaster Waylon, and they’re soon working as a team. Much is to be discovered, not just about herself, but others too, and a it’s gripping read just wanting to know where it will all end. Recommended! Now things are even worse. It’s been a year since her toddler was taken from his crib in the night, and six months since her husband Ben left her. He thinks she needs to move on, but Isabelle can’t and won’t rest until she finds their son Mason. After she speaks at a true crime con, podcaster Waylon Spencer offers to let her tell her story. After all, there are still some who think SHE’S behind Mason’s disappearance, and a tragic event from her past isn’t helping. Narrated solely by Isabelle, the narrative alternates between the present and 1999, when Isabelle was a child. Isabelle is an unreliable narrator, and since she doesn’t sleep, her memory is murky, and her obsession with finding Mason has her struggling to separate reality from fantasy.

Isabelle Drake’s toddler son Mason was kidnapped a year ago. She hasn’t slept since. The case is now cold, with no clues and no leads for the police. Even her marriage is over, not being able to stand the strain of a missing child. Isabelle tries to keep the investigation active by speaking about Mason at true crime cons. At one such event, she bumps into a crime podcaster who wants to highlight Mason in his next show. But as they proceed with this, Isabelle starts questioning her own memories of what happened that night. Isabelle Drake has been an insomniac in the truest sense of the word for a LONG time...since the disappearance of her beautiful baby son, Mason, a year and a half ago. Aside from the occasional drift or 'microsleep,' she's been battling her bleary eyed grief and dedicated herself to trying to bring Mason home. With no evident disruption to the room the night of the disappearance, a dead battery on the baby monitor, and no leads, the case has all but stalled entirely. Isabelle's husband Ben has moved out and she feels utterly alone...until after attending a True Crime convention, a podcaster named Waylon makes her acquaintance...and asks for The Interview. Content warnings: Insomnia and sleep deprivation; disappearance; murder and attempted murder; mention of death by suicide; death and grief; depression; psychosis; postpartum trauma; night terrors; mention of pregnancy loss All the Dangerous Things Book Review / Summary I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher Minotaur, through Edelweiss. It was my pleasure to read and review this terrific thriller. Isabelle Drake, a lifestyle reporter for The Grit who turned freelancer so that she could marry Grit publisher Ben Drake without raising too many eyebrows, hasn’t slept through the night since her 18-month-old son, Mason, was snatched from his crib as his parents snoozed a few yards away. She’s been so tireless in pursing leads, even breaking the nose of a supermarket cashier she suddenly learned had a record, that Det. Arthur Dozier of the Savannah Police Department has tuned her out and warned her off the case. Exhausted from touring true-crime conventions across the region, publicizing the tale of her lost boy and the breakup of her marriage that followed, Isabelle agrees to tell her story at length to podcaster Waylon Spencer so that he can spread it more widely while she searches for sleep. But his questions are so unsettling that she begins to wonder if she was the one responsible for Mason’s disappearance—and what her role might have been in a family calamity more than 20 years earlier that was likely papered over because her father was a South Carolina congressman from a long line of congressmen. The windup is anything but tidy, for the multiple mysteries end up requiring multiple culprits. No matter: Willingham is so relentless in linking Isabelle’s sleeplessness to her deepening sense of waking nightmare that fans can expect some seriously sleepless nights themselves.It might seem like nothing could disturb that sort of tranquility...but with an effortless toss of ONE tiny pebble...the whole pond becomes a moving, rippling being, ever-changing and ever-surprising. I’m beginning to hate the use of first person in this genre. All we get is “I think”, “I wonder”, “I imagine”, “I feel”,… after every few lines. It kills the momentum of the plot. I understand that first person povs will always have some inner monologues, but there should be a limit to them, especially in genres that function on pace. The novel contains a multitude of dangerous things including insomnia and the fear it induces but it also takes a deep dive into the past. All these ‘dangerous things’ arise organically in the plot being expressed and described extremely well. Oh hey there! Listen to Novels & Nonsense Podcast episode 2: Goodreads & Bad Reads to hear me discuss this book and more. Can't wait to hear what you think💖 It's after speaking at an event dedicated to True crime that she meets True Crime Podcaster, Waylon Spencer. Waylon takes an interest in Mason's case and proposes to Isabelle that they work together. If he can interview her for his series, it will bring even more exposure to her case.

Mason was kidnapped one year ago. His case is still unclosed. Its every parent's nightmare. He was taken at night from his crib while his parents were sleeping. I step into the light, walking with purpose toward the host as he signals me onstage. The crowd continues to yell, some of them standing, clapping, the beady little eyes of their iPhones pointed in my direction, taking me in, unblinking. I turn toward the audience, squinting at their silhouettes. My eyes adjust a bit, and I wave, smiling weakly before coming to a halt in the center.

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