Reviews

All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham

lilnormbean's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

chloeannedixon's review

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

bbethcasas's review

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I adored this book! The story was great, I loved the main character, Isabelle, and championed her in her drive to find out what really happened to her son and her unfaltering belief that he was still alive! 
  There is hardly any evidence and it seems to Isabelle that SHE is the prime suspect! She can’t sleep and spends all her time chasing leads and speaking to anyone who will listen about Mason’s case, pleading for him to come home. Her husband, Ben, reaches a point where he thinks there’s no reason to continue looking for Mason, that he must be dead, and they HAVE to move on, and when Isabelle refuses to accept his way of thinking, he moves out. (Jerk!)
After a public appearance telling the story of Mason’s disappearance, Isabelle meets Waylon, who hosts a podcast and invites her to be on his show to get more exposure and hopefully get some new leads in his case. Well, twists and exposures abound with this partnership! The truth comes out and you won’t believe what and who is exposed!!  

beewhorl's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

Isabelle Drake tries to uncover the truth behind her childhood trauma and her current life as her baby went missing a year ago. The book is told in “then” and “now” chapters as both stories unravel and the twists keep coming. It is not one big twist at the end type of story instead it has many throughout the book as you try to figure out the “whodunnit”. I enjoyed this author’s debut novel too (A Flicker in the Dark) and I can’t wait to read more of her books.

steffany9's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

swatimalhotra0490's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

argal14's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

fionaguiley's review

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I liked this book in the same way that I enjoy my guilty pleasure shows - I had to keep consuming it, but I wouldn’t say it’s a super high-quality plot. First of all, the author does one of my pet peeves, idk what to call it but basically when they’re like:

It was a quiet night. 
Almost too quiet.

It drives me crazy, like okay I get it, I’m supposed to be on edge here. It’s the same laziness of putting feel-good music on a tv show when you’re supposed to be happy, and sad music for the sad parts, etc. I guess it works but it just bugs me in books for some reason, so eye roll-inducing. 
Anyway. There are some big parts of this book that just came together too easily for me. I can’t say what the main resolution that bugged me is without turning on the spoiler tag, but it was just too convenient. It was a plot device that you could basically use in any story, not unique to this one. 
All that being said, I ended up carrying my kindle around with me and reading it more and more often because I had to know how it all turned out. It also has some good messages about the perception of mothers/women, and the weirdness of true crime fanatics. This is an easy and pleasurable read, but not one I would necessarily submit for any awards. 

superfiona's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

nschellhas's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

3.75