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All the Colors of the DarkPenguin Random House LLC

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All the Colors of the Dark: A Read with Jenna Pick Kindle Edition

by Chris Whitaker (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

64,024 ratings

Editors' pick Best Books of the Year 2024

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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the author of We Begin at the End comes a soaring thriller and an epic love story that “hits like a sledgehammer . . . an absolutely must-read novel” (Gillian Flynn, author of Gone Girl).

Read with Jenna Book Club Pick as Featured on Today
The Boston Globe’s #1 Thriller/Mystery of 2024 So Far
A Best Book of the Year: Washington Post, She Reads, Kirkus Reviews

“Kept me frantically turning the pages and somehow made me cry at the end . . . Brava!”—Kristin Hannah, author of The Women

“Melds tense suspense with a powerful exploration of devotion, obsession, and love.”—People (Best New Books)

1975 is a time of change in America. The Vietnam War is ending. Muhammad Ali is fighting Joe Frazier. And in the smalltown of Monta Clare, Missouri, girls are disappearing.

When the daughter of a wealthy family is targeted, the most unlikely hero emerges—Patch, a local boy, who saves the girl, and, in doing so, leaves heartache in his wake.

Patch and those who love him soon discover that the line between triumph and tragedy has never been finer. And that their search for answers will lead them to truths that could mean losing one another.

A missing person mystery, a serial killer thriller, a love story, a unique twist on each, Chris Whitaker has written a novel about what lurks in the shadows of obsession and the blinding light of hope.

From the Publisher

I may never have loved a book as much says Jenna Bush Hager

A missing person. A serial killer. A love story. Lucy Foley says never read anything quite like it.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“All the Colors of the Dark kept me reading until 2:30 a.m.—the turns just kept coming. This is literary fiction that works as a crime thriller. The deadpan humor is pitch-perfect, the plot cinematic.”—Boston Globe

“Breathless . . . the story ripples out, spanning decades and perspectives, to consider how one moment transforms the lives of a little boy and the people who love him.”—The Washington Post

“Sure to bring suspense to the beach!”—US Weekly

“Melds tense suspense with a powerful exploration of devotion, obsession, and love.”—People

“This book hits like a sledgehammer. Equal parts harrowing and triumphant, Chris Whitaker's novel is a haunting story of America, alternating between its twin strands of violence and love. An absolutely must-read novel.”—Gillian Flynn

“All the Colors of the Dark is a hypnotic tale. . . . What is truly amazing about this novel is its ongoing sense of heart and tenacity as a small group of individuals makes their way through the world.”—The Anniston Star

“This novel grabbed me, held me and seeped into my soul in a way few books have. An instant modern classic.”—KMUW, NPR Kansas

“All the Colors of the Dark will appeal to those who have loved To Kill a Mockingbird, The Catcher in the Rye, and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. . . . This novel commands the same attention and appreciation as those as [Whitaker] unfolds this crime, love, three-generational saga. . . . Smooth, descriptive drama holds the reader captive with the unexpected through the very last page.”—OKC Friday

“Chris Whitaker kept me frantically turning the pages and somehow made me cry at the end. . . . Brava!”—Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“Engrossing, heartbreaking and uplifting in equal measure—I’ve never read anything quite like it. This book will stay with you for a very long time.”—Lucy Foley, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Apartment

“Chris Whitaker’s latest novel is a book to lose yourself in. . . . [T]his sprawling crime novel transcends its genre to become something epic in scope, haunting, and ultimately deeply moving.”―Alex Michaelides, bestselling author of The Silent Patient and The Fury

“All the Colors of the Dark is mesmerizing and intoxicating. Chris Whitaker is a poet who will leave you in breathless awe and suspense. Amazing. Haunting. Unforgettable.”—Patricia Cornwell

“I’m bereft at having finished this epic story of love and loss. Profoundly emotional and powerful, I savored every beautifully written word. I can’t recommend this highly enough.”―B. A. Paris, New York Times bestselling author of The Therapist and Behind Closed Doors

“Taut, beguiling, and suspenseful, All the Colors of the Dark reveals the depth of a town’s loss when a young boy goes missing under dubious circumstances.”—Nita Prose, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Maid and The Mystery Guest

“This is much more than a whodunit, though it fills that bill well. It is also a richly layered tale of love, loss, and hope.”―Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“With deeply affecting characters and ambition to spare, Whitaker has conjured a dazzling epic that defies easy categorization.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review

About the Author

Chris Whitaker is the award-winning author of Tall Oaks, All the Wicked Girls, and the New York Times bestseller We Begin at the End. Chris lives in the UK.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

1

From the flat roof of the kitchen Patch looked out through serried pin oaks and white pine to the loom of St. Francois Mountains that pressed the small town of Monta Clare into its shade no matter the season. At thirteen he believed entirely that there was gold beyond the Ozark Plateau. That there was a brighter world just waiting for him.

Though later that morning, when he lay dying in the woodland, he’d take that morning still and purse it till the colors ran because he knew it could not have been so beautiful. That nothing was ever so beautiful in his life.

He climbed back into his bedroom and wore a tricorne and waistcoat and tucked navy slacks into his socks and fanned the knees until they resembled breeches. Into his belt he slid a small dagger, metal alloy but the bladesmith was skilled enough.

Later that day the cops would crawl over the intricacies of his life and discover he was into pirates because he had been born with only one eye, and his mother peddled the romance of a cutlass and eye patch because often for kids like him the flair of fiction dulled a reality too severe.

In his bedroom they would note the black flag pinned to hide a hole in the drywall, the closet with no doors, the fan that did not work, and the Steepletone that did. The antique treasure chest his mother had found at a flea market in St. Louis, doubloon movie props, a replica one-shot flintlock pistol. They would bag a roll of firecrackers and the June 1965 Playboy, like they were evidence of something.

And then they would see the eye patches.

He looked them over carefully, then selected the purple with the silver star. His mother made them and some of them itched, but the purple was satin smooth. Eighteen in total, only one carried the skull and crossbones. He decided he might wear that one on his wedding day should he ever work up the courage to speak to Misty Meyer.

He removed the hat. His hair touched white in summer months and sand come winter, and he combed it but a tuft by the crown stood to attention like an antenna.

In the kitchen his mother sat. The night shift mortified her skin.

“You picking up signals with that thing?” she said, and tried to fix his hair with her palm. “Pass me the Crisco.”

He ducked away as she laughed. Patch liked his mother’s laugh.

The weekend before she’d taken him to Branson to see about a job. Ivy Macauley chased near misses like acceptance of place was the greatest sin. He’d fill up the Fairlane with just enough gas and she’d fill up the cab with excitement, fixing her hair into a Fonda shag and squeezing his hand and telling him this was it. He’d wait the interview hour alone in towns he did not know.

She’d fixed eggs, and he wondered just how tough it was to be a parent, and if at times all poor kids were some kind of well-intentioned regret.

“Today will be the best day of my life,” he said.

He said that often.

Because he could not know what would come.

2

He heard the mailman and ran for the door in case there was another letter from the school, but she took the envelope from him and closed her eyes and kissed it. “It’s got a St. Louis postmark.”

A month before, she’d interviewed at the botanical garden while Patch smiled at symmetrical families in the shade of Tower Grove House.

He held his breath till the sag of her shoulders.

Their Monta Clare rental was the kind of temporary already growing roots, the foundations knotting around his mother’s ankles no matter how hard she hacked at them with declarations of women’s lib, or how loud she played Dylan to remind herself that times were changing.

“We take something from every knock,” he said, and screwed up the letter. He scanned the empty shelves in the refrigerator. “Black Bart Roberts took near five hundred ships in his time. But he started out when he was captured himself. A legendary navigator, his captors spotted his potential and let him live. Before long they voted him captain.”

Sometimes she looked at him like he was the sum of her failings. Each night he lifted rusted dumbbells until his skinny arms burned, grinding his childhood away.

She noticed the bruise by his cheekbone as she removed his waistcoat and fixed his pants and licked her palm to smooth his hair down.

“Fighting, Joseph. Try to remember you’re all I’ve got.” She went to move the eye patch but he gripped her wrist and she softened.

“Then it sucks to be you.” He added a smile.

Sometimes he took the album from beneath her bed and mapped the rise and fall of her.

“You need to eat breakfast,” she said, as he pushed the plate down toward her.

“They give us something at school if we forget,” he lied too easy.

“You nervous? My little pirate. No more trouble from here on. No stealing and no fighting. New school, new start, right?”

“Show me a pirate that never got in some kind of trouble.”

“I’m serious, Joseph. I don’t need the school on me. That woman who stopped by, she looked at me like I can’t even care for you.” Ivy cupped his face. “Promise me.”

He could’ve told her he didn’t ever start it. “No more trouble.”

“You walking in with Saint?”

He nodded.

Ivy would go through this with the first responder, and then Chief Nix. She’d tell them she didn’t notice anyone hanging around. Or see a dark van. Or anything much beyond the slow wake of Rosewood Avenue.

And later, when it got worse, she’d wonder how much of her son’s life she had missed.

3

Across the street Mr. Roberts pushed his new Lawn Boy. The Robertses’ house was painted each spring, white clapboard, navy gable. That night in place of Hawaii Five-O the Robertses would sit on their porch and watch the cops crawl over the Macauley house. Mrs. Roberts would pour them a couple of fingers of bourbon to steady the nerves as Mr. Roberts said it was only a matter of time before something bad happened to that kid.

Green grass. Buffed sedans. Flags hung limp and still. Their house was tall and maybe once was grand, but a generation of neglect dragged at its shine. The only rental on the street, Patch tore weeds from the yard, cleared leaves from the gutters, and hammered slates to the roof after each storm like he did not know he was furnishing someone else’s future. He’d whistle as he worked, nodding hello to passing neighbors. Smiling. Always.

The next morning the cops would walk that same road, knocking on doors and asking questions, trying to piece together events that would mar their town for years to come.

News vans would set up outside the small police station and ramp up the pressure on Chief Nix, who would stand before the flashing bulbs and stammer his way through an ill-prepared statement. For that one day, Patch would wrestle Lynette Fromme and her assassination attempt on Gerald Ford from the front page of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

He found a long stick and slashed at the air, then turned it into a gun and fired warning shots at the approaching armada.

“Man the cannon, sea hag,” he said to the Anderson widow as she strolled past. She did not man the cannon.

At the foot of Main Street he looked for Saint, for the blue dungarees torn at each knee, the single braid she wore each day because she claimed it kept the hair from her eyes when she climbed the Morrisons’ apple tree and tossed down the choice picks.

He gave her five minutes then kicked a can along Main Street. He affected his best Curt Gowdy cowboy and commentated, “Patch Macauley, the first one-eyed boy to kick a seventy yarder.”

Outside Lacey’s Diner sat a cherry-red Thunderbird. Chuck Bradley and his older brothers leaned against it.

“Vikings,” Patch whispered beneath his breath. He tried to turn when Chuck noticed him and nudged the other two.

It would take the cops two days to get to Chuck and his brothers, but only a half hour to confirm their alibis.

Patch ducked down the alleyway behind the stores.

He heard footsteps, turned and saw the three, so backed himself into a corner.

“Nowhere to run,” Chuck said. He was tall and older and handsome enough. His brothers, wholesome copies. Chuck dated Misty Meyer, the feted beauty Patch had remained deeply in love with since kindergarten.

They moved a little closer. Patch backed up further until he felt the cool brick against him, and that was when he felt it, digging into his back.

He slipped the dagger from his belt and throttled the grip.

“No way you’re using that,” Chuck said, though Patch heard the doubt in his voice.

Patch stared at the blade as his knees shook. “November 1718, Robert Maynard finally captured the legend, Edward Teach. You’ll know him as Blackbeard.”

Chuck glanced at his brothers. One of them laughed.

“Maynard cut him twenty times with a knife just like this. Then grabbed a handful of his hair and hacked his head clean off.”

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CP93N5S2
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Crown (June 25, 2024)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 25, 2024
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2.7 MB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 586 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #438 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #3 in Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Literary Fiction
- #6 in Literary Fiction (Books)
- #8 in Historical Literary Fiction

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Chris Whitaker

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Chris Whitaker is the author of the New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling All The Colours Of The Dark. His other acclaimed and bestselling novels include We Begin At The End, Tall Oaks, and All The Wicked Girls.

Chris’s novels have been translated into thirty languages and have won the CWA Gold Dagger, the CWA John Creasey Dagger, the Theakston Crime Novel of the Year, the Ned Kelly International Award, and numerous awards around the world.

His books have also been selected for the Read With Jenna Book Club, Waterstones Thriller of the Month, Barnes & Noble Book Club, Good Morning America Book Club, and for BBC2’s Between The Covers.

All The Colours Of The Dark is currently in development with Universal Pictures. We Begin At The End is currently in development with A24.

Chris was born in London and lives in the UK.

Follow him on Instagram @chriswhitakerauthor

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Customers find the book's story engaging from beginning to end, with plot twists and turns creating an emotional roller coaster. The writing style features very short chapters, and customers appreciate the vividly colorful characters and heart-wrenching narrative about lasting friendship and love. The pacing and readability receive mixed reactions - while some say it keeps readers going through to the end, others find parts slow and hard to follow in the beginning. The book's length is criticized for being longer than expected.

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830 customers mention "Story quality"793 positive37 negative

Customers love the story of this book, finding each page a joy to read, with one customer describing it as a beautifully written epic tale.

"...To say that the story is gripping is an understatement...." Read more

"...So glad I picked it back up! What an amazing story told over 3 decades. Each character meant something...." Read more

"...around with me to snatch a few moments to read more of this incredibly brilliant, well developed story...." Read more

"...serial child abductions and sex trafficking, and does so with mountains of grace, compassion, and truth...." Read more

491 customers mention "Twists and turns"425 positive66 negative

Customers enjoy the book's twists and turns, describing it as a gripping thriller that takes them on an emotional roller coaster.

"...This book is marketed as, in part, a serial killer novel, but it is far more of a mainstream, coming-of-age novel with elements of crime..." Read more

"...With the many twists and turns, thriller readers won’t be disappointed. This is a novel for fans of Gillian Flynn and Ruth Ware." Read more

"...I loved the uniqueness of each character and how their lives intertwined in a myriad of ways...." Read more

"...writing harkened back to Steinbeck, and the plot felt original and imaginative...." Read more

367 customers mention "Writing quality"274 positive93 negative

Customers praise the writing quality of the book, noting its eloquent and masterful use of description, particularly appreciating its very short chapter structure.

"...The writer tackled a much needed story about the aspects of American serial child abductions and sex trafficking, and does so with mountains of grace..." Read more

"I absolutely adored this book. From the rich prose to the short chapters it was balance and perfection...." Read more

"...Each word is written purposefully and beautifully. I feel like I can see the characters and they’ve become a part of me...." Read more

"...The writing is sometimes a little purple and individual sentences are sometimes a bit awkward, but the book triumphs for two reasons: first, its..." Read more

317 customers mention "Character development"293 positive24 negative

Customers appreciate the rich character development in the book, with one customer noting how different personalities cope with life's challenges.

"...What an amazing story told over 3 decades. Each character meant something. And I came to care about and like them all...." Read more

"...I appreciated the symbolic use of names, the intensity of each character’s feelings and devotion to one another despite differences, rejections, and..." Read more

"...Just don’t ask me how I know. These characters are so real, flawed, perfect, lovable, resilient, and a few easily hated...." Read more

"...I rooted for the characters wholly and felt that this was an example of how pain can be expertly expressed in a story...." Read more

233 customers mention "Heartbreak"209 positive24 negative

Customers find the book heart-wrenching, covering every emotion possible in a beautiful story of lasting friendship and love.

"...has a few slow stretches and spans years, but that only makes the tension almost unbearable...." Read more

"...He does an exceptional job describing the emotional aspects of those who were traumatized and dealing with PTSD, and the many ways those people..." Read more

"Tragic is the only way I can describe this book. So much pain, so much hurt, so many tears in this book...." Read more

"...The author created the most beautiful, emotional, loving, heartbreaking, story that was even a thriller/mystery that took place over many years...." Read more

173 customers mention "Pacing"99 positive74 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the pacing of the book, with some saying it keeps them going through to the end and finding it deeply hopeful, while others note that parts of the book are slow and the overall flow is uneven.

"...The second reason for the book’s success is that it ultimately consists of an extended (600 pp.)..." Read more

"...I am giving it 4 stars though simply because some parts did feel dragged and some parts were either very brief and did not give enough details or "..." Read more

"...is the deal with this book: It is about heart and it never quits in its demonstration, and its challenge. to believe in that possibility...." Read more

"Boy did the book drag and move slow. So many details and such an elaborate mystery...." Read more

160 customers mention "Readability"69 positive91 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the book's readability, with some finding it clever and extremely complex, while others report it is hard to follow in the beginning and sometimes confusing.

"...The ending left me feeling slightly satisfied and slightly ambiguous, but maybe that’s just me. Maybe I wanted more...." Read more

"...The web carefully guides the reader over decades and takes us through young and carefree children to experienced and wizened adults...." Read more

"I found myself confused at times. I had a hard time keeping all the characters straight . I did enjoy the book but just a little too much ." Read more

"This novel is Dickensian in its scope and uniquely patient in crafting the humanity of its characters so that the strength of them lends credence to..." Read more

180 customers mention "Length"47 positive133 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the book's length, with some finding it too long while others appreciate its brevity.

"...though simply because some parts did feel dragged and some parts were either very brief and did not give enough details or "coverage" for me..." Read more

"...Yes it’s long, but it is so worth the investment. Did I cry at the end? You know I did." Read more

"...The chapters were short and made you want to continue on. I had to discipline myself to not stay up half the night reading." Read more

"...plot is really solid and the characters are well-developed, but this one is long—and you feel it...." Read more

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Shopstoomuch
Hard truths where love, compassion, friendship, and doing what is right are all bound together.
Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2025
Verified Purchase

TRIGGER WARNING FOR ANYONE ABDUCTED and/or SEXUALLY ASSAULTED and their family members.

The writer tackled a much needed story about the aspects of American serial child abductions and sex trafficking, and does so with mountains of grace, compassion, and truth. He does an exceptional job describing the emotional aspects of those who were traumatized and dealing with PTSD, and the many ways those people chose deal with it. The emotions of those left-behind families and their communities are also spot on - ALL of them. Just don’t ask me how I know.

These characters are so real, flawed, perfect, lovable, resilient, and a few easily hated. The web carefully guides the reader over decades and takes us through young and carefree children to experienced and wizened adults. Mr. Whitaker must have aimed for the readers to read the last section with their hands over their eyes peeking out through a tiny “V”, as that is how it personally felt.

On a personal note, It was ironic to me that I share the same home state as the abductor. How true this story felt on so many levels, but never more so than this.

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12 people found this helpful

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robin
I didn’t want it to end, I didn’t want to let go of this story
Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2025
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I didn’t want it to end. That’s saying a lot after 600 pages. This was one of the best books I’ve read in a very long time. The author created the most beautiful, emotional, loving, heartbreaking, story that was even a thriller/mystery that took place over many years.

It starts out with a great friendship between two young kids and then a horrifying scene that sets the course of the novel. The writing is exquisite and paints the characters and the details of the scenes in great depth and beauty. Each word is written purposefully and beautifully. I feel like I can see the characters and they’ve become a part of me. I have come to know the town of Monte Clare like it’s my own home.

There has been so much written about this book and so many reviews that there really isn’t much more to add other than please do not be dissuaded by the length. It is written so well that the pages flow by as you are drawn into this incredible story. It is fantastic. I am left with a feeling of love and hope and the amazing resilience of lasting friendships and perseverance. Do not pass this up!

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20 people found this helpful

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Sara
Beautifully written and emotionally rich, but definitely a slow burn.
Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2025
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The plot is really solid and the characters are well-developed, but this one is long—and you feel it. It’s not a fast-paced page turner, but the writing is beautiful, and even the slower moments are enjoyable because of how well the story is told. Worth the read if you’re in the mood for something more layered and thoughtful.

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10 people found this helpful

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Marilyn Neve
A long but very worthy read
Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2025
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This author has such amazing talents and skills at painting a beautiful picture with his words. This book covered so much. History, victory, mystery and beautiful splashes of humor, hope and light. The characters were thoughtfully created and their stories may have been difficult at times, but each ended the way that was most fitting.
I seldom give out five stars, but this one truly earned it in my opinion.

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5 people found this helpful

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Tiffany Seaver
A Beautiful Work of Art
Reviewed in the United States on March 7, 2025
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This book is a brilliant work of art! It covers every emotion possible, through love, tragedy, heartbreak, laughter, happiness, and grit! A tragic, yet beautiful love story with so many twists! Amazing character development, and the descriptions used make you feel like you were in a movie scene. It took me a month to read the near 600 pages, but I’m happy I didn’t rush through it. I highly recommend if you want to feel all the feels. It is a very wordy book, with a lot of detail, so if you don’t enjoy that style of writing, this may not be your cup of tea. Also, the chapters are super short (1-2pages) and there are 261 chapters! I personally loved the short chapters!

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18 people found this helpful

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Ok_lavishness-1494
Loved This Book
Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2025
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I absolutely adored this book. From the rich prose to the short chapters it was balance and perfection. The story spans many years but didn’t feel like a slog, and so perfectly wove together numerous plot elements in a way that left me feeling forever changed by this book. I think this is one of the best pieces of modern realistic fiction I’ve ever read. The writing harkened back to Steinbeck, and the plot felt original and imaginative. There were times that I worried I would hit a point in which the level of coincidence would get old, but the way Whitaker wove the story together I never fully felt that pang of disbelief. I rooted for the characters wholly and felt that this was an example of how pain can be expertly expressed in a story. This was the eloquence in a dark storyline that I felt A Little Life missed. Where Yanagihara uses a prosaic sledgehammer Whitaker wields a a sharpened knife.

I will recommend this book a million times over, definitely in a top overall favorite category for me.

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Susan Y.
A good pick to read.
Reviewed in the United States on April 5, 2025
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For some reason the style of writing was harder than most novels to read. I'm a grammar nerd, but apparently not as much a nerd as I thought because I can't quite put a finger on what made this book difficult to read at times. With that said, as the book continued, it drew me in, and I spent a couple late nights reading. There were many twists and turns throughout the book, and you rooted for the main characters, flawed as they are.

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4 people found this helpful

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Natalya
Tragic
Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2025
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Tragic is the only way I can describe this book. So much pain, so much hurt, so many tears in this book. It took me awhile to read it as it was slow-ish one for me, not because it was not engaging, or the writing style was off, but because this book made me pause so many times and made me think. I did not really have the urge to go through this book and figure out the ending, I was just reading and living the story. I am giving it 4 stars though simply because some parts did feel dragged and some parts were either very brief and did not give enough details or "coverage" for me personally. All in all it was a very very good book.

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3 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

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B Gray
practically perfect
Reviewed in Canada on March 8, 2025
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A book written in images and colours, in lyrical prose which puts poetry to shame. I am a slow reader, and the language in this book had me stop and re-read aloud, and then stare at the sky, none of which helps a person finish this brilliant story. Amen to Patch and Saint and Norma and Charlotte and Nix. And to Sammy. Thank you so much.

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Audrey Haylins
An epic tale of tragedy, obsession, and enduring hope and friendship
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 22, 2025
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I’m not sure how much more I can add to all the praise that’s already been heaped on this book, except to say that it is epic in every sense of the word: in scope, in depth of character, and in storytelling. And that’s without mentioning Whitaker’s soaring, poetic prose. I may have been late getting to the party, but I boogied my heart out all the same.

All the Colors of the Dark is a tale of small-town tragedy, obsession, resilience, loyalty, and enduring hope and friendship. Spanning several decades, it explores the aftermath of a single event and the ripple effect it has both on those directly involved and on their small community, forever changing the paths of multiple lives. For this reason, it also has a deep vein of sadness running through it.

The three main protagonists — Patch, Saint and Misty, whom we first meet as young teenagers — are exquisitely drawn, their destinies inextricably linked from the moment Patch saves Misty from a would-be abductor. Then there’s Grace, Patch’s saviour and all-consuming obsession. Is she real or a figment of his fevered imagination?

At close to 600 pages, this is a chunky book and impossible to pigeon hole into a single genre; it’s so much more than a straightforward thriller or mystery and as delicately layered as the finest mille-feuille.

Whitaker’s storytelling is masterful, the plot complex, sleek and taut, save for a brief loss of momentum in the middle, which passes soon enough, when the twists start coming thick and fast.

As intricate and clever the plotting, however, this for me was still very much a character-driven novel. I became completely invested in Patch, Saint and Misty, in their complicated dynamic as well as their individual journeys, trials and tribulations. The sadness of their stories affected me deeply; the unrequited love, the lost opportunities, the lives stolen. They will live in my heart for a long time to come.

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Ellen I.
Diferente
Reviewed in Spain on February 1, 2025
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No he terminado aún pero me está gustando mucho.

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Benja
Spannend und mit überzeugender Story
Reviewed in Germany on December 4, 2024
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Eine sehr unterhaltsame Lektüre!

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Clover
A must read, no question. It will break you but in the best way.
Reviewed in Australia on March 7, 2025
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A must read, no question. It will break you but in the best way.

Like every Chris Whitaker book I have read, All the Colours of the Dark is a slow burn until it grabs you and then it really grabs you. It is one of those stories that burrows deep, breaking your heart and piecing it back together, only to do it all over again. More than once, I found myself tearing up .

Yes, the plot is far-fetched. Only in America could you believe something like this would actually happen. But that is beside the point. What makes this book extraordinary is the raw emotion, the humanity that Whitaker writes with so effortlessly.

The passages I highlighted are the heart of the story. Like when Patch, with his small clenched fists, throws the first punch because Saint is all he has got. And when she thinks, I am all you will need.

This is the core of this book. Love, loyalty and how people hold each other up even in the darkest times.

Then there is the aching wisdom woven throughout. People mistake money for class, anger for strength. How grief changes you, how memories live in people, not places.

And that gut punch of a line. Love is a visitor. Because, in Whitaker's world, love is not always permanent, but it is always worth having.

And let us not forget the way he captures loss, not just of people, but of self. Saint wanted to ask what it was like to lose the thing that defined you. But perhaps she knew. That line lingers because so much of this book is about identity, about the way life chips away at us but sometimes also rebuilds us.

Patch’s art, his desperate attempt to paint someone back into existence, is one of the most devastating yet beautiful parts of the novel. The way he tries to bring Grace back with colour, even when he does not quite know how, is Whitaker at his finest, turning grief into something you can almost see.

A must read, no question. It will break you but in the best way.

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5.0 out of 5 stars practically perfect

5.0 out of 5 stars An epic tale of tragedy, obsession, and enduring hope and friendship

5.0 out of 5 stars Diferente

5.0 out of 5 stars Spannend und mit überzeugender Story

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read, no question. It will break you but in the best way.

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practically perfect

An epic tale of tragedy, obsession, and enduring hope and friendship

Diferente

Spannend und mit überzeugender Story

A must read, no question. It will break you but in the best way.