This novel begins in 1975 in a small town in Missouri. A girl named Saint and a boy known as Patch are two misfit friends. One day, Patch sees someone in the woods attacking another girl - he intervenes and then goes missing. There is A LOT more to the plot than that but I don’t want spoil it, so let’s just say the book takes place over the many years following that incident, tracing how that affects all the characters and informs their future actions. So the book encompasses so much - coming of age stories, missing person and serial killer mysteries, stories of friendship and family, trauma and resilience or lack thereof, and so much more, with a decades-long sweep. Think Notes On an Execution crossed with Ann Patchett or Ann Napolitano.

I loved Chris Whitaker’s last book We Begin at the End, but I thought this one was even better. Even though it was 600 pages long, I seriously couldn’t put it down and read it in less days than I’ve read books half the length. It did get a teeny bit slow in the middle, but the last stretch of the book was perfection. I predict you will be seeing this book on a lot of end of the year best of lists, and it just might be on mine too.

4.5 stars

𝒜𝑅𝒞 𝑅𝑒𝓋𝒾𝑒𝓌

𝘼𝙡𝙡 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙧𝙨 𝙊𝙛 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘿𝙖𝙧𝙠
by Chris Whitaker
608 pages (doesn’t feel like it - very readable with short chapters) I’ve read it twice.
published June 25, 2024

Thank you @chriswhitakerauthor @crownpublishing and @netgalley for allowing me to read this amazing novel.
I have read this twice, and will read it again when I receive my personalized signed copy from @bluewillowbooks and I am hoping I will be able to participate in an author chat because I am very curious about the author’s research and writing process.

Please do not miss this book especially if you are a reader who

🎢 loves a great suspense thriller
👮‍♀️ enjoys following cold case investigations
👱‍♀️👨🏻👩🏻‍🦰 enjoys character driven drama
♥️ enjoys deep love stories
⏰ enjoys a 30 year epic search for answers and redemption
📖 is looking for your next book club title- This is IT.

I won’t stop raving about this story to every person I encounter. It is a Jenna’s Book Club pick and deserves to be celebrated and read over and over!

All The Colors Of The Dark is one of my best books of the year. It is at the top of my favorite reads of 2024.

I received this book as an ARC from @netgalley and I immediately pre-ordered from a book store. This will also be added to our high school library. It is a must purchase, must read book that should be in every library collection.

This will also be adapted to the screen, so read it before we watch. I can’t wait to see who they cast.
#newbooks #bestbooksof2024 #mustreadbooks #currentlyreading #bookreviews #allthecolorsofthedark #chriswhitaker #bookstoscreen #bookclub

What a phenomenal story. Initially, I wasn't sure where this one was going but what a sweeping, unforgettable novel. I will carry these characters in my heart forever. Definitely a heavier, sad book but so powerful and will be recommending this one to everyone! A definite favorite of 2024.

Wow. Don't you dare blink and miss a word! This sweeping, slow burn thriller is delightfully detailed that you dare not read with distractions. This is my first time reading this author, and I did find his writing flawless. It's 1975 in Monta Clare, Missouri and a serial killer is hunting girls. As another one is about to be taken a brave boy, a pirate you might say, steps in and alters his life and those around him forever. A sweeping saga of friendship, family, and the pursuit of solace after loss that will keep you turning the pages. It's going to be on my best books of the year by far.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crown for the ARC!

This book was not for me. I tried so hard and got to around 45%. It kept going on and on without getting anywhere. A lot of reading for nothing too exciting, character based and just continued to drag on. Strong profanity and crude language, also religion is portrayed in a very derogatory and offensive way.

All the Colors of the Dark is a mystery, a thriller. But it’s also so much more than that. It’s a story of outsiders, a story about unlikely friendships and the lengths that people will go to in order to save those who matter the most. It’s a story that makes you care...even for people that may seem hard to care about. I loved this story and all its ins and outs. I have one critique. In the beginning, the writing seemed choppy. It took me a little bit to get used to, but I persevered. Partly because I had read and enjoyed another book (We Begin at the End) by this author. Also, because I liked the premise of the book. Reviews on Goodreads so far were very positive. I’d requested and received a copy of this book to read and review and I don’t easily give up. I’m so glad I didn’t put it aside, because it’s truly a wonderful book. As I neared the end, my head was spinning with all that was going on and trying to make sense of it. Then, I slowed down. I didn’t want it to end. I enjoyed it so much that I was afraid the ending might disappoint. Again, I was wrong. Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

This one has it all! Love, coming of age, mystery, thriller, all interwoven into an unputdownable read. It spans the story of Patch and Saint and their friendship across 25+ years. At one point I thought it was going to take a certain route, the author had laid out all the Easter eggs, and I was disappointed, but they didn’t lead where I thought they would and he tied it all together so well. Well done Chris Whitaker. Perfect summer read.

Incredible story. Goes way beyond your average missing child thriller. About 150 pages too long, I have a feeling that will put people off even though this one is receiving loads of buzz on social media.

"All the Colors of the Dark" is a stunningly crafted and masterfully executed novel that captivates readers from beginning to end. With its intricately developed characters, the story draws us in and leaves a profound impact. I found myself deeply enamored with the well-defined personalities of Patch and Saint, experiencing a whirlwind of emotions as their journeys unfolded.

Patch emerges as a heroic figure when he rescues Misty from the clutches of a malevolent antagonist. Yet, this is merely the beginning of Patch's own narrative. Meanwhile, Saint grapples with her love for Patch while grappling with heart-wrenching decisions that will shape her future.

The novel takes us on a riveting rollercoaster ride as the identity of the kidnapper gradually unravels across its 600 pages. I highly recommend adding "All the Colors of the Dark" to your must-read list.

Thank you to Net Galley and Crown Publishing for the ARC to read and review.

Thank you to Crown for the free ARC via Netgalley in exchange for a review. This one is out now!

1975, Monte Clare, Missouri. A one eyed boy named Patch, who fancies himself a pirate, has known nothing but a hard life when a shy and brilliant girl, Saint, befriends him. Normally joined at the hip, their lives change unimaginably when Patch saves a local girl from a predator and is abducted in the process. Saint will stop at nothing to find her best friend. An event that dictates the next decades of their lives, and all the loved ones caught in the aftermath. The search for justice, a missing girl, a serial killer, and the incredible lengths people will go to for the people they love.

In the words of Lady Gaga: talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show stopping, spectacular, never the same, totally unique, completely not ever been done before. Love love love this book. The story telling and depth of character is unmatched, the writing beautiful. Tears were shed multiple times. Jordy’s Book Club did not lie…fave book of 2024 for good reason. Unlike most 600+ page books I’ve read, I think it actually merits the length and couldn’t imagine it having the same impact if it was shorter. I need to read the rest of Whitaker’s books IMMEDIATELY.

Wow. Amazing book. You’ll fall in love with Patch, the Pirate, and Saint, the Beekeeper. So many other characters to love as well. A book that isn’t easy to define: mystery, serial killer thriller, love story, coming of age tale. In a less skilled author’s hands the genre-hopping would’ve led to disaster. Here, Chris Whitaker gives you a wholly satisfying literary gumbo. Spicy and delicious.

Teens Saint and Patch are outsiders in their small town, but are fast friends. When Patch saves a local girl from being kidnapped by a serial offender, the trajectories of their lives are forever altered. All the Colors of the Dark is an epic 25-year plus saga of cops and robbers, lovers and dreamers, triumph and loss -- with a beekeeper and a pirate at the heart of it all.

This book doesn't slot easily into one genre. The story begins in the 70s against the landscape that necessitated Roe v. Wade, giving it the feel of historical fiction; but it follows a decades-long missing person story and hunt for a serial killer, which makes it more akin to a crime thriller. And there is so much focus on the inner lives of the characters that it feels more like literary fiction than a typical thriller or mystery novel. This is really a reader's novel, and never feels too long despite its length.

Be prepared to hear a lot about this one in the coming months. It is truly magnificent and moving.

I received at complementary ARC of this book from NetGalley on behalf of the author and the publisher.
This is an epic saga that spans decades of the lives of two friends and how their lives intertwine through hardships, loves, loses and trauma. As they grow they change, but something still holds them together with an unbreakable bond. Chris Whitaker has a way of writing that is so descriptive and detailed that it makes you feel like you are living the lives a long with these characters. I enjoyed this book immensely, it was a great read!

I managed to finish this long book that covered a time span of thirty years . It dragged on and I just got tired of all the places Patch visited and all the years he searched for Grace . His existence just became tiresome as other very worthwhile and meaningful relationships were jeopardized especially the one with his soulmate Saint. He never really saw her utter devotion and love for him . Patch was selfish and although his painting talent helped some families he didn’t truly acknowledge the people who were his real family , like Sammy , Charlotte, Misty and Saint’s grandmother, Tooms ,Nix and others in his home town. When it was convenient he saw their worth but his search for Grace was all consuming.

Patch, the boy with one eye, stumbles upon one of his female classmates being abducted and intervenes. The girl escapes but Patch is injured and goes missing. His best friend embarks on a mission to find him even though everyone assumes he's dead. As the story unfolds over several decades, the tragic incident has far reaching consequences to those impacted

Chris Whitaker is a UK writer who has only traveled to America a handful of times, so his depiction of a rural American town feels remarkably captured in this story's atmospheric Missouri setting.

Publishers Weekly provided an intriguing insight into Whitaker's personal struggles, inspiring much of his storytelling. It details that until recently, he worked as a research assistant at his local public library and thoroughly enjoyed the experience, which honed his ability to throw his story into an unknown setting. The interviewer described that he might research a story's details for months but refine them to a mere paragraph for the reader. This unusual restraint makes this novel feel like a story with half its page count.

Patch was into pirates because he had been born with only one eye, and his mother pitched this as something to hold onto for his life as "the flair of fiction dulled a reality too severe." When he befriends the gifted and bookish Saint, she adds stability to his world and becomes an inseparable childhood best friend.

But the two face a horrifying fracture when Patch intervenes to prevent a local girl from being taken by a serial killer and becomes captured in the wake of the incident. Held in a dark basement by the man, Patch forges an unlikely friendship with another girl held there, offering him an unusual means of survival and coping through this time.

Although he has never seen her face due to their dark surroundings, he memorizes her facial contours with his hands, vowing to protect her if he can escape. But, when he is rescued, and the girl is not, her face and his heroic vow haunt him.

Spanning decades from the Vietnam War to the Clinton presidency, readers are offered a dangerous, dark, and twisting journey as Patch and his best friend, Saint, discover a new purpose after this initial tragic event unfolds.

Whitaker perfectly captures the love between these two friends, but what enhances it is Patch's buoyant charisma, a well-developed cat-and-mouse game, wonderful side characters, a riveting police procedural, and a beautifully built angsty love triangle.

I've not felt drawn to Whitaker's writing before, but this riveting novel has convinced me to revisit his backlist, as this story quickly altered my brain chemistry. Propulsive and page-turning, it is an enthralling friendship saga with a literary mystery crafted with enormous heart. It will undoubtedly be on my best books of the year list!

All the Colors of the Dark is an emotional and fascinating look at relationships forged long ago and how circumstances change things, how people can be pushed to their limits and what some will do to find peace, and how evil lurks in some while kindness and heroism in others. It is all in this carefully crafted and well developed book. All the Colors of the Dark is a must read which I will definitely be recommending to my book clubs.

This book is getting a ton of hype for good reason. This was FANTASTIC. It's hard to talk about this book without giving up too much. I think all you need to know is that the book starts with Patch interrupting a kidnapping and the novel takes us through the after effects of that decision.

The relationship between Patch and Saint and how their lives change from the opening of the book really hooked me. If the length feels intimidating to you, know that the chapters are VERY short. That really kept me saying to myself "just one more chapter" until I found myself finishing in two days.

If you are a sensitive reader, you should definitely look into content warnings for this book.

** I received an e-ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Page turning thriller that kept my attention! I loved the characters! Short chapters kept me turning the pages to see what happened next. Ending tied up all the loose ends, Highly recommend!

A string of murders spanning 20+ years… real life pirates… faith and art and family and small towns. All The Colors of the Dark is the best book of the summer, if not all of 2024. I was absolutely blown away by All the Colors of the Dark, and I simultaneously attempted to fly through this book to the ending, while also savoring every single word crafted on the pages.

Chris Whitaker is an incredibly gifted writer. All of his books should be required reading. A sincere thank you to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for this electronic arc. All thoughts and opinions in this review are entirely my own.