This was an excellent story, but so many pages long it took me several days to finish. My suggestion would be for a reader to pick up this book to read when they had time to devote to enjoying it without too many interruptions.

This is one of the best books I've read in a long time. The characters and story are unforgettable and will stay with me for a long time. I was hooked from the beginning and devoured the book in 2 days. Highly recommend. There is so much here to think about and discuss. It will be a big book club hit.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc.

Five stars hands down. A truly gripping story with unique characters and you will never guess the outcome. I wish there would be more novels like this. Highly recommended.
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This book is going to be such a big deal when people catch on. It reminds me a bit of The Goldfinch if it had been written by Stephen King. 7 out of 5 stars. This is a must read.

I’m usually quick to DNF but I hung with All the Colors of the Dark even though the first 80 pages or so read slow for me and was scarier than I normally go. After that though, I did not want to put it down, and read the last 500 pages in two days. Patch and Saint are great characters, and I love how Whitaker constantly scaffolds the story, revealing just enough at a time. Patch gave real Andy DuFresne vibes at times and I’m always here for that. Although I generally like knowing an author is going to hand me the ending I want, I could see multiple possible endings here that would make sense and not knowing which way Whitaker would go kept me turning the pages.

If your book club will read chonky books, there’s lots to discuss here. The prison system, the death penalty, domestic abuse, social safety nets, policing over the decades, love, found family, parenting, I could go on.

A serial killer, a mystery, a romance. A little something for everyone!


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

Only this author can get me to pick up a 600 page book. As with We Begin at the End, this book is full of characters that you can’t help but love. Written in his unique style, this story was the highlight of my reading year so far.

Chris Whitaker has kept me enthralled once again. Yes, it was long, but I loved the characters and the details. All the Colors of the Dark tells the story of Patch, a young boy with a big heart. He steps forward to help a girl from a wealthy family when he sees her being abducted. This act of bravery alters the rest of his life and so many others who lived in the same town. I loved this book and will read it again.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Crown Publishing and Chris Whitaker for this e-ARC while asking for an honest review.

This book was so gripping from start to finish. I’m so pleased that I did not guess the ending at all. I loved the characters. They were perfectly developed over years and years. The dynamic and relationships were amazing. The story was original and unique.

This is one of my favorite books of the year and I know it will stay with me for a long time. It was my most anticipated book of the year because I could not wait for Chris Whitaker’s next book after reading We Begin at the End, my favorite book of 2021. My review will not do it justice.

The characters: Patch, Saint, Charlotte, Chief Nix, Grace, Misty - they are all fleshed out so well. I cared for each of their relationships and how they evolved through the years.

The twists and turns throughout the book and then the ending were plotted so well and I never saw them coming.

I love this book and feel like I can recommend it to every kind of reader. Go out and read this book!

All the Colors in the Dark is my first novel by Chris Whitaker. I enjoyed the genre-defying plot and the character deep dives over decades. Saint, driven to do the right thing. Misty, narrow escape with tragedy shaping the rest of her life. Patch, searching for the woman who was there with him in his darkest hours. It was longer than it could have been but the story will stick with you.
*Thanks to Crown Publishing and NetGalley for the ebook copy

All the Colors of the Dark. I know this is technically classified as a thriller\suspense, but this is a multi genre novel. It is also not a fast paced page turner so be mindful of that when starting this. This is a multi generation epic saga. It's hard to put in to words the depth of this novel but I'll do my best.

Patch (Joseph) is a young (one eyed boy) living in severe poverty with an alcoholic but loving mother. One summer afternoon, Patch stumbles along a scene in the woods of a masked man trying to kidnap Misty, the most beautiful and popular girl at school. A pirate at heart, he decided to step in. Saving the girl but sacrificing himself, he's taken.

Saint, Patch's best friend, makes it her mission to find Patch. Between endless trips to the Sheriff's station and conducting her own investigation, her gut is telling her she knows where he is. And finds him.

Patch being held in complete darkness for over 300 days, finds solace in Grace. A young girl also being held. Together, Grace and Patch form a kind of friendship that can only be created in the worst of situations. They find comfort in each other, trust in each other and ultimately a kind of love that is pure and full of trauma, even though they've never seen each other's face.

After Saint finds where Patch is being held, somehow Grace disappears leaving him distraught and thus starting a life long search for a person he isn't sure really existed.

Told over the course of decades, Patch makes it his life's mission to find Grace to make sure she's okay, while ultimately damning himself to a life of misery.


So much happens in the first 200 pages you'll feel as if the book should be wrapping up but there's another 400 pages to go. I will say, this drags in the middle. There is so much content it feels as if it will never end. But, please, please stay with this. Every detail, even the minor ones, are important and the author ties everything up at the end so beautifully like he's presenting you with a precious gift. The last 100 pages had me holding my breath and I cried through all of it. This has made my list of best books not just for 2024 but for all time. I plan to read again to connect the missing pieces I had been holding my breath for during my first read and to highlight some of the most beautiful passages exchanged by friends, lovers and even enemies.

Five stars. Five stars. Five stars. Thank you NetGalley, Chris Whitaker and Crown Publishing for the arc in exchange for my unbiased and honest review.

Absolutely amazing. I cannot imagine there being a better book in 2024 and not for some time to come. As soon as I finished this I ordered a hardcover physical copy to keep on my shelves.

I was blown away by this book! There are so many great words to describe how I felt reading this book - quirky, heartbreaking, beautiful, expansive, big love, dedication, joy, grief, fear. Add in the realistically flawed characters and the fantastic writing and I didn't want it to end. The story is told in two POVs, Saint and Patch. Their story spans decades and it will be with me a long time. The chapters are short, so even though this is a long book you will fly through it. I don't even want to tell you about the plot as I want you to go in blind, like I did, and simply fall in love with the story, the setting, and the characters. This book will be at the top of my 2024 reading list and I will be recommending it to everyone.

Thank you NetGalley and Crown Publishing for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Wow. Five stars. I feel confident All the Colors of the Dark is going to be the single best book I read in 2024. This book felt like a much bigger commitment than usual at over 600 pages (or 10+ hours of Kindle time), but wow was it worth it! It was a sweeping, epic, saga that sometimes made me think I was reading a mashup of James Patterson’s Kiss the Girls and Gone with the Wind (in a good way). Chris Whitaker’s We Begin at the End was a favorite of mine a few years back with amazing, memorable characters, and Colors of the Dark is no different. You meet Saint and Patch in their teens and get to follow their often times devastating story thru several decades. I routinely share that my favorite books are ones that overlap my book clubs, and this was one of those. The Read with Jenna book club called it a genre-bending mystery, which is as good as a label as I can put on this book. It was just so darn good. Thank you to Crown Publishing and NetGalley for this wonderful ARC.

It's hard to put into words how incredible this book was. These characters will stick with you. I feel like I could reread this book multiple times and get more out of it each time. I smiled. I cried. I wanted to get to the ending but also never wanted it to end (even though it's 600 pages). This book is now on my all time favorites list and I recommend it to everyone. A masterpiece. A must read. Though I received an e-galley, I immediately bought a copy because I NEEDED it for my favorites shelf. It's THAT good.

I requested this because I enjoyed WE BEGIN AT THE END, so I went in blind. It dove into an area that is just too dark for me - child predators. Although the writing was good, I will read more reviews before blindly requesting a book from this author again.

All the Colors of the Dark proves once again why Chris Whitaker is a genius. This. Book. Is. Perfect.

I don't even know where to start. Perhaps in that Chris is a master at creating these universes that you feel so utterly immersed in, it is like real life flying off the page. Leaving one of his stories is like the ULTIMATE book hangover. I miss that world. It's why I re-read his books faithfully.

Maybe it's his characters who are so unique and interesting and flawed and brilliant and impossible not to love.

Maybe it's that his stories make you laugh out loud, and cry, and think, and ponder and hope.

Maybe it's because his stories are so spanning - over days and years and decades and yet it feels like it all flies by in a heartbeat. You want more, you could stay in the story longer.

Genuinely this is this story. Part mystery, part police hunt for a serial killer, part literary drama, part sweeping love story. It's impossible to describe adequately, and if you pass on this one you are INSANE. Get this book. Read this book. This CAN NOT be missed this year.

Many thanks to the publisher for the copy and to Chris for blowing my reader mind every single time.

All The Colors Of The Dark tells the story of Joseph Macauley (or “Patch” as he’s better known) and his obsessive search for the girl that changed his life. After being abducted and kept in a pitch black room, the only thing keeping him alive is Grace, a girl who teaches him how to see the world through different eyes. After being rescued by his best friend Saint Brown, Patch devotes his life to finding her.

At first glance this is a mystery novel, but it goes deeper than that. This book is a deep meditation on life, love, friendship, obsession, and art. Ultimately, it asks the question: how does one live a full and complete life? Taking place over a quarter century, Patch, Saint, and others’ lives intertwine and mix to weave a tapestry of complexity excellently portrayed by Chris Witaker. This is a beautifully written story and with a satisfying resolution, is a literary fiction mystery that truly is one of a kind

BOOK: All the Colors of the Dark
AUTHOR: Chris Whitaker
PUB DATE: 6/25/2024 by Crown
PAGES: 608
RATING: 5
GENRE: Literary Fiction

FAVORITE QUOTE: “I won’t take my eyes off you. She was fluid & rigid and lay just at the tip of his reach, his fingers bumping along the edge of her. She was constellations he could not map. She was beautiful & hateful, thunderclouds & summer rain.”

QUICK & SPOILER-FREE REVIEW: This is my 1st book by this author, and I am now a huge fan! I went in blind, which was the best way, as it brought this colorful story to life even more! I longed for the nostalgia that bled from the book. I physically ached from the tragedies, and burst with joy at the tender, sweet moments throughout. Chris Whitaker paints the most vivid, colorful story and writes so beautifully. There are also moments where you will laugh aloud at some of the characters. I’m not sure how a story about childhood friendship, first loves, and a rampant serial killer can bring me so much joy & heartache, but this story made me FEEL, and that’s all I ever look for when reading! This will ABSOLUTELY make my Top 5 this year. Get your hands on this one. Gift it. Read it STAT! JUST BRILLIANT!

Happy Reading!

A literal masterpiece. Chris Whitaker is a masterful storyteller. I fell in love with this town and these people and the relationships that bond them.