All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker

All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker

I was craving a novel that would make me think, maybe a bit of a thriller, and I really hit it big with Chris Whitaker's All the Colors of the Dark. Chris Whitaker has written several novels, and the rights to his book We Begin at the End have been purchased for possible adaptation. His most recent novel, All the Colors of the Dark, was released in June of 2024 and was chosen as the Boston Globe's #1 Thriller for 2024 and Best Book of the Year by the Washington Post and Kirkus Reviews. The word on the street is that it could be made into a movie. It deals with death, cancer, blood, vomit, kidnapping, death of parents and death of children, pregnancy, injury detail, fire, murder, stalking, grief, religious bigotry, suicide, sexual assault and rape, domestic abuse and neglect, confinement, and abortion. However, it does not have anything very graphic and I did not find it difficult to read.

Patch is a teenager in 1975 and he is not particularly popular in his small town. In fact, he has a total of one friend, Saint. But when walking along the road one morning, he hears the scream of one of the local girls from a wealthy family and sees a man grabbing at her, Patch jumps into action without thinking of the possible consequences. He saves the girl but goes missing himself. The town immediately takes steps to find Patch and catch whoever took him, with Patch's best friend Saint refusing to rest until he is found. What they soon realize is that just because someone is found, does not mean they are no longer lost.

Holy cow, this book was incredible. It immediately packs a punch, you do not have to wait for any action, Patch goes missing right away. That being said, the novel spans over twenty-five years, so while it is not always that action-packed, I would not say that the story ever dragged either. I enjoyed the way the book was laid out, with each portion of their lives being clearly outlined and receiving a new title, but with very short chapters so the book was easy to put down and pick back up. The characters were delightful, each one well developed and easy to love, even with all their faults. One character in particular doesn't come in until late in the story, but she is hilarious. And this story was so well thought out, portions at the beginning come back into play at the end to bring the whole story together. Chris Whitaker takes you on a journey, giving you information a little at a time and allowing the reader to piece the mystery together along with the characters, but leaving you with a feeling that the puzzle is not yet complete until the very end.

I'm giving All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker 4.75 out of 5. A thriller, a mystery, a story about all the different ways to love a person, a story of found family, a story about a serial killer, all rolled into one. It had me hooked from the very first chapter and I actually yelled out when my Spotify audiobook credits ran out with nine minutes left in the story. I was very impressed with how well put together the story was, and I enjoyed every minute of this book. I would have given it 5 stars but it did not end the way I wanted. Usually I do not detract stars because of the ending if I can understand the reasoning behind it, but while I did not dislike the ending and I understand why it ended the way it did, I just found myself wishing we could have had it all. Either way, I laughed, I cried, I gasped, I made plaintive sounds of grief and sadness, this book has it all. I will definitely be on the lookout for more from Chris Whitaker.

For more from Chris Whitaker, check out his website at https://sites.prh.com/chriswhitaker

Pairs well with a croque madam and finally getting a taste of the purple honey from North Carolina's coast.