Will I love All the Colors of the Dark?

I love stories in which characters are utterly compelled to follow a path, for myriad reasons, even if it leads to their ultimate destruction. Even better when it leads to redemption. I think redemption stories are very much about the world we live in now, where forgiveness and compassion are so precious. This is such a complex novel with twists and complications, and I never knew whether I wanted her to find him or not!

This beautifully written thriller about a kidnapped boy named Patch is not your typical whodunit. It’s a haunting story of trauma, friendship and maybe even love. Spanning several decades and packed with unforgettable characters, this novel explores the ripple effect of crime not just on individuals but on entire communities. The result is the best novel I’ve read in years.

I have never wanted a protagonist to get the girl as much as I wanted one-eyed, bank-robbing, broken-hearted Patch to be reunited with his. But his love was not so much forbidden as it was impossible … given that the girl who stole his heart may have been imagined. But no matter; it was his determination that moved me.

I couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like to have someone pine for me like Patch pined for his beloved. Everything he did (and yes, some of those things were bad), he did for love. And I had to… show more.

I loved this book! It combined a lonely young boy with demons to spare and a little girl determined to stand on her own and quickly flowed into a missing person mystery, a serial killer thriller, and a story of friendship and love. I loved the characters and the setting—it begins in 1975 and weaves through the following decades.

Though I wanted to rush through the pages to see what happened next, I tried to linger over the descriptions, the words, and the writing style. As an author, I was enthralled, as a reader I was immersed in the characters… show more.

The twists and turns kept me riveted and the characters broke my heart.

The author seamlessly blends a serial killer, a coming-of-age and a love story. This will make an incredible series.

I truly enjoyed this book. The character development over time was flawless and Whitaker created a vivid world in which I found myself never wanting to depart.

If you like being emotional destroyed by a book (I do!), then I highly recommend All The Colors of the Dark. Whitaker sure knows how to breath life into his characters. Although the story is centered around Patch and Saint, the cast of characters that move in and out of their lives are so richly-drawn and equally compelling that you can imagine them as protagonists in their own stories. Every single character is complex, flawed, vulnerable. A poignant portrayal of the aftermath of a shared trauma which take Patch and Saint on divergent journeys to resolve issues of loss, grief,… show more.

Chris Whitaker blew the reading community away with his previous novel, We Begin at the End, but All the Colors of the Dark blows it out of the water.

A sprawling epic told over thirty-plus years, it’s an astonishing feat of penmanship, plotting, and characterization. The tale of the pirate (the one-eyed Patch) and the Beekeeper (the fierce and loyal Saint) will capture the hearts of generations to come—an incredible book.