This was an epic story. I have not read the previous work from the author but was hearing a lot of praises so decided to pick this one and I am glad I did.

This is a story that spans decades with very well defined characters. At about 600 pages, this is truly an epic coming of age story. Loved the book overall

WHEW. That was a JOURNEY. When I picked up this book (on Kindle), I didn't realize that it was 600+ pages. Beware going into it. Chapters are short and lyrical. You have to use your deductive skills in a lot of the book to figure out what has happened: it is not spelled out for you on the page.There was a big chunk in the middle where I was bored. Bored, bored, bored, and I put the book aside for a long time. The ending redeemed itself. One of the most satisfying endings I've read in a book, in a long time.

I really enjoyed the author's last book, WE BEGIN AT THE END, so I requested this book knowing nothing about the plot going into it. The premise is quite dark - it's 1975 and young girls are going missing throughout small Missouri towns. This story starts with a girl named Saint and her best friend Patch, named for the eye patch he wears. Patch rescues a young girl from being abducted, but ends up being abducted himself. Saint spends every waking moment following trying to find her best friend. The book spans thirty years following these two characters, and while at times it was a slow burn and quite a long read at 600 pages, I read this one in mere days, and was captivated by Whitaker's beautiful and emotional writing. The characters will break your heart and give you hope at the same time. I'll be thinking about this one for a long time. This excellent book debuts June 2024 and I predict it's going to quickly be made into a series or film. Thank you NetGalley for the early copy.

Amazing, absorbing story with characters that feel real and a storyline that sometimes seems implausible, but at the same time realistic. Spans time well and I was surprised to see the print copy was over600 pages. My ebook was showing a total of 321! The emotions in this book are forceful. Enjoyed the placing of certain songs which will now be forever linked in my mind with this book. Bravo to Chris Whitaker..

Joseph, nicknamed Patch, was born with one eye, and had an affinity for pirate stories. Saint, a smart but odd girl, lived with her grandmother after her mother died in childbirth. As the two outcasts in their grade school, Patch and Saint became good friends and thoroughly supported each other against the other "normal" students. When their rich and beautiful classmate Misty was attacked in a field, Patch drew attention to himself and told Misty to run, which she did. Patch was held in a completely dark place for a long unspecified time by the attacker in the company of one other person, a girl who said her name was Grace. Saint, trying to find her friend, worked with the town's police chief to get a location on him and finally found him-more dead than alive. From then on, Patch, feeling guilty that he left without Grace, spent his life trying to find her, even though many people thought she was a figment of his imagination.
This childhood incident took over each of the character's lives, delving into the issues of memory vs reality, the arts as therapy, the prevalence of missing girls, and the power of love and friendship.
The term "sweeping epic" is way overused but in this case I'll have to use it again. From this kernel of childhood trauma, Whitaker creates a world where nothing is the way it was meant to be-Misty falls in love with Patch, the odd kid from the wrong side of the tracks, Patch becomes an artist to conceptualize the girl in the dark who he is driven to find, Saint abandons her chance at a top-notch college to become a cop, and crimes are committed in search of a criminal. This book defies genre and trope-it is absolutely original.
I heard the author speak on a panel and was astounded to find that he was a young man from Britain who has written a few critically acclaimed books that weren't very commercial. This great American novel hopefully will change that-I feel that he has a great career ahead of him and look forward to watching All the Colors, the movie.

This book ripped my heart out! It made me so, so mad at times; And sad and hopeful. I wanted to stop reading because of the feelings it caused but then it quickly redeemed itself into a story I could relate to, experiences described that I could understand. It's a book about mothers and fathers; families in all their types, the good, the bad, the absolute terrible. I absolutely loved this book. Completely and totally.

4.5 rounded up
An epic story, about love, and friendship that starts in 1975 and spans decades.
Wonderful characters..
Patch and Saint two youngsters who become friends, and then their world is shaken when young Patch saves a local girl from being taken by a man in the woods and comes to harm himself.
This is a thriller also..missing girls, a serial killer mystery.
Very short chapters (which I love)… will keep you turning pages… I was hooked from the start!
I was brought to tears at the end … satisfying tears.
Highly recommended!

Thank you to Netgalley, Crown Publishing and the most
talented Chris Whitaker for the ARC!

Available June 25

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I came into this book having absolutely loved Chris Whitaker's "We Begin at the End," so the bar was set high. This book did not disappoint! The story of a childhood friendship between two misfits (think "My Girl"), and then the heroic act of one ends up changing the course of their entire lives. The story is raw, dark, difficult at times, and very long, but it's a true epic tale of love and all of it's facets. I personally enjoyed the sub narrative involving oil painting and without spoilers, appreciated the discussions about the act of painting and capturing life on a canvas. This was not a can't put it down page turner, but more a meandering walk in a forest with a good friend. There were times I had to step away and read something more light. I would normally have given this four stars, but I read it over a month ago, and the characters have absolutely stayed with me, and I think about this book often, which is an auto bump to 5 stars for me. Very moving and enjoyable.

First 5 star book I’ve read this year. Wow. Chris Whitaker is a genius. The writing! I mean who even writes like this?! And the characters! I loved them from the first pages. The pirate and the bee keeper broke my heart and they will stay with me for a long time. Just wow

“Can't you see how beautiful you make tragedy?" All the Colors of the Dark is one of the most beautiful, most nostalgic, most heart wrenching books I have ever had the pleasure of reading. It hurt. And all I could think while reading it was how beautiful Chris Whitaker wrote a sad story. I dreaded the depths it took me to, but I could never come up for air. It is rare that I read one book at a time, but this one deserved all of my attention.

I am shocked I’ve never read anything from Whitaker before. His writing flows like a river. It’s like dripping honey. It’s like biting the sweetest, crispiest apple. It’s like laying head to head with your childhood best friend in the softest, tallest grass. The nostalgia hit me to my core, and I found myself crying often.

There isn’t much more I can say. I can’t add any more weight in words. This book speaks for itself, so I’ll close out my review with some of my favorite quotes.

“Saint wanted to ask what it was like, to lose the thing that defined you. But perhaps she knew: it left you someone else. A stranger you had no choice but to tolerate, and see each day and feel fear.”

"Being a mother, there's no practice for it. Just because you can do it, because you're able, doesn't mean you're good at it. And if you're not, it's not just your life…”

“We all tell you to move forward, but where exactly is forward? There's no other place we can go. To face the past is to momentarily turn your back on what is now. And when you do that, you miss so damn much."

“Maybe when we pray we're not asking for intervention. We're just reminding ourselves of the things that matter.”

What I liked: An epic coming of age story including small town life, police thriller, prison drama, and road trip adventures. The author’s prior work “We Begin at the End” is one of my all time favorites, and this new book met all expectations.

What I disliked: The author shoehorned so much into the plot. At over 600 pages, it could have been two or three books.

All The Colors of the Dark is an epic unlike anything I have had the pleasure of reading. It’s a love story, a thriller, and it’s a story of grief and trauma.

As I write my review, only minutes after finishing this novel, I don’t believe I will read another story like this, or meet characters that I love like I love Patch and Saint.

There are stories that you read that you feel physically, in your chest, your gut, this is that story. It’s beautiful, heart wrenching, and makes you stop and think about right and wrong and what we do for those we love.

Oh my heart, how I love this author. 𝘞𝘦 𝘉𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘯𝘥
was my favorite read of 2022, a combo of mystery and family drama, and 𝘛𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘖𝘢𝘬𝘴 was a heartfelt book about a missing boy that I loved as well.

This latest book of Whitaker’s, out June 25, uses components of these previous books to once again squeeze our hearts dry.

It begins with a friendship…Saint, a young girl being raised by her grandmother, in a small town in North Caroline; and Patch, a young boy, neglected by an addicted mother, growing up dirt-poor, and bullied by others for his missing eye. These two have souls that are connected, that can almost hear each other’s thoughts, who know when danger is afoot, who will risk their lives for one another. Yet when Patch saves the beautiful and popular daughter of the richest family in town, his life is forever changed, and thus so is Saint’s.

So, what did I love?
The way Whitaker builds characters and relationships, all of them, not just the leads: grandma is a rock, Sammy, the art gallery owner, is a foul-mouthed curmudgeon with a heart of gold, Nix the kind hearted sheriff, Missy the independent free spirit whose life is saved…all of them matter.
But no one matters more than Patch and Saint. As they track the missing girls and the serial killer, this dogged pursuit ensures them in a dance that is both tragic and beautiful.

Is it too convoluted at times? I think yes. It took soooooo long building the watch and so many pages; I wondered and questioned so much during the first half…where is this going?

But Whitaker brings it home and I was mesmerized by the final third of the book. He answers every question, fills every rabbit hole, satisfies every itch. This story and these characters will live in my heart for quite some time.

This emotional read is a tale of guilt, obsession, love, and hard-won redemption, with and a large cast of memorable minor characters as well. Intimate, raw, transcendent—this story has it all.

4.5 stars

Patch and Saint are best friends - misfits growing up and navigating middle school in small town Missouri who somehow find each other when they need it most. When the unimaginable happens and Patch disappears, Saint becomes a young investigator hell bent on getting him back.

Over decades, All the Colors of the Dark investigates the repercussions of early trauma including themes of good versus bad (and when the lines blur), and found family. I fell in love with the characters and couldn’t wait to find out what happened in the long and involved story.

Hands down a favorite or THE favorite of 2024. I’ve always loved Chris, and this takes us on a brutal, mystery type journey that I couldn’t put down. His characters are unforgettable. Thank you for this gifted arc as well!!

After reading All the Colors of the Dark, I think it’s the best titled book I’ve read this year. I love titles with meaning, but more than that I love it when an author pours his heart and soul into his work. Chris Whitaker does just that as we get to know Patch and Saint as children and follow them all the way to adulthood. Patch is a one-eyed troublemaker that you can’t help but love. One day in the woods he saves the most popular girl in school from being abducted and changes the trajectory of his life forever. Saint is Patch’s best friend, the face of loyalty and perseverance. Patch and Saint are surrounded by complex secondary characters as well. I could go on and on, but I went into this book knowing very little and peeling back all the layers to this story was truly a treat. A coming of age story, romance, thriller, character study- this book defies genres and combines them all for a special reading experience.

This will end up being one my favorite books of the year. I loved the complicated characters and how they grow up, how the story develops, and the ending. Patch was a unique character and one I will remember for a long time.

My thanks to NetGalley and Crown for an ARC of this novel.

Joseph Macaulay is born without a eye in the picturesque little ton of Monta Clare, Missouri, in the late sixties. He doesn’t remember his father, but can never forget how his death in Vietnam tore a hole in the precarious life of his young mother. Ivy gave her little boy a eye patch and a pirate costume to bolster his courage for a lifetime of being different, and he became Patch. But life and loss wore at her and her love for her boy was no match for the alcohol and drugs she needed. Saint Brown, so named because of the joy she brought her grandmother Norma, left to raise her when her mother died after giving her life, arrived in Monta Clare when she was seven. Fiercely precocious, new in a place that didn’t like strangers, with a grandmother who drove a bus and wore her hair so short she was instantly labelled a ‘dyke’, Saint had much in common with Patch. Their friendship was the rare variety that linked their hearts and souls.

The novel centres on Patch and Saint, even though they are physically apart for most of it. The event that overturns their lives takes place when nine-year-old Patch, in his pirate regalia, impulsivey intervenes in an attack on the local rich girl, the beautiful Misty, saving her from abduction and death. Stabbed by the attacker, he is carried away. He is presumed dead by everyone but Saint, who won’t relent, then or for the rest of her life, in her vow to save him.

The story traces thirty years of searching for the human monster who grabbed Patch and many others, he being, accidentally, the only boy taken. Before his rescue by the dogged Saint, in the midst of an inferno, Patch is held in a dark room with a girl named Grace whose magical stories keep him alive. He has no idea if they are real or fanciful, but he sees their dark colours. This ability, metaphorically, becomes both his and Saint’s true skill.

Grace does not get out with Patch, but, as Saint did for him, he won’t give up looking for her. It is a need that leads him at once to destruction and redemption. He knows that ‘bad things peel layers from you’ that love can restore. Saint, even as a child, grasps what happens when you ‘lose the thing that defined you…it left you someone else. A stranger you had no choice but to tolerate, and see each day and feel and fear.’ There are countless near misses, for both Patch and Saint,in a search that eventually resolves hundreds of the countless ‘missing girls’ cases that police often have to abandon. Rarely together, they are never apart.

Anyone who has read the author’s earlier works knows the intensity with which he can write his characters and trace their lives. In short sentences whittled to their essence, in chapters of little more than two or three pages, he draws such evocative pictures that, like Patch and Saint—though in very different ways—the reader can also glimpse the ‘all the colours of the dark.’ He is simply a masterful writer. Despite the book’s length, it pulled me in without pause for as long as I had the hours to read. It’s the kind of novel that makes you want to know the ending but not want to have it end. It is melancholic but funny, despairing but hopeful. Whenever I thought I had the next step figured out, the story changed abruptly but plausibly. There were moments when the twists and turns were hard to keep up with, especially the many cases of missing girls and the many locations travelled, but none felt extraneous. The supporting characters, Chief Nix, Dr Tooms, Norma, and Misty, and the hilarious Sammy, offer wisdom and humour. No matter the hurt of the moment, or the age of the character, Norma always thinks going for ice cream at Lively’s will help. And the unbelievably kind and fair Chief, in many ways filling in for the children’s missing fathers, observes that ‘Noble acts…don’t always end anywhere good.’

This is a superb novel, much more than a mystery-thriller, though it excels there too. It is not a romance, but it is about love and hate and how they work in human lives.