All The Colors Of The Dark by Chris Whitaker intimidated me, and not just because of its behemoth size, clocking in at nearly 600 pages. I also don’t read many thrillers, because I feel like they often lack the character depth I want in books. But one of the many reasons I love book club (I’m in THREE, if you count my writing group) is that it helps me step out of my “comfort zone” in the books I choose. All that to say, I wanted to give this one a try… and to be honest, I’m glad I did.
Let me preface this with some trigger warnings: this book is dark. After all, it’s about girls going missing, and one man’s hunt to figure out who’s responsible, all while clinging to hope.
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This book review is part of my new book recommendation series, Liz Reads A Lot. I keep my reviews/recommendations short because I know you’d much rather be reading books than my opinions. All my reviews are spoiler free, I promise, no matter how hard it is to keep those twists and turns to myself!
Affiliate links included.
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What All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker is About
A boy named Patch because he’s missing one eye. A girl named Saint who sees things in Patch that others can’t. And when a local girl in small town Missouri is targeted by a kidnapper, Patch becomes an unlikely hero. I honestly feel like I can’t say much more about it without spoiling anything.
Why I Recommend It
“All the Colors of the Dark” may be a thriller, but I’ve never read a book like it before. It took me some getting used to—how we’d be in one scene and suddenly skip to the next—but it added a layer of urgency while still letting me get to know the characters… and these characters? They are so incredibly vivid despite the sometimes sparse description. I could picture everyone from Sammy, the town drunk and “fatherly” figure to Patch, through Norma, Saint’s religious but snarky grandmother. You’ll root for all of these characters, even the troubled ones, and let me tell you, there’s a lot of trouble.
One of my favorite book club questions: What did you think of the title, and how did it fit the theme of the book? This was one thing nearly everyone at book club agreed on: the title worked, and not just because of all the painting imagery throughout the book. It reminded us that even the characters aren’t who they seem, that there are shades, if you will, to all of us.
Some of my favorite lines in All the Colors of the Dark
I’m a huge fan of quotes, of sentences that make me stop and think, of words that hit a chord deep inside me. Here were a few of my favorite lines from “All The Colors of the Dark”:
- “People talk about falling in love like a fall is ever a good thing.”
- “Patch wondered if hope was its own kind of punishment, sometimes worse than certainty, than the long and closed-off road toward healing.”
- “But I reckon a single life is made up of a dozen or more roles and responsibilities. I can count the versions of myself like friend and foe. Mistakes are the detours that remind you of the true way, Saint.”
Grab your own copy of All The Colors of the Dark through Bookshop (and support indie booksellers) or Amazon.
Have you read All The Colors of the Dark? If so, I’d love to hear what you think! And please, no spoilers in the comments.
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