All the Colors of the Dark
By Chris Whitaker
Crown, 9780593798874, June 2024, 608 pp.

The Short of It:

A slow burn, page turner.

The Rest of It:

*No Spoilers*

In the small town of Monta Clare, Missouri, girls are disappearing. When the daughter of a wealthy family is targeted, the most unlikely hero emerges–Patch, a local boy, who saves the girl, and, in doing so, leaves heartache in his wake. ~ from the publisher

I was first introduced to Whitaker’s writing when I read We Begin at the End. Oh boy, I sure loved that book. I loved the characters, the story, all of it. So when I heard that Whitaker had another book out, I jumped at the chance to read it. All the Colors of the Dark is very similar in tone. A young feisty protagonist, an officer of the law, and a broken and flawed “do gooder” raised by a single mom battling addictions. When a wealthy local girl goes missing, Monta Clare’s very own Patch the Pirate comes to her aid. Pirate? Because Patch is missing an eye and oddly enough, the loss of an eye does not prevent him from seeing all that is around him. The danger, the sad reality of the hand he was dealt, and the ability to paint these girls, the missing girls.

As Patch becomes obsessed with these missing girls, because after the local girl, there are many others. He does his part by painting them and posting them in an attempt to bring awareness to the community but also as a means of closure because he, too, has a survival story to tell and it haunts him.

Saint, Patch’s good friend, sees in him someone she could absolutely love, but Patch has his own battles to fight. What he’s experienced will never leave him. As much as Saint and her loving Grandmother look out for him, he is a wayward soul, on his own path to redemption. You know how a feral cat is? Patch is like that. Lovable but doesn’t know how to receive love.

All the Colors of the Dark is a mystery at its heart. Who is the kidnapper? There are a lot of twists and surprises, which I loved. It DID remind me of a book I read recently, The Return of Ellie Black. If you liked Ellie Black then you will also enjoy All the Colors of the Dark.

Here’s the thing with Whitaker, his stories are so much more than what they first appear to be. This book can be considered a coming of age story, a small town gem of storytelling really. It will tug at your heart and you will find yourself reading late into the night. I pulled my reading light out so many times while reading this one. The best time to read it was in bed, in a dark room. I did not want to leave these characters.

Highly recommend. It will be on my list of faves at the end of the year.

Source: Borrowed
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