Book Review - All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker
What is All the Colors of the Dark about?
1975. Monta Clare, Missouri. Patch is a one-eyed teenager who considers himself a good pirate. His only friend is the whimsical thirteen-year-old Saint, who lives with her grandmother. In their small town where everyone knows everyone else, Patch and Saint think they have their future paths clear. All that changes when a mysterious man attacks Misty, the only daughter of a wealthy family. Patch emerges as an unlikely hero — but the life trajectory of everyone involved changes forever.
That's all you're getting from me on the plot. I knew nothing when I started this book, and it was all the better for it.
An Epic Read
Weighing in at over 600 pages in hardback and a mammoth 14 and a half hours on audiobook, this is very much an epic. It spans decades, focusing on Patch and Saint from childhood through to adulthood in the small town of Monta Clare, Missouri. It's a missing persons mystery, a serial killer chase, and an unrequited love story — and it weaves all three threads seamlessly.
This is character-driven storytelling at its best. Once you're invested in Patch and Saint, you won't want to stop. Their relationship is a thing of beauty.
Characters
There's a great supporting cast, which a book this size demands. One of my favourites was the curmudgeonly artist Sammy, who delivers some of the best gruff lines and provides a steady presence in the lives of the townsfolk. Misty has a particularly emotional story arc, while Nix, Norma and Grace are all memorable in their own ways.
I loved how the characters age and how their personalities develop in relation to their experiences. It felt real. There's one scene where Patch does something that feels slightly out of character — but it serves both him and the story well in the long run.
If colourful language isn't your thing, this might not be the book for you. But if you like characters who are all too human, who speak openly and are damned funny, you'll be fine. Many an early morning I found myself chuckling under the duvet.
"Reading isn't a privilege, sir. I believe we all have the right to leave our problems and escape into another world, if only through the written word."
On Audiobook
I listened to all 14 hours and 36 minutes on audiobook — my early morning book. I appreciated how it was broken down into 261 chapters, making it easy to come and go. Edoardo Ballerini does a sterling job of giving personality to the considerable cast, making them nuanced and warm, with a good sense of comic timing.
That said, there were many times I wanted to check something — a name, an incident — and that's just impossible with audio. Some mysteries really need a physical copy, and this is one of them. Lesson learned: no more really long mystery books on audio.
There were also longer passages of prose where my attention drifted, and I think I'd have appreciated the writing more on the page. The plot also felt stuck for a while in the middle — though perhaps the frustration mirrored Patch's own. Thankfully the pace picked up, and the ending more than made up for it.
Themes
The obvious theme is never giving up. Having the courage of your convictions even when everyone tells you to move on. Never giving up on those you love, even when they exasperate and confound you.
Reading this also brought two other classics to mind — both cinematic and literary. The Shawshank Redemption and The Silence of the Lambs. I'll say no more. I also drew comparisons between Patch and a certain Appalachian boy with copperhead hair, for reasons that should become quickly apparent.
"At ten years old he realized that people were born whole, and that the bad things peeled layers from the person you once were, thinning compassion and empathy and the ability to construct a future. At thirteen he knew those layers could sometimes be rebuilt when people loved you. When you loved."
The Writing
Chris Whitaker has quite a few balls in the air, and he somehow pulls it all together. With an hour or so left on the audio, I was genuinely worried it wasn't going to land. There's an unspoken contract between reader and writer — if you've invested that much time, there had better be a payoff. For me, it delivered on every front.
Yes, there was a little disbelief at some of the twists — but when a book puts your heart through the wringer and has you late for work because you can't stop listening, you'll forgive it anything.
I haven't read We Begin at the End by the same author, but I'll happily give it a go on the strength of this.
Mystery Thriller
It’s been a fine year for mystery thrillers - The God of the Woods by Liz Moore was another particularly strong outing. If there are any others I’ve missed in 2024, please let me know in the comments below. I still find it hard to beat a character driven, well written, with a plot as ‘tight as a drum’, mystery novel.
All the Colors of the Dark Summary
My own feeling is that this book is best enjoyed as a physical copy rather than an audiobook, for the reasons above. Despite that, this is a superb thriller that will keep you gripped to its considerable end — with a proper, emotionally rewarding conclusion.
I found myself so invested in Patch and Saint. They are the heartbeat of the book. If you enjoy a story that will break your heart a little, and a cracking mystery to keep you turning the pages, All the Colors of the Dark is for you.
Not just one of my thrillers of the year — one of my 2024 favourites.
608 pages hardcover / 14 hours 30 mins Audiobook
First published June 25, 2024 by Orion