All the Colors of the Dark

A compelling writing style and a twisty premise make Chris Whitaker’s newest thriller, All the Colors of the Dark, a satisfying mental adventure.

Whitaker’s first paragraph whisks us into the point of view of a kid named Patch who believes, as he overlooks the St. Francois Mountains, that there’s a brighter world awaiting. How nice.

Then we read the second paragraph: “Though later that morning, when he lay dying in the woodland, he’d take that morning still and parse it till the colors ran because he knew it could not have been so beautiful.”

Wait. What? Does our protagonist die? This is the first of many surprises. Readers are taken on a powerful exploration of devotion, obsession, and love.

The story grows out of a loving and true alliance between Saint and Patch. They are friends who met each other as their community’s unseen, as outcasts. The bond they form shows itself to be strong.

British author Chris Whitaker rocketed to the literary scene when his debut novel, Tall Oaks, won the CWA Blood Dagger Award. Librarian and stock trader Whitaker thundered deeper into the literary world when his multi-award-winning third novel, We Begin at the End, hit the New York Times list and was optioned by Disney.

Whitaker’s other award-winning books fit in the thriller category, including Tall Trees and All the Wicked Girls.

I read Whitaker slowly because his word-smithing is fine and intense. Take this example: “His hair touched white in summer months and sand come winter … .” Or this one about Patch seeing his mom in the morning after work: “The night shift mortified her skin.”

All the Colors of the Dark spans 588 pages. Its pages are held together through relentless decades with a bit of transcendence often shining through. (Crown Publishing)