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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the author of We Begin at the End comes a soaring thriller and an epic love story that “hits like a sledgehammer . . . an absolutely must-read novel” (Gillian Flynn, author of Gone Girl).

Read with Jenna Book Club Pick as Featured on 
Today
The Boston Globe’s #1 Thriller/Mystery of 2024 So Far
A Best Book of the Year: 
Washington Post, She Reads, Kirkus Reviews

“Kept me frantically turning the pages and somehow made me cry at the end . . . Brava!”—Kristin Hannah, author of 
The Women

“Melds tense suspense with a powerful exploration of devotion, obsession, and love.”—
People (Best New Books)


1975 is a time of change in America. The Vietnam War is ending. Muhammad Ali is fighting Joe Frazier. And in the smalltown 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.

Patch and those who love him soon discover that the line between triumph and tragedy has never been finer. And that their search for answers will lead them to truths that could mean losing one another.

A missing person mystery, a serial killer thriller, a love story, a unique twist on each, Chris Whitaker has written a novel about what lurks in the shadows of obsession and the blinding light of hope.

Praise for All the Colors of the Dark

“All the Colors of the Dark kept me reading until 2:30 a.m.—the turns just kept coming. This is literary fiction that works as a crime thriller. The deadpan humor is pitch-perfect, the plot cinematic.”—Boston Globe

“Breathless . . . the story ripples out, spanning decades and perspectives, to consider how one moment transforms the lives of a little boy and the people who love him.—The Washington Post

“Sure to bring suspense to the beach!”US Weekly

“Melds tense suspense with a powerful exploration of devotion, obsession, and love.”—People

"[I] may never have loved a book as much." —Jenna Bush Hager

“This book hits like a sledgehammer. Equal parts harrowing and triumphant, Chris Whitaker's novel is a haunting story of America, alternating between its twin strands of violence and love. An absolutely must-read novel.”—Gillian Flynn

“All the Colors of the Dark is a hypnotic tale. . . . What is truly amazing about this novel is its ongoing sense of heart and tenacity as a small group of individuals makes their way through the world.”—The Anniston Star

“This novel grabbed me, held me and seeped into my soul in a way few books have. An instant modern classic.”—KMUW, NPR Kansas

“Chris Whitaker kept me frantically turning the pages and somehow made me cry at the end. . . . Brava!”—Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“Engrossing, heartbreaking and uplifting in equal measure—I’ve never read anything quite like it. This book will stay with you for a very long time.”
—Lucy Foley, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Apartment

“Chris Whitaker’s latest novel is a book to lose yourself in. . . . [T]his sprawling crime novel transcends its genre to become something epic in scope, haunting, and ultimately deeply moving.”―Alex Michaelides, bestselling author of The Silent Patient and The Fury

“All the Colors of the Dark is mesmerizing and intoxicating. Chris Whitaker is a poet who will leave you in breathless awe and suspense. Amazing. Haunting. Unforgettable.”—Patricia Cornwell

“I’m bereft at having finished this epic story of love and loss. Profoundly emotional and powerful, I savored every beautifully written word. I can’t recommend this highly enough.”―B. A. Paris, New York Times bestselling author of The Therapist and Behind Closed Doors

“Taut, beguiling, and suspenseful, All the Colors of the Dark reveals the depth of a town’s loss when a young boy goes missing under dubious circumstances.”—Nita Prose, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Maid and The Mystery Guest

Author Photo Chris Whitaker

Photo: © David Calvert

Chris Whitaker

Chris Whitaker is the award-winning author of Tall Oaks, All the Wicked Girls, and the New York Times bestseller We Begin at the End. Chris lives in the UK.

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