ALL THE COLOURS OF THE DARK

Chris Whitaker’s ‘All The Colours of the Dark’ may be billed as a crime novel but just as the excellent 'We Begin at the End' by the same author, reviewed in the Den, Whitaker’s books are so much more due to his depth of writing, rich scene setting and visceral characters. In this case, ‘All the Colours of the Dark’ is also a story of love, loyalty, coming of age and trauma as the domino effect of a teenager’s disappearance on a small town community in Missouri, America unravels.

It's 1975 and the end of summer in the small town of Monta Clare when three teenagers’ lives are altered forever following a harrowing incident of abduction. Misty Meyer is not only from one of the wealthiest families in town, she is the coolest and most popular girl at school. The other two friends are Joseph Macauley, aptly named Patch because he has one eye and lives up to the pirate role and Saint who are both teenage outsiders. Patch lives with his alcoholic unfit mother living a precarious hand to mouth existence often stepping in her as her carer to keep them together. And his best friend is Saint, made to feel different because she is clever at a time in the 70’s when it wasn’t cool for girls to outshine boys. She lives with her grandmother and finds solace keeping bees. Life takes a turn when Patch, who can only admire Misty from afar, saves her life from a serial killer. Misty escapes but Patch wakes up in a dark basement. However, he later finds he is not alone, but held up with another captured teenage girl called Grace. Everyone searches for Patch but as time moves on so the investigation fizzles out until it is just Saint who strongly believes Patch is still alive and never gives up hope.

No spoilers but as characters go off on their chosen path the plot naturally evolves into a slow burning shattering read with an unexpected twist at the end. Whitaker describes his work as starting from conversations in his head between the characters. It is very much dialogue led, delving into the heart of every character and capturing the mood. However landscapes are presented with rich descriptions, attention to detail and authentic understanding of trauma. An epic read with many excellent wide-ranging discussion points for book club. A TV series has already been commissioned.