All the Colours of the Dark: The Instant Sunday Times Bestseller – ‘a wonderful book’ (Richard Osman)

Having read some review (not on Amazon) after I read this book I was amazed by the amount of negative expressions because I thought this book was amazing. Firstly Chris’ writing style and the format was very readable and not like anything I had read before. Secondly, the characters were just so divine and lovely which made it such a page turner. Thirdly, which is why I think some may struggle with it but which I found great, was the way in which the crimes are almost overlooked and skimmed because the focus is the characters and their journeys in these circumstances. The circumstances are still fully formed and understood but not with such a shining light focused on them. I thought it was brilliant 😊.

Wow, just wow - this book kept me gripped from beginning to end. I felt I knew every character so well.. A wonderful story , made me smile, laugh and cry along with every emotion the author intended.. I am truly sad I have come to the end and I cannot wait to read more by this author

A wonderful, heartwrenching story. The emotive, poetic style of language meant I could really empathise with Patch and feel his pain. However, sometimes the style of writing also irritated me, hence why it loses a star for me. Quite often, there was ambiguity. Not everything is clearly told and it's not always apparent who is the first person narrating the story at the start of chapters. Maybe this style is a little too sophisticated for me, but, at times, I had to re-read parts. I felt there was a deliberate attempt by the author to hold back information, requiring the reader to read between the lines and figure it out. This affected the flow of the story. I also thought the story was much too long. However, All The Colours of the Dark is a very unique, original and emotional story and I would certainly recommend it.

Wonderfully dark and beautifully written, All the Colours of the Dark introduces us to Joseph Macauley, nicknamed Patch because of his single eye, and his loyal friend Saint. When Patch is kidnapped while trying to save a young girl from abduction, Saint devotes every ounce of her strength to finding him. She refuses to rest until her friend is safe. During his captivity, Patch meets Grace, a mysterious presence who offers him comfort through her voice. Though he never sees her face, her words become his lifeline and his hope. After his rescue, Patch becomes consumed by the need to find Grace; yet the haunting question lingers: was she ever real, or merely a creation of his desperate mind? This is a truly remarkable novel, darkly atmospheric, deeply emotional, and filled with unforgettable characters. I was completely absorbed from beginning to end.

Best book I've read in a very long time. Fancied a change from my usual authors so picked this because of the high number of ratings. It didn't disappoint. Twisted and turned right up to the end. I was gripped. Ordered another book by this author already and can't wait to get lost in his gripping, beautiful prose. Highly recommend.

A story of the lives of 2 young friends and the aftermath of the boy stopping the abduction of another girl. It feels longer than it was, not that it dragged at all, but the chapters are very short, aren’t full of cliffhangers and just satisfying. I wanted to know how it ended but also didn’t want it to end, wanted to continue being drip fed parts of the world. The descriptions of the landscapes, the paintings, the memories grab you and drag you in completely. The characters are wonderfully developed, in other hands you wouldn’t care about their fates as they’re deeply flawed but Chris manages to weave all the emotions. If I had to criticise, there’s one point very late on in the book that felt a little too convenient to be real but it was handled well and didn’t distract from the ending that almost had me in tears several times. Another absolute banger from Chris, also highly recommend We Begin At The End and I’ll be devouring his other titles soon.

If you never read another book afterwards- read this one. Beautiful, thought provoking. The richness of the characters, the gorgeous descriptive passages. Wow. just wow.

Patch is thirteen years old, poor, sharply intelligent, proud, a fighter - by virtue of which he lost an eye. He carries a knife and has cause to use it one day when he sees Misty - the local rich beauty - being kidnapped. Patch is handy with his knife - Misty escapes, but the molester seizes the knife, cuts Patch and knocks him unconscious. Patch wakes in a lightless cellar, captive of his attacker and does not expect to survive. But through the voice of another captive - Grace - who he hears but cannot see in the dark, he holds on. Until his lifelong friend, a girl called Saint, rescues him. Grace is taken by the molester and escapes as the police surround the farm where Patch was held. A pursuit of more than twenty years follows. Patch cannot forget Grace. He will go to prison twice, rob dozens of banks, father a child and kill two men in his pursuit. The written style of the novel is somewhat affected. There is frequent use of adjectives or verbs as nouns ... like ... 'they glazed at the painting, locked in their enthrall'. This technique doesn't work for me and i'm not surprised it puts some off reading the book. The plot is complex and obviously not realistic. Too many 'coincidences' where lots of people run into each other in different circumstances years after their separation. The prose is executed in american 'road novel' style, with a bewildering array of exotic place names ... 'the superstitious mountains' ... 'the salt river'. Patch does a lot of travelling and sees them all. Despite what i would consider to be flaws, the book is a genuine attempt to portray a complex story on a grand scale. The depth of characterisation which other reviewers have eulogised about. I don't buy into. The characters are too 'samey' ... good people running throug hard times ... a good read but not a classic.