Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker

21 reviews

bnhunt's review

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Be prepared for a slow burn with this one. I wouldn’t call it so much a thriller as I would a literary drama. With thriller I think fast paced, twists and turns around every corner. This book is beautifully written and the author is great at painting you a picture of every scene. The chapters are super short, making it for a quicker read but it’s 261 chapters! The book spans over decades and with all the time passing, different characters, and sub plots, it can be confusing and hard to focus at times. I think I will like this one more the 2nd time I read it now that I have a better grip on all the characters. It’s a love story without the romance with a mystery at its core. I love the main characters, Patch and Saint, even though I wanted to strangle both of them at times. It doesn’t focus so much on the crime that takes place early in the book but the aftermath and trauma that occurs after experiencing such a crime. This one was different than my typical read and I enjoyed it.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Child death, Drug abuse, Rape, Suicide, Kidnapping, Abortion, Death of parent, and Murder

jenmeyers's review

adventurous emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Slow and dragging. This story spans >25 years and is not just simple mystery or coming of age. It show the intertwined nature of small town lives and secrets over decades, with very little explicit detail just a lot of broad strokes about key points. Tries to be tragic and show facets of choices and consequences. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Kidnapping, and Grief

Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Animal death, Abortion, and Pregnancy

courtney_b's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I'm really not sure how I feel about this book. The author seems to want to keep the reader confused throughout the book. As time passes I found myself more and more invested in the characters only to be let down in the end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Kidnapping, and Abortion

jacduc777's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Miscarriage, Stalking, and Death of parent

Minor: Cancer, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Rape, Medical content, Dementia, Abortion, and Death of parent

charrrchar's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Drug abuse, Blood, and Kidnapping

Minor: Animal death, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Grief, Abortion, and Death of parent

melinpin's review

dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Rape, and Murder

reckenreiter's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

A thriller/ mystery that isn’t formulaic! A unique story with lots of detail and heart. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Blood, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism

julierreads's review

challenging reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

500 of the 582 pages are utter drawn out nonsense. A modern day Holden Caulfield of The Catcher in the Rye, whom I despised in high school and still do all these years later. I can’t tell you how many times I rolled my eyes, or said WTF out loud. But those last few pages? Worth the finish. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death

Moderate: Drug abuse and Suicide

harleyglynn's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

4.5

"Saint wanted to ask what it was like, to lose the thing that defined you. But perhaps she knew: it left you someone else. A stranger you had no choice but to tolerate, and see each day and feel and fear."

As is to be expected of Chris Whitaker, this was masterfully written. Tragic and traumatic and beautiful and raw. So deeply complex. This story is engaging on so many levels. A serial killer mystery layered over complicated small-town relationships that span decades that will have you devouring chapters. While the mystery is the driving force of the novel, and will have you as completely obsessed with solving it as the main characters, the artfully crafted, intricately connected stories around the mystery are what truly bring this novel to life.  Be prepared to cycle through a broad range of emotions.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

clairevn's review

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping

Moderate: Child death and Domestic abuse

Minor: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Rape, and Suicide