Reviews tagging 'Violence'

All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker

53 reviews

jess_d84's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad slow-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, and Murder

Minor: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Rape, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Abortion, Pregnancy, and War

cec_loves_to_read_books's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

From the first page of All the Colours of the Dark by Chris Whitaker I was hooked and I raced through 577 pages in just days.

The back of the book blurb promises “a sweeping story of love, loss, art and sacrifice” and that’s exactly what this superbly crafted novel delivers. 

In small town Monta Clara, USA, Scout and Patch are outsiders but they have each other. That is until a shocking crime tears them apart. When they find their way back to each other nothing will ever be the same again. Spanning three decades this is a gripping story of friendship, found family, loyalty and the search for justice.  

The loveable characters will stay with readers long after their journeys to forgiveness, redemption and truth are over.

With short, pacy chapters (most no longer than two pages) and some perfectly timed humour to add touches of light to the, at times bleak, subject matter this novel is the very definition of a page turner. 

While one or two of the plot twists are barely plausible readers will not care in the slightest. They work for how this story needs to play out to reach its inevitable ending.

With 100 or so pages to go I was biting my nails and gasping out loud. By the end I was left reeling from the roller coaster of emotions I had ridden. 

Get your hands on a copy of this book as soon as it is released in July. This was my first Chris Whitaker book, but it will certainly not be my last. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Violence

ladybug12793's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

3.5

This had so much potential to be at five star read, but it was overly drawn out over decades. Not the typical mystery thriller. 300 pages could have been omitted easily. The writing itself was beautiful and heartbreaking but a lot of it was unnecessary. I literally read 18 books in between finishing this book because I kept having to set it down because I got so bored. I almost DNF’ed too many times to count

This is by far SLOWWWW paced FYI.

Also, saint deserves sooo much better. Disappointing. Didn’t even end how I hoped. And Patch and Grace didn’t even end up together. It’s super unrealistic that the doctor stayed in prison for 20 years and allowed himself to almost be put to death for a crime he didn’t even commit because of HIPAA that doesn’t even come into account since the patient was dead. Also there’s mandatory reporting for rape, especially statutory rape as healthcare workers. Moronic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Cancer, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Grief, Abortion, and Murder

Slow paced

leah_mm_'s review

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Murder

Moderate: Rape

hannah_hearts_books's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Well, I didn’t see myself giving this 5 stars, but here we are. First of all, I think this book has been placed in the wrong genre category. All the Colors of the Dark is definitely a literary fiction story with a crime story subplot. This book is not a mystery and not a thriller. Instead,this is a book which allows the reader to follow the aftermath of three kids who were in the cross-hairs of a serial killer.We watch the kids grow up over the course of 30-ish years dealing with their issues the best that we can they can. We see how violence and trauma can affect people and how it can be people’s driving force for the remainder of their life. This book is expansive and sweeping. A beautiful story of friendship and love, beekeepers and pirates. IYKYK. Would this ever be a book that I would normally pick up? No. Was it long as hell? Yes. Was it daunting when I picked it up? Yes.Was every page worth it? Yes. What a beautiful read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Drug abuse, Terminal illness, Violence, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Incest and Rape

hannahduda's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark hopeful mysterious sad tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

rachelkreadsbookz's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Violence, Kidnapping, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Suicide, and Abortion

Minor: Incest

jennifer_bush_73's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Abortion, Death of parent, and Murder

mysterymom40's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Torture, Blood, Kidnapping, and Alcohol

Moderate: Mental illness, Terminal illness, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

jordyfrombookclub's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

A sprawling serial killer chase that spans decades. The story comes through large breaks in time and bite-sized chapters (261 in all). Fairly entertaining, but for me the driving plot and character development both fell flat. For instance, only one of the 261 chapters passes the Bechdel test — despite the fact that the great majority of characters in the book that surround Patch (our main character) are women.

Additionally, Marty Tombs’ “crime” felt obvious from the first time Saint spotted him with blood on his hands, but we still had to wait 20 years and dozens of chapters for our cast of characters (who are theoretically brilliant) to put the pieces together.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Physical abuse, Violence, Abortion, and Murder

Minor: Incest and Suicide