A review by misharono
All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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

4.25

The only reason I didn't fully commit to a 5-star rating was because the initial build-up to this book was a little too slow for me. Did I appreciate and understand why that build-up was necessary by the end? Yes, which is why I still gave it such a high rating. But I spent a lot of the first half of the book struggling to get through it. 

All that being said, I've never read a crime/mystery book quite like this one. The writing was also exceptional - just extremely vivid prose and despite the short chapters, capable of delivering emotional punches. The benefit to the drawn out story was also watching the growth and development of the characters and created a strong emotional connection. 

I am not really good at predicting twists to begin with, but I didn't see almost any of the reveals coming and I thought they were all well-decided given the pace and plot of the story. 

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