"One of the best books I've read in a long time.

It’s hard to know what to say about this book because it’s about so many things, but I knew hardly anything about it going in. I can rehash the blurb-- that it's a mystery/thriller spanning several decades --but that tells you nothing about why this book is so powerful. It doesn’t tell you all the little things that make it: the strength of the characters, the humour to offer light through the dark themes, the many surprises waiting to be uncovered.

All the Colors of the Dark is a story of trauma and obsession. The blurb mentions a love story, but the truth is this book contains several love stories, not all of them romantic. It is one of those books where I read it desperate to find out the truth, searching for closure with a need to know, and absolutely afraid of what I’d find.

The characters are truly well-drawn and memorable. Not just the protagonists, but all the side characters too.

And it just has so much to say. We follow these complex characters through their lives as they chase answers to a mystery that seems to get colder by the day, but alongside this are powerful stories of love, friendship and loyalty. I cared so very much.

Plus, I recently complained about thrillers that rest on ludicrous twists and this book was a perfect example of how to get it right. It contains the kind of twists and turns I love. Not some ridiculous “oh that character is actually this character and that man you thought was long-dead is actually your new mother-in-law” but thoughtful, layered discoveries. Finding out what happened in this book is a gradual peeling away of layers.

Also, I feel like authors who write lovely short chapters like this are angels.

The book contains lots of dark themes that won't be suitable for everyone, including domestic and sexual abuse, and references to abortion, but there's plenty of colour in the dark (I'm so sorry, I just can't help myself.)

So did I love this book? Entirely and absolutely."

"On a day the a girl nearly goes missing, a town will never be the same. Saint and Patch, and those touched by them, will look at color and truths and love and loss so differently it will alter the very fabric of the next generation.

This is a book that defies expectations and genres, but more than anything it is a languidly, rich, character-driven story about what it means to do good and be good. What it means to pay your debts and keep your promises and honor those you love and those who love you. And what it means to break a thousand times over.

It is a story woven of jewels and bread crumbs, so intricate that it almost needs to be read a second time immediately after ending.

And so rich it is very hard to start another book."