If you loved All the Colors of the Dark and want to read more like it, you’ve come to the right place. The book followed the lives of Saint and Patch as they navigate from their early teenage years to adulthood and the different trajectories their lives take, especially following the traumatic events of their childhood.
The book was billed as “a missing person mystery, a serial killer thriller, [and] a love story”, with a “unique twist on each.” And the book reads like a coming-of-age, romance, mystery, police procedural thriller with strong small town vibes and a strong character driven narrative.
Wow, that’s a lot. But we’re here for you– and here are 5 books like All the Colors of the Dark that try to capture some of Chris Whitaker’s magic.
If you read the book for your book club, be use to use our reading guide for All the Colors of the Dark.
5 Books for Fans of All the Colors of the Dark
The Child Finder, Rene Denfeld
Naomi is known to the police and a select group of parents as “the Child Finder”. She’s engaged by Madison Culver’s parents to find her in the wake of the little girl’s disappearance. You also get the POV of another mind, a girl who is introduced later in the story and we aren’t going to spoil it here.
A story that explores how we survive trauma and find hope in even the most despairing places. It’s a gripping page-turner with a lot of psychological insight, deep emotions and a dark, atmospheric mood.
“No matter how far you have run, no matter how long you have been lost, it is never too late to be found.”
Unspeakable Things, Jesse Lourey
One by one the local boys in Lilydale have gone missing. And one by one they return, moody and in shock. Cassie believes that there is a monster out there. She already lives in constant fear of her alcoholic, paranoid father and the out of control parties that her parent’s throw. But even with all that, she commits to trying to bring down the person who is kidnapping the boys.
Inspired by a true story from the author’s hometown in Minnesota, the book is dark, and ominous, with a riveting narration. But the material is very dark and not for the feint of heart.
“The trick of life,” she said, “is that you can’t hold the pain for too long. The magic, either.”
All Good People Here, Ashley Flowers
Are all the people good there? Because they got a 20 year old child murder cold case and another more recent kidnapping that’s eerily similar. And it seems like everyone– the police, family, and townspeople– are all hiding something.
Margot, a journalist who was a child at the time of the first murder is in town to help her ailing uncle. When the next abduction happens, she decides to investigate.
Ride along as she digs into the town’s secrets and finds out what people are capable of when they think no one is watching.
“It’s not safe for you here.”
The Lincoln Highway, Amor Towles
With this recommendation, we veer away from the thriller narrative, but keep to themes of coming-of-age and a strong character-driven plot.
Much like the titular Interstate, The Lincoln Highway spans the country, connecting the stories of five young characters in Midcentury America, and presenting a slice of a time that was in no way simple.
This book is not a quaint portrait of a romantic era. Rather, The Lincoln Highway is a layered journey about the burdens of expectations, the grief of lost dreams, and the meaning of home.
This book features on our list of best book club books and we also have a reading guide for it.
Chain-Gang All-Stars, Nana Kwame Adjel-Brenyah
All the Colors of the Dark was a pic for the Read with Jenna book club. She’s a genius at picking well-written zeitgeisty books. I have her whole list (with synopsys) if you’d like to peruse it. One of my favorites among her recent recommendations is Chain-Gang All-Stars. It works for this list if you still like reading about people in peril…but need a break from kids in peril.
Adjei-Brenyah’s world imagines a future American prison system with a strong profit motive. The prisons have the Criminal Action Penal Entertainment (or CAPE) system which puts on gladiatorial fights to the death…for entertainment. Prisoners participating in (and surviving ) these gruesome contests can earn an commuted sentences. And the book follows two characters who are chasing that dream.
Reviews liken the book to the Hunger Games meets Russell Crowe’s Gladiator meets any movie by Jason Statham meets Squid Games. The book has strong world-building and razer sharp social commentary. But it’s also leavened with love, remorse, atonement, and hope from the various characters.
Read it for book club and use our Chain Gang All-Stars reading guide.
More Books Lists to Fill Your TBR
If you want to gobble up more thrillers, we have several book lists that will feed that need.
- 11 books like Verity, by Colleen Hoover.
- 11 books like The Silent Patient, by Alex Michaelides.
- 10 books like First Lie Wins, by Ashley Elston.
