All The Colors Of The Dark by Chris Whitaker

A narrative story that unfolds across decades, beginning in the 1970s in the Missouri Ozarks, where 12 year old Patch intervenes to save a young woman from a violent act and ends up being held together with a young girl (Grace) in a secluded dark farm basement for almost a year by the said attacker. Eventually he is rescued by the heroic actions of his best friend, a girl named Saint. The majority of the novel plays out over the subsequent four decades where Patch obsessively searches for Grace. The consequences of this obsession mould not only Patch's life, but also the lives of those around him.

A poignant, thought-provoking and reflective exploration of the bonds of human connection and the capacity for both good and evil to coexist within individuals and communities. Whitaker's writing is reminiscent of that of JD Salinger and Cormac McCarthy and his storytelling is on par with that of Hanya Yanagihara. Some of the best writing I've come across in recent years. 5/5