The Chalk Man: A Novel

This is not a good book, despite all the positive reviews. It is clumsily plotted, full of cliches and, overall, ridiculous. The author is obviously capable of writing a decent book, but this one fails on so many levels. The dream passages were particularly dumb, as dream passages often are. When I got to 90% on my Kindle, I began racing to the finish line – not because I couldn't wait to see what might happen next, but because I just wanted the experience to be over. Many of the scenes reminded me of lazy TV shows, which is interesting since the main character bemoans old Doctor Who cliffhangers for failing to deliver a satisfactory resolution of the action in the next installment. Much has been made of the character development in this book, but there really isn't much, and the revelations of what the characters are really up to are, to put it mildly, a stretch. The acclaim afforded this novel is more frightening than the story it tells. The future of mystery fiction looks pretty ugly if this kind of childish pap is what we have to look forward to.

I loved loved loved this book. I was riveted from the tragedy at the fair in the beginning. This was the Audible version and Euan Morton did an amazing job as narrator for the story. This story had twists and turns and after the resolution (which I won't give because I don't want to spoil it)...there was even a strange twist at the very end. I was actually sort of devastated when the recording was over. I can't wait until C.J. Tudor writes another gripping thriller.

This was my first ever experience with C.J. Tudor, and it was an exceptional one. I am always looking to discover new and exciting authors who provide a novel that captures your attention by keeping you in suspense. This novel definitely hit all the right notes for me, and kept me in suspense all the way to the final pages. I found myself sneaking time away to read this book because I wanted to solve the mystery of the chalk man, and the ending of this book did not disappoint.

The novel centers around a group of friends in their early adolescent years. The book jumps back and forth in each chapter from the past to the present, but both narratives are written so well that you don't find yourself losing your place during the time jumps. The main character is trying to figure out exactly what took place years ago, as the infamous chalk man has reappeared and is leaving clues to what really happened in a murder case from his childhood.

I don't want to give too many details from the book, because I think the reader should experience everything for themselves, but this book is well written, interesting, and has enough twists and turns to keep your attention all the way through the end. I really enjoyed this book, and am really looking forward to following this new writer in the future. I loved this book, and I think you will like it too.

Favorite Quotes:

My hair is still thick and mostly dark, but my laughter lines lost their sense of humour some time ago.

Many of the kids I teach at Anderbury Academy are what we call “challenging.” In my day, they would have been called “a bunch of little $#*.” Some days, I need to mentally prepare myself to deal with them. Other days, the only preparation that helps is a shot of vodka in my morning coffee.

I knew she didn’t really like Fat Gav’s mum and dad. I heard her once tell Dad that they were “often-contagious.” When I got older, I realized she’d actually said “ostentatious,” but for years I thought she meant that they harboured some strange disease.

None of it was true, but rumors are like germs. They spread and multiply almost in a breath and, before you know it, everyone is contaminated.

BEING AN ADULT is only an illusion. When it comes down to it I’m not sure any of us ever really grow up. We simply grow taller and hairier. Sometimes, I still feel amazed that I am allowed to drive a car, or that I have not been found out for drinking in the pub.

No one ever found any answers at the bottom of a bottle. Not the point, of course. The point of reaching the bottom of the bottle is generally to forget the questions.

My Review:

The Chalk Man was a brilliantly paced and multi-layered tale with gripping storylines dripping with intrigue, and a riveting plot packed with odd and compelling characters. What more could you ask for? Not a damn thing says my stunned and addled brain. I was quickly sucked into the vortex of this enthralling story and had an extremely difficult time putting my Kindle down. Peculiar and distressing incidents, gruesome nightmares, and mysterious events were observed and cataloged by a sticky-fingered pre-teen which continued to haunt the forty-two-year-old man thirty years later. I devised theories I hoped would be incorrect as it would have hurt my heart, but I never saw this ending coming. I am awestruck with the knowledge this ingeniously crafted and insightfully written book was the author’s first. She must be an evil genius and her family should be advised to count the empties, sleep with one eye open, and always remain in her good graces.

By the time this book is published, the author may be a bit tired of hearing her book compared to Stand by Me. I’d like to assure her that any comparisons are strictly complimentary.

Yes, Stephen King’s epic work played in my head time and again as I read The Chalk Man. But though this may be an homage to Mr. King’s work, C.J. Tudor holds her own. Her voice is strong, edgy, and unique.

Switching between timelines, Tudor paints a story that’s grim, mysterious, and ultimately horrifying. Not only does our young hero lose his innocence with the dark things that happened in the past, he loses it all over again as he realizes that the past never really leaves you alone. Most disconcerting, the reader loses a sense of innocence along with him.

The story is both frightening and heart-rending.

Now, I’ll confess that the surprise ending wasn’t really a surprise to me. I had been suspecting it for quite some time. But I was still anxious to read it for myself and to see if my instincts were right.

This is one of those epic stories that you just lose yourself in. I didn’t want to stop reading and didn’t want for it to end.

1986. Eddie and his friends live a normal young life in a small English village, until one disastrous day at the county fair. On that day, Eddie meets Mr. Halloran, the new school teacher. It's also the day that Eddie traces back to the beginning of it all: the chalk men he and his friends use as codes, the bullying, the terrible foreboding nightmares...culminating in a dismantled body found in the forest, and the terrible consequences that come from a small mistake.

Fast forward 30 years, and Eddie's just received a letter in the mail: a chalk figure. He's also visited by one of his old friends who'd drifted away. And there's also a new body in town. It can't all be coincidence. Have the sins of the past come back to exact their vengeance?

THE CHALK MAN is a gripping thriller. It wears its influences on its sleeve--try not to think of King's It during the'86 sequences--but that isn't necessarily a bad thing, as C.J. Tudor has left her own flourishes here and there. As with most thrillers, the buildup to the end is rather more exciting than the climax itself, but that's okay; if you do such a good job building up to the climax, it can be difficult to live up to expectations. Tudor's characters are flawed and complex, and the friendship between the young characters is a driving influence, as are the flaws of the adult narrator Eddie. THE CHALK MAN is a fine, engrossing thriller that sucks you in and spits you out 300 pages later, a little rougher for wear, as it should be.

Spanning thirty years between 1986 and 2016 THE CHALK MAN follows the lives of Eddie Adams and his three friends from age twelve into their 40’s as they navigate life in the quiet English village of Anderbury. Narrated by Eddie, the story moves back and forth in time as Eddie recollects his life both then and now and the various individuals who played decisive rolls in both.

Replete with unusual characters, not the least of which are a sadistic bully, an albino teacher named Mr. Halloran who takes Eddie under his wing, and the Rev. Martin a religious zealot whose motives are questionable. Then there are Eddie’s friends Fat Gav, Hoppo and Metal Mickey, and Nicky the girl young Eddie is “crushing” on. The story is liberally peppered with malicious pranks, a murder or two and the chalk figures that haunt Eddie’s life. You can feel the anguish and confusion of young Eddie as he goes through a varied assortment of tragic events.

While the Eddie character is engaging if a little idiosyncratic, his horrific dreams make the reader wonder what untold secrets lie beneath the surface plaguing him both as an adolescent and an adult. Author C.J. Tudor has presented a plethora of eccentric and distinctive individuals from those mentioned above to Chloe, the curious and unusual young woman lodger who shares the adult Eddie’s home.

Tudor has written a novel filled with situations and secrets that confound and bemuse while masterfully drawing the reader into the ubiquitous twists and turns that leave one unable to put the book down…..even if you wanted to.

There is a certain style of UK mystery, and other novels for that matter, that dives deep into the psyche of young men, sometimes gay, often not. The story gets darker and darker until it is more like a fever dream than a realistic story. I have long thought that this kind of writing is in a direct line from "Lord of the Flies" and some of the better 1960s horror.

"The Chalk Man" is one of these books. Childhood crime leads to adult retribution. Retribution coming from an unknown place, not supernatural, but almost as ghastly in its inexplicable and inexorable progress.

I don't much like these books, no matter how well they are written. This one is particularly long.

I received a review copy of "The Chalk Man" by C. J. Tudor (Crown) through NetGalley.com.

NB the store no longer alerts reviewers when comments or up and down votes are posted. If you would like a response to your comment, write to me. You might also ask the store why they hide feedback from reviewers.

The Chalk Man is a highly anticipated 2018 release, and for good reason. I’ve seen numerous reviews all over with nothing but wonderful things to say about it. And they’re right: this was a phenomenal thriller! It has so much going for it and I’m glad I got to read it!

The one thing I noticed a lot of people weren’t fond of were the separate chapters dedicated to both past and present. The past follows Ed and his group of friends during 1986, a year full of battles and death. The present follows Ed in 2016, reconnecting with these same friends and making new discoveries about past events. I had absolutely no problem with the time shifts. Each chapter is dedicated to either past or present and is appropriately marked with the year at the beginning. I never once found myself confused at all, and appreciated the transitions that the author created. There were so many connections between both the past and the present, and the characters translated so well between children and adults.

There was so much happening in 1986 that wasn’t completely accounted for and was brought up again in 2016. First, there was a man beaten almost to death. Ed finally discovers the culprit in the present. Then, there’s the murder and dismemberment of a teenage girl. 2016 brings us answers to that riddle as well. Assumption plays an important theme throughout the novel. Everyone always assumes what happened or who did what, but none of these assumptions were ever supported by evidence. Since they live in a relatively small town, it’s easy to know that everyone has their secrets. Someone is always holding something back, and it was exciting following Ed around trying to uncover everyone’s secrets. Considering how twisty the plot was at times, there was an answer for every nagging question in the back of my mind. I love when plots are tied up perfectly! Of course, the answers were not what Ed was hoping for, but he got them.

The Chalk Man borders on both thriller and horror for me, but there was the underlying theme of making assumptions. Everyone in the novel made assumptions about everything, especially with the decisions that they made. So many of those decisions had dire consequences to them, and it made me think about the ripple effect. Everything someone does causes ripples to spread out further and further, touching more than expected.

Like I mentioned, The Chalk Man borders on the horror genre, at least in my opinion. There are some seriously dark and disturbing images brought up. If you plan on reading this, which I DEFINITELY SUGGEST YOU DO, make sure you remember there are some pretty messed up, gory scenes here. I love that kind of stuff anyway, so no harm no foul for me! I loved every aspect of this novel. I loved the ‘80s vibe of the past, and I loved the fact that almost every character had flaws to them. No one was perfect and everyone had a part to play in the tragic year of 1986. Seriously, just go read it.

Wow, where do you start to describe this book without giving too much away, I loved it, I thought it was so original and very different to anything I have read recently. I liked the contrast between the past and the present and found myself totally captivated by the stories in both times .I also found the narrator to be interesting he certainly had some quirks and was an unlikely hero but he was likable.I am trying desperately not to say too much and I certainly don't want to spoil it for other readers, I will say that there are some rather nasty graphic scenes, but not too many and they are integral to the book.I did actually question what genre the book was at times I thought it crossed the line into horror which made it all the more interesting and kept me on my toes.I read this book as fast as I could because I couldn't put it down , not literally but I kept thinking about it when I wasn't reading it and wanting to pick it up again .I raved about it so much that my partner is just about to start reading it and has bumped it up their reading list to do this, I don't think they or any other reader will be disappointed.I thought it was terrific and can't recommend it enough.Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for an ARC.

In 1986 while hiking through the woods, a group of four boys discovers a dismembered body. Adding to the mystery of the body's identity are "The Chalk Man" symbols that point the way to the various body parts. Thirty years later, the narrator, Eddie is still haunted by that gruesome discovery. Moving the narrative between 1986 when the body was discovered and 2016, C. J. Tudor creates a horrific story involving emotionally damaged individuals, misunderstood relationships, and well-concealed revenge.

Through the back-and-forth time frames, "The Chalk Man" provides the readers with clues to the mystery and to the characters' psychological issues. Viscerally, the reader may suspect the final reveals but be unable to accept their reality. This makes the book particularly compelling and creates a sense of urgency as you read the story. I found myself continuing to read, even when I had other obligations - the writing and the story are that good!

If you love a good suspense/mystery, look no further than C. J. Tudor's "The Chalk Man". It will not disappoint you.

This book felt very familiar. If you grew up reading King and watching many an 80’s movie, you’ll no doubt feel the same way. It has a beautiful sense of place and a slow sense of creeping dread but there wasn’t anything totally new here and by the end I was beginning to just wish it would hurry up and spill all of its secrets.

I listened on audio and the narrator was good with the voices but I really and truly wish that two of the characters weren’t named Nicky and Mickie. Maybe a Nicky and a Peter? Or a Robin and a Mickie, perhaps? This made for so much confusion for me on audio. I’m not sure if it was the light accent of the narrator or the similarity of the names, or both, but it kept tripping me up and that's never a fun experience.

The story is presented in two timelines. There’s present day Ed in 2016 and there’s young Eddie in 1980-something. The 80’s timeline is when most of the strange and terrible stuff happens as young Eddie comes of age with a group of his closest chums. The book bounces back and forth between the two timelines as grown up Ed tries to solve a decades old murder after a letter arrives with ominous chalk drawings and an old frenemy arrives soon after. Information is doled out very slowly in both timelines but eventually it all begins to come together. And that’s all I’m saying about the plot because this is a mystery-thriller, people, and a thriller should never be spoiled! But that doesn't mean that I'm done yapping.

So, current day Ed is a bit of a dullard, if you ask me. He is dry and rather unemotional and he's telling the story. He’s a grown man living with a young lady named Chloe but there’s nothing sexual going on there so don't get too excited. I’m kind of glad about that on one hand but if I’m being totally honest a little sexy time might’ve perked things up or added some real tension but alas it’s all pretty sexless. Their relationship made no sense to me until the reveals started coming much later in the book. But for most of the story they interacted with some weird sort of passive-aggressive tension that made me a little uncomfortable for them.

Young Eddie’s story was more interesting to me even though he has the same personality as older Ed because Eddie witnesses some pretty awful things but alas none of them are supernatural even though there are little teases strewn about so don't get too excited about that either.

As a mystery-thriller The Chalk Man worked for me because I am terrible at figuring these things out and this one fooled me and kept me going until the end because I HAD to know. My main complaint about the book is with the people and the complete lack of humor. They weren’t people I ever grew to care about. Even the kids. They’re a group of angry, dull, unlikable kids and I didn’t feel their connection to each other. They didn’t seem like a close-knit group to me and that’s where the book fell down hard. In the beginning, I had high hopes but perhaps they were too high. There’s a dog in a few scenes that I loved more than everyone combined and he has no dialogue and only a scene or two. That probably says too much about me but there it is . . .

But, oooh, you have to read until the very end because the final dark surprise was fabulous!

I’m giving this a 3 ½ bumping down to a 3.

Okay, I knew C. J. Tudor wrote a bestselling whodunit, but a whodunit to the nth degree? I was trying to figure out who the murderer was (and I picked someone) then later in the novel my pick got murdered! Then it happened again. How many bananas do I have to peel before I find out who dismembered the young girl early in the novel? A lot...I guess. The chapters move back and forth between 1986 (the original murder) and 2016 (30 years later). This alternating years system seems to be the popular way of writing novels nowadays. And where it was previously cumbersome...it’s now seems tighter than a duck’s ass. Does that make any sense? C. J. Tudor has mastered cliffhanging chapter endings that are 30 years apart. I wish I could come up with a better term for twist and turns, because the author had a inordinate amount of them in her maiden novel. Great job of keeping the reader in the fog and off kilter.

In the Prologue, “The girl’s head rested on a small pile of orange - and - brown leaves...her almond eyes stared up at the canopy of sycamore, beech, and oak, but they didn’t see...They didn’t blink as shiny black beetles scurried over their pupils. A short distance away, a pale hand stretched out from its own small shroud of leaves as if searching for help...the rest of her body lay out of reach, hidden in other secluded spots around the woods. Close by, a twig snapped, loud as a firecracker in the stillness, and a flurry of birds exploded out of the undergrowth. Someone approached.” That someone picked up her head and put it in a bag “where it nestled among a few broken stubs of chalk.” I failed to figure out who the person was that picked up the girl’s head. I didn’t find out until the book’s final pages. But the question was always...was that the murderer or the finder?

The story centers around a clique of five twelve year old friends living in Anderbury, England in 1986. The narrator of the story is Eddie “Munster” Adams (nicknamed so because of the Addams Family and Munsters TV shows). His friends are: Fat Gav, Metal Mickey (because of his mouth braces), David Hopkins (Hoppo), and a girl named Nicky, the daughter of the local Vicar, Reverend Martin (this man seemed strange). That was the group. They were constantly harassed by Metal Mickey’s older brother, Sean and his gang of young toughs. So when did the problems for Eddie’s gang start? On page three, “The problem was, none of us ever agreed on the exact beginning. Was it when Fat Gav got the bucket of chalks for his birthday? Was it when we started drawing the chalk figures or when they started to appear on their own? Was it the terrible accident? Or when they found the first body? Any number of beginnings. Any of them, I guess you could call the start. But really, I think it all began on the day of the fair...because it was the day that everything stopped being normal.”

This was the first year that Eddie’s bunch were allowed to go to the annual fair by themselves.The five kids had no intention of following their parents warnings and instructions. “There’s nothing better than doing something you shouldn’t and getting one over on an adult while doing it.” Sometime during the day, Eddie loses his wallet. He thinks he left it at the hot - dog stand. He runs over there by himself and sees the new teacher in town, Mr. Halloran, eating a hot dog and drinking a blue slushy through a straw and watching the Waltzers (one of the amusement rides), or was he watching the beautiful girl waiting in line? “It was hard to miss the Pale Man. He was very tall, for a start, and thin. He wore stonewashed jeans, a baggy white shirt and a big straw hat. He looked like...David Bowie. Mr. Halloran was an albino...was he a good man? He looked scary. Suddenly there was a horrible accident. One of the Waltzer cars broke loose into the beautiful girl. She was violently pushed into the hot - dog stand. Eddie kneeled by her...was she dead? “Help me”, she rasped. A single eye stared at Eddie, the other one rested limply on her cheek. “Her lower leg was barely hanging on, tethered only by stringy tendons.” With Eddie’s help, Mr. Halloran stopped the bleeding and saved her life. Eddie now knew her only as the Waltzer Girl. They were claimed local heroes by the newspapers for saving the girl's life.

The story moves to 2016. “The letter arrives without a flourish or fanfare or even a sense of foreboding. It slips through the letter box, sandwiched between a charity envelope for Macmillan and a flyer for a new pizza takeaway.” Eddie is now a 42 year old teacher, still living in his mum’s house (mum lives on her own and dad is dead). Eddie has a somewhat attractive boarder named Chloe (I kept asking myself...who is she?). Later on in the day... “I sit down at the desk. I’m pretty sure Chloe isn’t at home and won’t be back anytime soon, but I’ve locked the door, anyway. I open the envelope I received this morning and look at it’s contents again.There’s no writing. But the message is very clear. A stick figure with a noose around its neck. It’s drawn in crayon, which is wrong. Perhaps that’s why, as an added reminder, the sender has included something else. I tip up the envelope and it falls to the desk in a small cloud of dust. A single piece of white chalk.” Did the other members of Eddie’s circle get the same letter, or did one of them send it to the other four? All that excitement happened in the first 42 pages of C. J. Tudor’s novel. It’s a tough novel to put down at bedtime. Maybe it’s a bedtime story?

This novel can’t decide whether its fits into the domestic noire or psychological thriller or magic realism or straight murder mystery genre. By meshing all these tropes together, unfortunately it doesn’t do any of them justice.

The writing is easy to read, however the characters – Ed, Hoppo, Fat Gav and Nicky – are neither particularly interesting or likable. The protagonist, Eddie in 1986 and Ed in 2006 – meanders through life living in his old hometown; even as an adult he can’t form meaningful relationships. There is nothing in Ed’s childhood backstory alluding to why this would be the case; he wasn’t particularly interesting as a child. The only significant incident happened around Eddie, to which he was a witness, and in which his soon-to-be English teacher, Mr Halloran, intervened. Instead of doing anything constructive, our hero, Ed, either disturbs crime scenes or does nothing worthwhile at all.

The chalk stick-figures are meant to bring a new and different spin on the murder investigation, but they only muddled the waters when you reach the end and find out who was responsible. I wasn’t sure if Mr. Halloran was the Chalk Man of the title, or whether the title alluded to the chalk stick-figures on pavements, forests and everywhere imaginable.

Despite the foreshadowing prologue, the murder happens quite late into the book. By this time the characters have been introduced in haphazard fashion, and then do seemingly little to try to solve it. There is another crime as well, although Ed is only marginally invested in finding out the culprit. This is no Agatha Christie-type whodunnit, where there are many suspects for the murder, so the reader can piece together the evidence to try to figure out the murderer before the criminal is exposed. In the end, it seems that every character had a part to play in a dastardly act if not in the crime itself. There is one villain, and his misdeeds are hinted at rather than detailed outright. Like many others, I had sussed out the end before I got there. I had high expectations of this book that were not met.

Gott im Himmel - this one absolutely blew me away. Chronicling the best and worst of coming of age with dead bodies thrown in, it's "Stand By Me" on steroids. Whew!

And to think I almost missed it. Yes, I'd seen the extensive hype, and noticed its appearance on best-seller lists. But faced with a stack of advance-copy books that will keep my nose to the Kindle to the tune of at least one a week all the way through early May, I decided to take a pass on this one. And then, a three-week window miraculously appeared - and only one big-name author's entry ("Dark in Death" by J.D. Robb, which I'll be reading next) - was waiting to be squeezed in. Well then, I said to myself, let's see what everybody's talking about.

Now I know, and I'm almost speechless. The writing, dare I say, is exquisite, the character development is like none I've seen in a while and the story is both original and totally engrossing. In fact, once I hit the halfway point, no way could I have put it down. Chapters switch between two time periods; 1986, when the major characters are English kids (four boys and a girl), and 2016, when they've long gone their separate ways but strange events are pulling them back together again. I've said time and time again that I'm not a fan of time switches like this, but in this instance the chapters are clearly designated so there isn't much confusion. What's more, details revealed in the early year are so interesting - and sometimes surprising - that I couldn't wait to find out the impact they had on the friends' current lives.

The story is narrated by Eddie Adams, now a teacher. His long-ago friends are "Fat" Gav, "Metal" Mickey, "Hoppo" Hopkins and Nicky (the lone female). As youngsters, they live very diverse and for the most part happy lives; but they also witness some very unchildhood-like events like finding a pieces of a woman's body strewn thither and yon in the woods. Like most kids, they get their kicks where they can - in their case, from drawing stick-figure "secret" messages to each other with colored chalk. Fast-forward to 2017, when Eddie is contacted by Mickey, and old memories - not all of them pleasant - come flooding back. How and why did the friendships come to an end? What is each of them doing now? And why on earth has Mickey suddenly reappeared after all this time? The answers to those questions, and many others, are revealed as the story unfolds.

Along the way, there's considerable focus on social issues (some might say too much, in fact). The story touches on everything from bullying to abortion to stereotyping to Alzheimer's/dementia, with a few in between that I didn't bother to write down. That said, each is directly tied to the plot and progress of the story, with no attempt to be "preachy" as far as I could tell.

There's a lot more I could say - especially about the ending - but most of it would give away too much. I'll just stick with emphasizing that this is one of the best books I've read in a long time. Simply outstanding!

This book feels almost like two experiences to me: one was exciting to read, leading me to want to read the next chapter quickly; the other seemed overwhelming with details, possible suspects and scenarios, just too much happening. While I initially enjoyed the plot and pacing, with the alternating time periods of 1986 and 2016, by the end, I was worn out.

The narrator, Ed/Eddie (2016/1986) introduces us to the story and to the main characters: his group of friends, his family, the school and some townspeople who will figure prominently in future events. He and his friends are 12, about to turn 13, and noticing girls now. There are a series of startling events that happen over the course of many months, summer through winter, that effect, Eddie and all of his friends and, ultimately all of the town. There are injuries. There is death. And who is to blame?

In the alternating chapters, thirty years later, Ed is a teacher, self-effacing, lonely and seemingly a bit lost in the world. He takes in lodgers in his home to make ends meet. He is a bit eccentric too. There are shadows drawn over the past, unanswered questions about past events. How he fits into the puzzle really is unclear since we see only through his eyes. Two of his friends still live in the town and they all remain on friendly terms.

I am purposefully being vague and circumspect in avoiding details about the events involved in this book as any more information would, I believe, give away excessive plot should you wish to read the book. The book's description tells of the basic event, the chalk man drawings leading to the dismembered body. But there is much more happening in both time periods.

My enthusiasm began to slacken just over half way through the book as the list of various possible suspects grew as well as the list of crimes, and as Ed/Eddie's strange role in parts of the story played out. I think it simply became, for me, too much...of suspects, of possible crimes, of shifts in time, of complex and often strange personalities. I became tired of bending with the changes. Yes these changes were possible and conclusions were proven within the story, but almost too smoothly after so much had happened.

In the end, I can't unreservedly recommend this book. The first half may keep your attention glued to the page, but your mind and patience may wander before the book ends (or possibly you may enjoy it more than I did).

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

This is an exceptionally well plotted thriller based around a couple of simple ideas, neither which I am going to mention further as I believe awareness of them will mar your enjoyment of the story. Needless to say, it is very, very clever and also got me thinking further afield once I had finished the book. Honestly, this will make sense once you've read it. One thing I will say is that there is so much going on in the book but nothing is unnecessarily added. This is definitely a book that is bigger than the sum of its parts and, parts it definitely has many of.
So we first meet Ed (Eddie) in 2016 when he starts to reminisce about his childhood and where it all began. We follow him in his friends in flashback starting from 1986. Eddie, Gav, Mickey, Hoppo and token girl Nicky are close friends. A gang even, in the old sense of the word where the worst that would happen is a bit of shoplifting and a bit of damage when building dens. Well, at least initially anyway! They have a secret code of chalk men and, one day, following them leads them to a grisly discovery. There's a whole lot that also goes on before, during and after that incident, but this is the pivotal moment that basically defines the rest of Ed's life. Back in the present, Ed thinks he has left his past behind him, working as a teacher and living, with a lodger, in his childhood home. One day though, a letter brings it all back and he realises that he hasn't quite faced all he needs to face to lay it to rest. Something that he now needs to address, and that means opening up old wounds. The childhood friends are brought together once again to exorcise the ghosts of their pasts.
This book is so much more than I can ever do justice to in a review. There is so much I want to say about it but can't for fear of spoilers. As I approached the end with all my theories and predictions, I was put firmly in my place when the truth eventually came out. And, what a truth it was. As I turned the final page, I just sat there, jaw open, quite shocked, but very satisfied. To be honest, I wanted to re-read the whole thing with the hindsight I now had just to see what difference it'd make. And I very seldom re-read books! I then went to check out the author's back catalogue and was surprised and indeed a bit disappointed when I found it empty. This is a debut book, WOW!
One of the things I really loved about the book was the wonderful trip down memory lane back to the 80s. Being a child of that era, I drank in all the wonderful memory links this book gave me, often reading with a big smile on my face when I connected with one more blast from my past. Just silly little simple things mostly, like Woollie's Pick n Mix, but they're often the best!
The way that Ed narrates the book really made me feel a part of the story. Like an actual observer rather than just a reader after the fact. He sucked me in right from the start, after the intriguing enough prologue obviously, and held me captive throughout. The shortish, punchy chapters helped, especially as they often ended on a cliffhanger meant that I was pretty powerless in my attempts to put the book down, apart from when I really had to and then I was a bit grumpy until I could pick it up again. There were so many times where the author either hinted at something or just didn't quite give all the explanation straight up, making me be patient and wait for it all to come out later. That would normally annoy me as I don't need tricks like that to keep me reading if the story is good enough but in this case, it was totally justified, especially as I progressed towards the end. It was more of a tool than a trick and completely in keeping with the story being told.
I don't like comparing authors but I was constantly reminded of Stephen King as I was reading this book. Some parallels are more obvious than others, but I'm really talking about the atmosphere and creepiness of the whole thing; the way the author got into my head, it's hard to explain in words.
Characterisation was, quite simply, brilliant. I totally believed in the kids in the 80s; what they did, what they said, how they interacted with each other and the adults. Similarly, in the present day, I felt that the characters that were repeated had grown up and developed congruently with what had gone before. I am not usually a very visual reader but I could actually visualise the characters playing their parts, often quite clearly. I think the film option for this book will not be long in being snapped up!
Anyway, I could bang on about this book for ever, it's THAT good, but my ever growing TBR beckons. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Edward Adams, who narrates C. J. Tudor's "The Chalk Man," is a forty-two year old English teacher who tells a large part of the story in flashback. In 1986, when Eddie was twelve, he spent much of his time with his best friends, Mickey Metal, Hoppo, Nicky, and Fat Gav in the small English town of Anderbury. It is now 2016, and Ed mulls over a series of eerie crimes that occurred thirty years earlier and were never solved. Readers can play sleuth along with Eddie, but like him, they will find it difficult to separate fact from fiction.

When he was a kid, Eddie did what children usually do. He went to school, rode his bike, hung around with his mates, and collected things. He was both sensitive and observant; therefore, a series of horrific events that he witnessed left an indelible mark on his psyche. Among them were a terrible accident at a fairground; the deaths of several acquaintances; and the tragic illness of someone he loved. The author juggles a large cast and her overstuffed plot involves a fire-and-brimstone preacher who is intolerant of dissent; a woman who helps girls in trouble; a May-December romance; and a number of deaths, some accidental, others intentional.

This book's chief flaw is one found in many debut works of fiction. In an effort to keep us guessing, Tudor throws in so many twists and turns that we soon tire of the far-fetched developments. A few surprises are fine. However, when they are this numerous, they become tedious and irritating. The tone is unremittingly grim, and few of the characters are likeable (some exceptions are Eddie's goodhearted parents and a caring educator). The worst of the lot are selfish, sadistic, and deceitful. Even Eddie admits that he has committed transgressions that weigh on his conscience. By the time the dust settles, we are left with a high body count and a confirmation of the theme that justice is elusive, especially when the police take what they see at face value. "The Chalk Man" is a bleak thriller that focuses on some of least attractive traits of human behavior, such as hypocrisy, selfishness, and vindictiveness. The concluding pages add a macabre and melancholy finishing touch to a novel that is already steeped in misery and grief.

Back in 1986 Eddie and his friends were typical kids always looking for something new to do to entertain themselves. They spent their time biking around the town and avoiding the bullies in the neighborhood that summer. The group came up with a secret code using chalk figures that they used to communicate until the day that same chalk led them to a dead body.

Now Eddie and his friends are adults and have put the past behind them until one day Eddie gets a letter with a chalk figure on it. Contacting his old buddies he finds that they have received the same and wonder if it’s a prank until one of them turns up dead. It soon becomes apparent to find out what is going on now they need to take a look at just what happened in the past.

The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor is a thriller read that almost immediately reminded me of stories I’ve read by Stephen King so it didn’t take me long to become engrossed in this novel. The story is told by alternating the chapters between current time with Eddie as an adult and flashing back to 1986 when he and his friends were kids.

The flashing back to the eighties also was a favorite of mine really bringing that era to life. The story was easy to follow along with on both timelines as the guessing begins as to what happened in either. I would warn though that there was a scene in the past that was rather cringe worthy and graphic that may bother some readers, almost needing a rape warning for it.

This story was one that makes me think of the comparison to an onion in which you need to peel back the layers to find out the truth and what had happened. It kept me quite engaged with the characters and crimes to be solved all throughout with a twinge of horror mixed in the thrilling tale. In the end I’d rate this at 4.5 stars and I’d definitely recommend checking this one out.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Why am I always so contrary? The Chalk Man arrived with a lot of pre-hype. I'm finding, with some exceptions, the books the mainstream world tells me I should love are inevitably the books that make me shrug indifferently at the end. I certainly didn't hate the book, but I didn't love it either.

Let's start with the genre. The pre-release hype claimed this book to be a serial killer thriller. It's really not, at least not in the traditional sense. This is more literary suspense with a high creepiness factor. The serial killer aspect is an often obscured undercurrent. For the most part, the focus is on the oddness of the characters in their day-to-day lives.

The story is told in alternating timelines, both from Eddie's perspective. The present timeline is written in first person present tense, and the past timeline is first person past tense. The transitions are clear and work well for the story's purposes.

The past timeline is a coming of age story, centered around childhood friends in a town where everyone is a little strange. (Putting it mildly.) These parts, to me, felt more fluid and compelling. The present timeline didn't fully engage me until right near the end. I found the characters, as adults, totally unlikable. Mostly, they annoyed me more than they intrigued me.

While reading, you need to pay close attention to the little details in order to put the story together. Yet, some details are irrelevant, tossed in for no particular reason at all. And some things wind up feeling unfinished or, as Eddie admits about his own story, there are plot holes.

I have immense respect for the author's vision with this story but I just can't jump on the bandwagon with the other readers who have loved it.

*I received an advance ebook copy from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.*

Alternating between two timelines, this story centers around Eddie and his childhood friends, Fat Gav, Metal Mickey, Hoppo, and Nicky. The past focuses on the events that transpired that summer; from the mischief and adventure of their adolescence, to their discovery of a dismembered body. In the present, Eddie is a bachelor still living in his childhood home. One day, Eddie receives a letter containing a chalk man drawing, dredging up haunted memories of a past that was thought to have been put to rest. While uncovering mysteriously drawn chalk man figures, Eddie’s ghostly subconscious attempts to make sense of it all. Throughout this novel the reader is drawn into Eddie’s world, but Eddie isn’t the only one seeking answers to the tragedies of the past.

The Chalk Man is a tale that will keep you on your toes until you reach its ending. As the plot thickens, and just as you lead yourself into believing you have it all figured out, Tudor slowly unearthed bits of truth that will leave your head spinning. To believe that this is a debut is a very hard feat, as C.J. Tudor writes like a seasoned bestselling novelist. This novel gave me the vibes of reading Stephen King. The suspense, the switchbacks, the turns, and the juxtaposition of the characters… Bravo!

I particularly enjoyed how Tudor continuously answered all the questions popping into my head. I love when an author covers all bases; refraining from leaving plot holes. Tudor does this effortlessly, even down to connecting the dots on something as simple as a missing wallet. The 80’s vibe and music references sprinkled throughout this novel were also excellent additions.

C.J. Tutor’s debut is an enticingly bone-chilling novel with well-developed characters and an intriguing plot. Be forewarned that there are some graphic telling, such as bullying acts, that may make you feel a bit squeamish. Still, no reason to avoid this one. My lack of a star is mainly due to, in my opinion, an implausible ending. While enjoyable, some of the events seemed a bit coincidental and I was left with a lacking feeling of wanting a bit more. All in all, this comes highly recommended and the hype surrounding this novel as a must read for 2018 cannot be more factual. Get this in any way possible, you will not be disappointed.

Many thanks to C.J. Tudor, Crown Publishing Group and Blogging For Books for an advanced reader’s edition of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I eagerly anticipated this book because of all the hoopla and 4.5 star average rating but it was a huge disappointment. For starters, it's very short----- even written in an annoyingly large font (size 14??) it's still only 277 pages long. For such a short book, it had way too many characters and this, coupled with the fact that the author goes back and forth from his childhood to the present, made for a confusing disjointed read. There was little to no character development other than random comments here and there that led nowhere (what difference did it make if his mother was cranky or his friend's mother was a sloppy housekeeper??) and too many secondary plots. At some point it felt less like a story and more like a series of random barely-related events. Can't recommend it.

In 1986, Eddie and his friends discover the body of a teen girl in the woods. In 2016, Eddie and his friends are grown, and the mysteries they faced in 1986 come back to haunt them.

This novel is told from Eddie's viewpoint and two time periods - 1986 and 2016. Eddie recalls his youth as a twelve-year-old and the time he spent with his friends - Fat Gav, Metal Mickey, Hoppo, and Nicky. Each of the kids has challenges in their lives, making them a little different from the other kids in their small English town, and what draws them to be unlikely friends. As the kids hang out and have adventures, they start using chalk to draw stick figures and leave coded notes for each other.

In 2016, Eddie receives a mysterious message that includes a piece of chalk. When he realizes his old friends have also received notes with chalk, he becomes determined to find out who is behind the messages. As he looks into the past, Eddie learns everyone has secrets, and some people don't want the truth to come out.

The switch between past and present was compelling. Traumatic events happen to the kids during their youths, including witnessing a terrible accident, losing a brother, and living with an abusive parent. It was interesting to see how past events shaped the friends lives and what they were like as adults.

An enjoyable read, but I did feel that some parts were not fully developed. Good for fans of psychological thrillers with unreliable narrators. A great debut novel. Dark, creepy, and suspenseful.

Summary from Goodreads:

"You can feel it in the woods, in the school and in the playground; you can feel it in the houses and at the fairground. You can feel it in most places in the small town of Anderbury . . . the fear that something or someone is watching you.

It began back in 1986, at the fair, on the day of the accident. That was when twelve-year-old Eddie met Mr Halloran - the Chalk Man.

He gave Eddie the idea for the drawings: a way to leave secret messages for his friends and it was fun, until the chalk men led them to a body.

Thirty years later, Ed believes the past is far behind him, until an envelope slips through the letterbox. It contains a stick of chalk, and a drawing of a figure.

Is history going to repeat itself?

Was it ever really over?

Will this game only end in the same way?"

My Thoughts:

This book was totally not what I expected it to be! I don't mean that in a bad way at all but it is really the best way to describe my reading experience. I picked up this book expecting a thriller which it definitely was. That being said - the twists and turns this book took and everything that happened within its' pages was definitely not what I originally expected. This book starts out with a bang and really doesn't let up. Sure there are times where maybe the author lulls you into thinking that you might know what is going on but I definitely didn't. I loved how this book switched back and forth between when Eddie and his friends were younger and then back to present day. It gave the book a similar vibe to Stephen King's It (which I have not yet finished but do plan on getting back to soon). I also really appreciated the fact that it felt like two separate mysteries and I was fully invested in both of them. Like so fully invested that I think I managed to finish this book in less then three days. I just could not stop reading this one! I don't think that it is too spoilery to say that the author manages to tie everything up beautifully. I feel like there were a few things that I was able to guess but there was so much more that I didn't. I enjoyed my time with this book immensely and cannot wait to see what this author comes up with next!

Overall, I found this to be such a great book and I'm glad that I didn't let it linger on my TBR list. I realize that I didn't tell you a whole lot about it in specifics but I really think this is a book that you should just pick up knowing as little as possible. Just go on the ride that the author takes you on, it is completely worth it in my opinion! This is a dark read with a few very uncomfortable moments but it was also oh so good! I also really enjoyed the fact that this book was a standalone thriller. I'm basically a series addict if you haven't noticed but I loved that this book stands on its' own. It's a reminder for me that I need to read more books like this that aren't part of a series once in awhile. I think that the thing that will stick most with me after finishing this book is the tense and haunting atmosphere that the author created. There were times that I knew that something bad was going to happen but yet I just couldn't stop reading as I needed to know what would happen next. I would highly recommend this book to fans of thrillers and mysteries!

Bottom Line: If I gave actual ratings, I would rate this one 4.5 stars - it was a read that I won't be forgetting about any time soon!

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book thanks to the publisher and NetGalley.

The Chalk Man has a rather morbid opening scene, then tones down the morbidity somewhat, to end in an extremely gruesome climax that nearly made me gag. Considering I don’t shy away from horror easily, and can usually watch horror movies without flinching, that’s saying something.

Part of the story takes place in 1986 and part of it takes place in the present day. In 1986, we meet a young Eddie (at age twelve or thirteen, in those whereabouts) and his gang of friends. They’re heading to the fair, not yet aware of the terrible events that would happen that day. Eddie fittingly nicknames this day as “the last normal day”. What happens next for all of them seems to transport them from one tragedy into the next.

One of Eddie’s friends gets chalk crayons for his birthday, and this inspires the kids to start communicating with each other in secret messages using the chalk. But when the chalk figures start appearing out of their own accord, either someone knows about their messages, or something more sinister is going on.

In the present day (well, 2016), Eddie is forty-two years old, yet he’s still haunted by the past, a past that refuses to stay buried. With an old friend coming back to town, and the secrets of the past threatening to come to light, Eddie has to decide if he’s strong enough to handle the truth.

The Chalk Man is C.J. Tudor’s debut novel, but it’s a strong, cleverly written debut. The story pulled me in from the start. The characters were unique and entertaining, particularly Eddie – although all of them had a certain bleakness, hopelessness to them as well, that somehow reminded me of the way Stephen King tends to portray the characters in his books.

One thing I did find dissapointing is how it all came together in the end – I saw that one coming from miles away, unfortunately. However, it was still a solid read and worth giving a short, especially on a dreary, rainy evening.

What a treat! What a prologue! What a flipping brilliant story! If you haven’t quite guessed yet then yes, I am a huge fan of The Chalk Man and something quite incredible will have to make itself known to me for it NOT to make it onto my ‘books of 2018’ list. The bar has been well and truly raised and this little beauty is currently sitting pretty at the top of the book pile. Quite extraordinary and totally mesmerising!

Regular visitors to the blog will know that I love crime fiction with a passion (unhealthy? *shrugs* ??). But I get particularly excited when I find a crime novel with a hint of a horror crossover included, which this is. My book of 2017 was Final Girls because it had a horror movie feel to it, crime with a large dash of spinetingling, nerve-jangling horror. The Chalk Man has some fantastic horror-esque elements to it but it is to all intents and purposes a crime thriller novel. I particularly enjoyed the scenes at the fairground which I found shocking and unsettling. And oh boy, that prologue! However, I know that many readers switch off when the word ‘horror’ is mentioned. I’m telling you now, don’t. Just don’t do it! Try it, what is there to lose? Start with The Chalk Man and I bet you fall a little bit in love with the creepiness, with the unease and bucketfuls of suspense Tudor has so expertly crafted. Go on, I dare you…

The story runs a dual timeline; partly set in 1986 and partly set thirty years later in 2016. In both the past and the present the reader is introduced to Eddie Adams (or Ed as he becomes known, later in life). Eddie is a normal kid, messing around with his mates and dreading the end of the school holidays. His little gang of friends made me quite nostalgic for my bygone childhood days in the late 80s (more early 90s really!). Except me and my friends didn’t have ‘cool’ nicknames like Hoppo, Fat Gav, Metal Mickey, Eddie Munster and, erm…Nicky!

I loved the adventure these kids went on. I mentioned earlier how much I loved the scenes at the fair. The fair plays a pivotal role in the story as this is where Eddie meets Mr Halloran for the first time. Mr Halloran is nicknamed ‘The Chalk Man’ by the kids he teaches at the school. He’s also the reason that Eddie and his little gang start leaving chalk man drawings as secret code for each other. So when the harmless, benign drawings lead Eddie and his friends to a dead body, there is only one person in the frame for murder.

From the day of the accident, strange things start happening in the small town of Anderbury. Tudor has masterfully built the tension so you never know what to expect but you’re on the edge of your seat from start to finish. And this is Tudor’s debut novel! I can’t wait to see what else the author has in store for us. Her debut is sublime!

I fell head over heels in love with middle-aged, stuck in his ways, teacher Ed. Something about this character drew me to him. I was completely hooked by his story and that of his friends, past and present. I want to say so much more about this incredible book but I’m on the brink of giving too much away so all I will say is that you need to get yourself a copy of The Chalk Man as it is magnificent and just the sort of book I want to read again and again and again.

Would I recommend this book? Absolutely. It’s so deliciously gripping, chock full of suspense, engrossingly creepy and had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. Although I managed to put this book down and walk away from it I really didn’t want to. When I was doing ‘life stuff’ I was thinking about the story, thinking about Eddie and his friends. Trying to see where the story would lead me. I failed, by the way. There was no way I saw THAT coming. WOW! Absolutely brilliant, highly recommended, lots of fun and wonderfully addictive.

Five out of five stars.

I chose to read and review an ARC of Tha Chalk Man. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.

WARNING - SPOILERS!

I didn't expect this book to have a seemingly supernatural angle so for most of the book I thought it was something different. It should be noted that anyone looking for a straight mystery is going to find one but it takes some weird twists to get there. This book reminded me very much of Stepen King's writing style and the story itself reminded me a lot of a combination of It and The Body (Stand By Me novella) - maybe primarily because of the gang of kids but also a lot of detail similarities. It was an interesting story and well written so the vague copy-cat aspect didn't bother me, it was just hard for me not to draw parallels while reading. The chalk part of the story is confusing because it is doesn't have much to do with the primary mystery and shifts focus where it doesn't need to be. And the seemingly normal narrator turns out to be a super weird guy who has a creepy dark side that made me feel 100% cheated by the ending. As a result, I was disappointed in the resolution of the murder because the supernatural leanings totally threw me off. Overall enjoyable for 95% of the book - well written with good narration - but the back & forth of realism vs sinister mysteries created plot holes (admitted by narrator at end) that when wrapped up, felt flat. 4 stars for all the great writing but 2 stars for plot twists that end up being nowhere near as interesting as they seemed to be and for a narrator who turns out to be totally unreliable.

I have followed the hype for this novel via social media and I was very intrigued. The synopsis is rather vague, which I quite liked. It immediately draws your attention and you want to learn more. I thought this was going to be a standard crime fiction novel, but I was wrong. Not only was I wrong, but I was in for a real treat!
The chalk man grips hold of you and won’t let go!
I read the entire novel in one sitting, staying well up past my bed time and feeling increasingly freaked out at 2am.

There are parts of the novel that reminded me of IT. The story of a bunch of childhood friends, into the modern day. The story that haunts them and the secrets of their shared past!
The novel isn’t a horror novel and the chalk man isn’t pennywise. But it held this eerie feeling from 80 pages in and I couldn’t get the plot out of my head. There was NO way I was putting this novel down, until I had some answers.

The novel opens with a dark prologue detailing the discovery of a body with a missing head! So, you are made well aware from the onset, that this novel has some very dark scenes.
The novel has alternate chapters between 1986 and 2016. The 1986 era, is very well written. The terminology, the childhood games and friendship circle are all, spot on! The author has done a fantastic job of bringing the era alive.
Then it begins to tell the story of our protagonist Eddie/Ed…….

In 1986 Eddie aka Eddie Munster, had a gang of friends. Fat Gav, Hoppo, metal Mickey and the only girl Nicky. They meet every Saturday, to hang around the local park and build dens etc. This particular Saturday is special because the fair is in town and we all remember that feeling when the fair comes to town!!!
There is a freak accident at the fair and this brings in the introduction of waltzer girl Elisa. Elisa is the victim of the accident that leaves her horrifically disfigured. It also introduces her saviour and the new mysterious teacher Mr Halloran.

“They were wrong. Mr Halloran was many things, but normal was never one of them” – Eddie

Mr Halloran is the gang’s new teacher, at the start of term in September. He is new to the town and noticeable, as Mr Halloran is an albino. But at the opening of the novel he is portrayed as the hero that saves Elisa’s life. But there is always a shadowy, mysterious element when he enters a scene. For me personally, he became a character that evoked feelings of mistrust and a slight dislike. Why is he so creepy? What is his fascination with befriending the children? I HAD to know more about Mr Halloran!

In 2016, Eddie is now known as Ed, he is a 42yr old English teacher. Ed has stayed local and still lives in his childhood home in Anderbury. Slowly, over the course of the chapters we catch up with the rest of the gang and where they are now!
The characterisation of the gang, is brilliant and an example of some very skilled writing. It brings back childhood memories.
Even in the 2016 scenes, there is an element of mystery in the build-up. Ed starts receiving weird letters of chalk drawings. He has a young lodger Chloe, who intrudes herself into the story. He also has a dinner guest due, an old friend.
*What went through my head was, ‘he is having an old friend for dinner’. There were some subtle hints and nods to famous scary scenes. That really added to the eerie feel of the novel.

At this point in my reading, I had hit 1am. The whole house was asleep and as I crept downstairs to the bathroom. I managed to freak myself out, which resulted in a scream and nearly waking the whole house up!
*So, a word to the wise, probably best to not read this in the dark at 1am!

The novel continues to jump between 1986 and 2016. We learn more about the elusive chalk man. How he haunts the gang and ultimately why!
Each chapter is cleverly written to drip feed information, that keeps you on the edge of your seat.
There is a real depth to the novel, details added so that the author can build upon the growing guessing game within the readers mind! Mr Halloran appears every so often with his creepy one liners, which made me even more distrustful of his intentions.

“Better to be a fool than an angel” Mr Halloran

In the modern day, someone or something is haunting the gang. When adult Mickey ends up dead, the novel really picks up its pace. There are some disturbing scenes of bullying from the past and we learn this gang is as complex as it is fascinating!
When the past and the present finally collide, it is a rollercoaster of an ending, that is in my opinion, completely unpredictable.

Huge respect to the author on this amazing debut novel.
I predict a bright future ahead of her and some sleepless nights ahead of me! 4.5*

When I finish a book the hardest thing might just be how to rate it. From a Christian perspective, I have always LOVED thrillers, mysteries, and the occasional horror novel because it is what led me to Christ in the first place. So with that being said, how to rate The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor, her first novel. Knowing how I have set up my personal rating scale this would garner a 3 out of 5, based on sexual content and profanity, but rating it as the world would I would give this a solid 4 out of 5 stars. I always ask myself the same question when novels are lowered on my own rating scale based on the subject matter that most people don't know about going into a novel. Will there be profanity, will there be adult or sexual content or will this be something dealing with violent graphic matters? Most importantly I ask myself, could the story stand alone on its own merits without those things being added for flavor perhaps.

In this case, the profanity could have easily been left out and the sexual content could have been toned down in a different way to enhance the warped sense of one character who really is evil personified, and in both cases a yes, helps me to rate a novel in a well-rounded manner. So if you're the author reading this, the answer is yes, in my opinion, profanity and sexual content did not need to be added to move this story line along. While I had my own guesses at the beginning of who I thought the chalk man was, I was sadly mistaken. To me, that is a sign of a brilliant writer's ability to carry the reader along a different perspective that has been there all along, only you simply didn't see it. Kinda of like The Sixth Sense, it isn't until you get to the end to see the revealing that has been there all along. Maybe we simply didn't want to see it.

The Chalk Man is a thriller based on two different time periods, one in 1986 and the other in 2016 both involving the same group of kids who grew up together and thus like most, have those found coming of age stories. Only in 1986, Eddie, one of five kids witnesses a terrible accident at a fair, that inevitably changes him without ever realizing it. He was forced to help deal with the outcome of a young girl who could have died without his help. It also bonded him to a mysterious new school teacher who dealt with an albino skin condition that rendered him a bit odd looking. The kids have an unusual method of communicating with one another, stick figures drawn in chalk of various colors to send secret messages. Only those same figures is also a way for a killer to move the children to discover a dismembered body and the possible killer, twenty years later. This is unlike most thrillers you've read before and one I thoroughly enjoyed because it definitely kept you wanting to read more to know if your guess is correct.

I received The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor compliments of Crown Publishing, a division of Penguin Random House Publishing Group. This is definitely going to be a writer to watch and can easily see this being made into a movie for the big screen. So many movies are being remade simply because they lack original ideas like this one. Think if it like the Goonies but only a bit darker with a sinister side that not all things are as they should be. Be prepared to look at things a bit differently because this writer is definitely a talent to watch. In my opinion, I would give this a 4 out of 5 stars.

"And it felt good, to confess."

Confession is good for the soul they say...but then again there are characters in this book who would disagree. Who feel the complete opposite. Who believe that well, "sometimes......it's better not to know all the answers." But we do learn the answers in this psychological/suspense thriller. I'll be entirely honest, when I first began reading this book I thought "what is all the fuss about?" I thought the first chapter or so was dull. All I can say is, if you feel the same way I did when you first pick up this book, KEEP READING. Things got interesting fast.

This book flips back and forth between 1986 and 2016. Going back and forth in time used to really annoy me as did differing POV chapters. Either Authors have master how to do this or I have surrendered myself to this story telling device. Either way, I found this really worked in this book in the unraveling of the story.

So What is the story?

In 1986, Eddie and his friends (Fat Gav, Hoppo, "Metal" Mickey, and Nicky) draw chalk men, they use them as their secret code that only they understand. They each have their own color and leave messages for each other about meeting up, etc. Then one day thy discover a chalk figure that points the way to a grisly discovery in the woods: A local teenager, Elisa, has been dismembered. Elisa is the young woman who Eddie helped save at the carnival after a moving piece fell off a ride and landed on Elisa. Eddie and the new teacher in town, Mr. Halloran helped save her life and became local heroes in the process. Who would have wanted to kill Elisa and why?

Flash forward to 2016, Eddie still lives in his childhood home and is a teacher at the local school. He has taken on a lodger and is happily unhappy living his life and drinking a little too much. Then he receives a letter in the mail. A letter which changes everything....The letter contains a chalk stick figure. He then learns that all of his friends have received the same letter. Has the past come back to haunt them?

"An ADULT is only an illusion. When it comes down to it I'm not sure any of us really grow up. We simply grow taller and hairier. Sometimes, I still feel amazed that I am allowed to drive a car...."

One of his friends comes back to town and then turns up dead. The letter was no prank. Who could have been behind it? Why? They only found the body, they had nothing to do with the teen girls murder. Eddie decides that it is time to look into the past. Try and put the pieces together. Time to determine who is responsible.

This book may have started slow for me but it built...and when I say it built I mean EVERYTHING built. The suspense built, the plot and subplots built, the suspense built, the revealing built. The story came together so flawlessly that it was actually quite brilliant. There was more than one "AHA" moments in this book. Truths both large and small are revealed. It was brilliant and I have to say that I am really surprised that this is a debut novel. I have not been this impressed sine I read "The Summer that Melted Everything". This book also has a bit of a nostalgic feel to it. By going back and forth from childhood to adult hood this book had a "IT" and "Stand by Me" feel to it. The teens deal with bullying, parental issues, anger, death, family secrets, etc. C.J. Tudor really pulled off the Nostalgia aspect of this book quite seamlessly. How one event experienced in childhood, can not only change a person but change friendships forever. Tragedy can either pull people closer together or tear them apart.

As I mentioned there are other sub-plots going on in this book as well. This makes for a very interesting read. Plus, they all blend together and make for a captivating read. I loved when the "aha" moments and revelations were revealed. They all seemed to come at just the right time to keep the pages turning and the story moving. If this is C.J. Tudor's first book, I can't wait to read the next!

I received an ARC of this book from Crown Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for making the book available for me to read and review.

January 2018 has certainly started on a high with my first review of the year being for CJ Tudor’s debut novel The Chalk Man. It wasn’t what I was expecting and, if I’m honest, that’s a good thing as it meant I enjoyed Tudor’s debut novel even more. I have recently struggled with psychological thrillers which I put down to reading so many in a relatively short space of time, so I was a little concerned going into The Chalk Man that I would struggle with it. My worries quickly proved to be unfounded as I settled into this book immediately.

In The Chalk Man we meet Ed Adams who takes us on a journey back to 1986, a year in which his eyes were opened to the darker side of life and when he first encounters the Chalk Man. Tudor seamlessly switches between 2016 and 1986, ensuring that the reader is equally invested in both timelines. While there is a murder mystery at the heart of the book, The Chalk Man, for me, is a book about friendship and lost innocence.

In Ed and his four friends – Fat Gav, Metal Mickey, Hoppo and Nicky – Tudor has created incredibly likeable, relatable characters and she has really brought them to life. On the brink of becoming teenagers in 1986, their reactions to the events that unfold are realistic, funny and really made me smile. Tudor has nailed the teenage attitudes and responses, ensuring that you warm to Ed and his group of friends. It reminded me in some ways of the film of Stephen King’s Stand By Me in the sense that it is, in part, a coming of age tale. Tudor does not shy away from topics that are hard-hitting as Ed and his friends discover that life and people are not always what they seem.

The chalk man drawings give the story a spooky edge and ensures that you are gripped and have to keep turning the pages to discover what happens. Set in a small town in which the inhabitants harbour secrets, there is a lot to enjoy in this book as Tudor navigates you around the murky underside of small town life, spooky goings-on and the ending … well, I most certainly wasn’t expecting that!

A fantastic debut novel which I’m sure will be a big hit this year and rightly so. The Chalk Man is great book and Tudor is an author to keep an eye on in the future. Tudor ensured that The Chalk Man stayed with me long after I had finished reading.

Here is another great book that I discovered since so many of my Goodreads friends loved it and they are seldom wrong!!!! I really enjoyed this book as well.
At first I was a little put off by the fact that it seemed like yet another story about a small group of pre-adolescent boys and one intriguing girl in a summer in the 1980’s, I’m thinking The Goonies and now Stranger Things, but this was unique. While explaining his 12 year old summer, Ed who is now an adult and teacher in his hometown, recalls all of his best buddies while unraveling a mystery which started that summer.
The summer of 1986 would change Ed’s life forever, he will be haunted by what he and his friends did, saw and were a part of. The story is told in both past and present which can get a little confusing but for the most part the story flowed smoothly. There are many plots and subplots and the use of the “chalk man” drawings was a clever tool which the author used in several different ways. First it was a way for the boys to communicate with one another during the summer, then later it became something fiendishly different, messages from a murderer!
The summer that the boys turned 12 and the annual fair came to town a terrible accident occurs when a carriage from a ride loosens and flies through the air leaving several people injured and one girl changed from what looked to be a charmed life to a life of solitude and disability.
I would like to tell the readers a quote from the book which will help them to solve this mystery: “Never assume, my dad once told me. To assume makes an “ass” out of “u” and “me” Question everything that you read and every character, everyone! “Assuming can trip us up in other ways, too. It can stop us seeing people for who they really are and make us lose sight of the people we know”.
The only boy from the old group of Ed, Gav, Hoppo, Mike and Nicky, who moves away is Mike and when he reappears many years later he has a proposition for Ed, he wants to make a movie about that terrible summer and he wants Ed to help him. Before Ed even has a chance to make up his mind, explain to Mike about the continuing appearance of the chalk men, Mike disappears. What has happened to him is yet another piece of this intricate puzzle.
I urge you all to pay close attention to everyone and stay sharp, the ending will have you shaking your head in disbelief, as it did me!
I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher through NetGalley.

This has a distinctive 70s/80s film and television vibe, which isn’t always a given even if it is roughly set in that era. (Stranger Things vibe is a more accurate reference for younger readers) It also has a Stand By Me flair, that essence of nostalgia and friendships formed in childhood, and to top it off Tudor delivers a subtle layer of creepy horror a la Stephen King.
It has the innocence of days gone by, days when children played outside all day and stayed out till dark. Before technology captured the youth of today and started captivating them with visions of the future. A long time before the monsters who come for our children multiplied to an insurmountable number.
It’s 1986 and Eddie and his friends use chalk men to communicate secret messages to each other. The kind of game that appeals to the secrecy children covet even if it lacks any kind of complexity.
Eddie’s story starts when he witnesses an extremely violent accident, which binds him to the victim and to the man who helps to save her. Mr Halloran becomes a confidante and a saviour to Eddie, whilst Eddie becomes the instrument of his demise.
A few decades later the horror of their childhood is brought back to life when one of the boys decides to rake up The Chalk Man murder, and so begins a journey to the past to discover the truth and the lies.
Tudor brings the whole package with this story. The tension increases as the tale unfolds, and the reader can feel the creepy vibe throughout. The Chalk Man takes on a life of his own, especially in Eddie’s dreams and daily life. It’s an absorbing read and the ending is the cherry on top of the ice-cream sundae.
Oh and FYI Tom Baker is the best Dr.Who. Just Saying.

Weaving back and forth in time between 1986 and 2016, The Chalk Man by C. J. Tudor is a suspense-laden, twist-filled tale of murder.

In 1986, Eddie Adams and his band of friends, Fat Gav, Metal Mickey Cooper, David “Hoppo” Hopkins and the lone girl in the group, Nicky Martin, are enjoying the last vestiges of summer before school resumes. Their days are filled with innocent pursuits as they ride their bikes, explore the nearby woods and write cryptic messages to one another in chalk. Interspersed with their idyllic fun are a few tragedies and bullying from an older peer but a grisly discovery in the woods becomes the defining moment that haunts them for years to come.

Now thirty years later, three of the gang still live in the same small town. Ed is a school teacher, Gav owns a pub and Hoppo is a plumber caring for his elderly mother. Ed remains deeply troubled by those long ago events and when Mickey comes back planning to write a book about that seminal summer, trouble quickly follows. Someone is sending them ominous letters and after one of them is murdered, Ed becomes obsessed with uncovering the truth about the current death and the troubling discovery from their youth.

Ed is a bit of an unreliable narrator as the novel flips back and forth between the past and present. Suffering from nightmares, fearing his father’s early onset Alzheimer’s will strike him and a propensity to drink too much, he tries to make sense of what he remembers from their childhood and how these long ago events might be connected to what is occurring now. Ed also regrets that he might have inadvertently influenced the investigation in the past and he would like nothing more than to find evidence that someone he greatly admired is, in fact, innocent of the crime many believe he committed. But after so much time has passed, will Ed find the proof he needs to unmask a clever killer?

The Chalk Man is an intricately plotted and riveting mystery. Each of the chapters ends on cliffhanger which ratchets up the tension in this clever debut by C. J. Tudor. The characters are remarkably well developed and incredibly life-like with all too relatable strengths and weaknesses. The novel moves at a brisk pace and comes to a jaw-dropping, twisty-turny conclusion. An absolutely brilliant mystery that I highly recommend to fans of the genre.

I received a complimentary copy for review.

THE CHALK MAN the psychological suspense debut by author C.J. Tudor, I predict is going to be one of the books for 2018…a brilliant piece of fiction, and the BEST THRILLER book I have read now in 2017! This novel will keep readers guessing right up to the shocking ending. I find it is very difficult to write this review, as I don’t think I could do any of it justice. It is a “Gem” waiting to be discovered!

This is a coming of age creepy story, of a 12-year-old boy surrounded by misfortune and mystery. This novel has it all with believable characters that are fully fleshed out, and a plot that keeps on giving-the whodunnit aspect of the story is amazing, with clues released on a need-to-know basis. Wonderful story telling at it’s best.

In 1986, Eddie and his friends are just kids on the verge of adolescence, and when new teacher Mr. Halloran came to town. They spend their days biking around their sleepy little English village and looking for any taste of excitement they can get. The chalk men are their secret code; little chalk stick figures they leave for one another as messages only they can understand. But then a mysterious chalk man leads them right to a dismembered body, and nothing is ever the same. Please note: There is one highly uncomfortable bullying scene, but without a ton of graphic violence.

In 2016, Eddie(Ed) is fully grown, and thinks he's put his past behind him. But then he gets a letter in the mail, containing a single chalk stick figure. When it turns out that his friends got the same message, they think it could be a prank . . . until one of them turns up dead. That's when Eddie realizes that saving himself means finally figuring out what really happened all those years ago.

With alternating chapters from 1986 to 2016, and the story is told from Eddie's point of view, creating a focus point for these mysterious chalk drawings. Tudor creates a small town setting with an amazing set of characters: Eddie, Fat Gav, Nicky, Metal Mickey and Hoppo. Each character is unique and plays a definite role in the overall plot bound by mystery, lies and deceit. I really enjoyed the interactions between Eddie and his childhood friends which reminded me of STAND BY ME, with references to the 80’s within the storyline.

This author C.J. Tudor has a fabulous way with words. There is so much depth and knowledge to this novel, that I found I escaped to another plane, and experienced my youth all over again. One particular quote I liked was from teacher, Mr. Halloran to Eddie, and one that I live by.

“What goes around comes around.”

“You do bad things and they’ll come back eventually and bite you in the backside. That boy will get his one day. You can be sure about that.”

I also liked Ed’s quote on life:

“My life has been defined by the things I didn’t do. The things I didn’t say. I think it’s the same for a lot of people. What shapes us is not always our achievements but our omissions. Not lies; simply the truths we don’t tell.”

Once I finished the novel, I found myself thinking about my own childhood memories and how they were shaped.

The surprise ending, I never saw coming. There was so much going on at the end, that my mind went into overdrive, and if anyone interrupted me, I would explode! I was a little bit overwhelmed and confused as there were so many questions running through my mind. A very satisfying read and one that I will not forget!

My thanks to Crown Publishing via Net Galley for my copy.

Never ever think you know somebody. They always have secrets, hidden ideas, and possible agendas that differ from what you have believed them to be. Never assume! "“The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience.”

Ed Adams and his posse of friends in 1986 are doing things kids do on vacation, biking, swimming, running the whole gauntlet of activities one can find in a fairly sleepy English village. To overcome their boredom they make up a game and establish a secret code. The chalk man becomes the game, a secret between friends. Everyone has a different color chalk and sending messages through their drawings becomes fun and a way to while away the lazy hours of summer days. Never do they expect the game to go beyond just that of being a game, but it does. Suddenly their sleepy village seems to come alive with things frightening, things that die, things that go bump in the night. The town and the friends all are affected but as time moves on their lives grow, the past seems to be forgotten. However, years later, in 2016, Ed who has seemingly put the past behind him, receives a letter in the mail that has a chalk stick figure. The memories, the scares, the consciousness of what occurred is back front and center in Ed's mind and heart. His friends have received a letter too! Can these grown boys piece together what happened? Can they, especially Ed, find peace and an escape from the nightmares that haunt his dreams?

Ed can't ignore it. He needs to confront the past, find out what really happened, and find those friends of long ago. It is the only way Ed can find a way to save himself, to escape those nightmares that have followed him over the years, to become whole again.

This was a wonderfully thought out psychological thriller, one that kept you fully engaged in the well drawn out characters. The story line had you continually guessing as to who the murderer might be. The twists and turns that the novel takes, the shock value of its ending, and the sheer creepiness makes for a read that is delightful for those who so enjoy all the best in what a thriller can be. "On many levels, I think a thriller can be a journey into the heart of darkness." The reader will find plenty of darkness present in the pages of this book.

      This is the type of book where you sit down and start to reading and don't put it down until you are done . This book is sent in a small town in England but I will tell you this isn't a sweet cozy mystery . This book bounces between 1986 and 2016 following a group of kids and the aftermath of murder in a small town .  Eddie and the gang are hanging out in a small town in England . They have a secret code of chalk man to let them know where to meet and so on . But things aren't so rosy they have their enemies and their bullies . Oh and the creepy new teacher that seems to be showing up wherever they are . Now bounce ahead to 2016 Eddie is all grown up and teaching in a small school. Thinking life is pretty good until the day a letter comes for him with the drawing of a chalk man . His friends have the same letter all thinking its a joke until one of them dies .  Will Eddie be able to figure everything out and save his own life 
    The characters in this book are very well written and complex . Eddie is actually a pretty screwed up he has a lot of insecurities .  His buddies are a mixture of the big funny guy and the loner . They kind of remind of the goonies with a darker twist . The creepy teacher is well just creepy . He is one weird dude . The cast of characters are well written and you will fall in love with them and also hate some of them at the same time . 
      This is a well written book that will keep you on the edge of your seat . Over all I really enjoyed reading but there were times when I felt that it dragged just a little . Especially in the 1986 part of the story. It just seemed to lag a little bit . Overall this book had me on the edge of my seat and the twist at the end had me going WTH  never saw that coming . So if you want a book that will give you a bookhangover and have you going never saw that coming . Check out CHALK MAN you won't be disappointed . 

Disclaimer: This ARC was generously provided by the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 STARS

C.J Tudor has written an impressive debut novel that gives readers a dose of small town creepy as she reveals the twists to her readers. The plot includes a selection of culprits and victims and some of the twists include chilling and gruesome moments that will keep readers on their toes as they try to figure out what really happened that summer.

The story begins in 1986 with 12-year-old Eddie and his group of friends who are eager for their summer holidays to hang out, ride their bikes, leave secret messages for each other in chalk and wreak mild havoc in their small town. But after a chalk figure leads them to a dead body their idyllic summer comes to a quick halt. The story jumps back and forth from 1986 to 2016 as readers become privy to how their lives were irrevocably changed after the events in 1986.

I was impressed by Tudor's writing which was descriptive and has a touch of humour to balance the sinister feel. Her characters are well flawed and add their own baggage to the plot in varying degrees. I enjoyed the camaraderie of these boyhood chums which immediately reminded me of childhood movies, Goonies with a strong, and obvious, nod to Stand By Me.

But I had a few issues with the book. First, it felt like the reader is kept at arm's length from the characters, so I didn't feel a connection to them (who honestly weren't an overly likable bunch anyway). I also found the book was more creepier than it was suspenseful and while the book started out strong, the middle section quickly ran out of steam. Things pick up at the end but it's a bit of a rushed ending.

Overall, this was a good (not great) thriller and a different kind of suspense read. Readers who enjoy a creepy setting with a group of culprits and a small town feel should enjoy this book. I look forward to reading more from this author.

I cannot express enough how much I loved this book! At the time I requested it from NetGalley, I was interested because of the blurb and my current obsession with thriller/suspense novels. Once I requested and received it, I started seeing posts everywhere about this book and how great it was.

Books that time swap between past and present always appeal to me in ways that other books don't. I love reading what happened before and then bouncing to the present to see how now is being affected. This book does that beautifully, filling in gaps slowly until the climactic ending when the main story line is revealed. However, there are lots of little tidbits and reveals all throughout the novel, not just at the end. This kept me turning pages and kept me interested in what would happen next.

I also loved the childhood part of the book. The parts that take place in 1986 have the main character, Eddie, as a 12-year-old boy, trying to understand the very adult things that are going on around him, including a murder. His band of buddies reminded me a bit of the kids in IT, riding their bikes around town and just hanging out, getting into all kinds of trouble. I think that was my favorite part about the book, really. I love those relationships and the character development that comes from that time of a child's life.

This novel was crafted extremely well, with tons of different threads for the author to keep up with. However, Tudor does it perfectly, giving the reader just enough to keep reading and stay intrigued. Even to the very end, questions were still being asked and answered, little pieces of the puzzle that could have fallen by the wayside.

I definitely recommend this book!

I loved this book! Once I started reading this book, I didn't want to put it down. I ended up reading the whole book cover to cover in a single evening. This was a pretty fast paced novel that kept me guessing. I may have figured a few things out but there were a whole lot of things that really surprised me. I was truly impressed by this thriller.

This book is told in two timelines, 2016 and 1986, so we get to see Eddie and his friends both as children and adults. Both of the timelines worked together to tell the story and I really enjoyed both of the equally. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough as I was incredibly eager to know what had happened when they were kids and what was happening to them in their adult life.

I thought that the opening pages were incredibly strong and set the stage for the novel. I wanted to know how that body ended up where we see it at the start of the novel and needed to know its identity. When everything was eventually revealed, I found it to be a somewhat surprising and satisfying conclusion.

I thought that the characters were well developed. The story is told from Eddie's point of view so we see everything from his own perspective. There are things that the boys do that made me cringe a bit but I thought that they all felt very realistic. This group of boys go through a lot together and it was interesting to see how some of those things impacted their relationship with each other over the years.

I would highly recommend this book to thriller fans. I found this to be a really exciting read that kept me guessing. I am really impressed by that fact that this is C.J. Tudor's debut novel. I will be eagerly waiting for more books from this new author.

I received an advance reader copy of this book from Crown Publishing Group via First to Read and Blogging for Books.

I was really excited about this novel, I mean really excited and I think I would have liked it more had the author not broken up the text so often between the present and the past. The novel switches between the years 1986 and 2016 sporadically, as the characters were teenagers and then as they are middle age. Not every book thrives on having the two sides narrated this way and I feel this novel suffered because of it.

I liked the story that was set in 1986 when Eddie and his “gang” were teens and life was easy. This summer would be their first experience attending the midway by themselves and they were ready. They were having a fantastic time at the fair when suddenly Eddie realized that he had lost his wallet. He told the others to continue on without him while he backtracked his steps. He soon found himself beside Mr. Halloran, the new schoolteacher and in front of one of the rides, The Waltzer. This afternoon’s events would mark the beginning of a chain-of-events that would grip the teens lives in the years to come.

Moments later, blood and destruction laid all around Eddie as he tried to come to grips as to what exactly transpired. So much for relaxing as screaming and chaos overtakes the scene. I was creeped out by Mr. Halloran the minute Eddie set eyes on him by the ride. His mannerism, the way he held himself, and what he said didn’t settle right with me. I found myself reading slowly any passage that mentioned his name. Maybe he was just a loner, maybe he was just odd or perhaps there was nothing wrong with him but I just thought there was, nevertheless he rubbed me the wrong way.

It was an extraordinary summer, the summer of 1986, as the teens also uncover a body in the forest. They soon realized this just wasn’t an ordinary body but one that held a unique story. The teens had been using chalk to communicate with each other, they had created their own secret language and now this chalk helped lead them to the body.

Fast forward to 2016 and the teens are in their early forties. The summer of 1986 has never really gone away and now, someone is bringing it back to life. I liked how we learn more information about the past and individual’s true colors were shining through. It’s funny how some individuals never change and how some people think they have changed but they haven’t. I enjoyed the novel but I feel that I missed out on some of the excitement.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for providing me a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest opinion.

12 year olds and summer – what a perfect combination. Eddie and his friends, Fat Gav, Metal Mickey, Hobbo and the only girl in the gang, Nicky, are enjoying every minute of it. They like to leave each other messages with little chalk stick men drawings. They’re having a great time of it until they’re led to a dismembered body. And what has led them to this body? Little chalk men drawings. Now they’re grown up and each have received mysterious letters with a chalk stick man. That’s when they realize that the past isn’t over after all.

The book fluctuates between 1986 and 2016. I loved the atmosphere that this author created and was pulled right back to the 80’s. Such fun running all over this English village with these kids, seeing what excitement there is to find on those hot summer days. This book is reminiscent of Stephen King’s novella, “The Body”, which was made into the film, “Stand By Me”, and is impressive for a debut. To me, King’s novella is a classic and Ms. Tudor has a way to go before her work can truly be compared to King’s but it did remind me of it but without the deep sadness that King’s book invoked. It has a spooky feel without anything supernatural going on and I liked that the author didn’t feel the need to include gory details to make her book suspenseful. Unfortunately, the end didn’t come as a surprise to me and I’m not that quick to pick up on clues. These clues seemed to be a bit too obvious. I almost felt like I was a step ahead of the author throughout the book and knew what was coming. But the book is very addictive, the characters are likeable (at least when they’re children) and it was a fun read.

This book was given to me by the publisher in return for an honest review.

Thirty years ago, five misfits banded together while growing up in the small town of Anderbury. Eddie, Mickey, Hoppo, Gav, & Nicky weren’t cool or popular. And sometimes they didn’t even like each other all that much. They shared adventures, pranks & secrets. They even had their own way of communicating by leaving chalk stick figures for each other on pavement & fence posts.

Looking back, it’s hard to pinpoint when it all began. Maybe it was the summer of 1986. That was when new teacher Mr. Halloran came to town. And when Eddie, Mickey, Hoppo & Gav found the body.

In the present, Ed is a bachelor still living in the same house. His days are spent teaching at the local school & occasionally meeting Hoppo & Gav for a pint. He’s a quiet, solitary man who rarely thinks about that summer. But someone wants to jog his memory. Ed receives a letter with only the drawing of a stickman in a noose & a piece of chalk. Then Mickey suddenly reappears on his doorstep after a long absence. And he’s got a proposition. Somehow you know this won’t end well.

Not another peep about the plot. It’s layered with so many twists that it’s better you go in blind to get the biggest bang for your buck. All you need to know is this is a fabulous read. The past & the present are told in alternate time lines. As we follow Ed the adult, we slowly learn what happened to those kids 30 years ago. And it’s quite a tale.

Chapters set in the past will feel familiar to anyone who grew up in a small town. There’s a clannish culture where everyone knows your business & outsiders are viewed with suspicion. We get to peek over their shoulders as the kids struggle to fit in & deal with family problems while something sinister stalks them from the shadows. Each character has such a distinct personality that they pop off the page fully formed as you meet.

There’s a definite Stephen King vibe to the story & it reminded me of the movie “Stand By Me” which was based on on his novella “The Body”. But the creepiness is balanced by humour, heartbreak & poignant moments that resonate as they remind you what it was like to be 12. With the possible exception of finding a body…you probably missed out on that.

After the chalk man arrives, Ed is forced to remember what it was like to be Eddie. As he sifts through events from that pivotal summer, he reexamines his own actions & how they affected the terrible crimes. Looking back with adult eyes, he sees things he couldn’t understand as a child. And he realizes he is surrounded by people who have kept their own secrets for decades.

This is a spooky, addictive read that forces me to trot out that tired old phrase….I couldn’t put it down. It’s a gripping mix of chilling suspense & coming-of-age. And it’s not just great story telling. Once finished, I found myself thinking about memories & how they can be coloured by a specific place & time. Why I can remember a throw-away moment so clearly while something others would deem significant is a blur. It’s a running theme on several levels from beginning to end where the author takes one final jab at your heart on the very last page.

I’m now officially freaked out by stick men. And…sorry kids…henceforth, all chalk is banished. So speaketh the boss.