“Want to read something good?. . . If you like my stuff, you’ll like this.”—Stephen King • WINNER OF THE ITW THRILLER AWARD • WINNER OF THE STRAND MAGAZINE AWARD FOR BEST DEBUT NOVELA riveting psychological suspense debut that weaves a mystery about a childhood game gone dangerously awry, and will keep readers guessing right up to the shocking endingIn 1986, Eddie and his friends are on the verge … and his friends are on the verge of adolescence, spending their days biking in search of adventure. The chalk men are their secret code, stick figures they draw for one another as hidden messages. But one morning the friends find a chalk man leading them to the woods. They follow the message, only to find the dead body of a teenage girl.
In 2016, Eddie is nursing a drinking problem and trying to forget his past, until one day he gets a letter containing a chalk man—the same one he and his friends saw when they found the body. Soon he learns that all his old friends received the same note. When one of them is killed, Eddie realizes that saving himself means figuring out what happened all those years ago. But digging into the past proves more dangerous than he could have known. Because in this town, everyone has secrets, no one is innocent, and some will do anything to bury the truth.
Praise for The Chalk Man
“Wonderfully creepy—like a cold blade on the back of your neck.”—Lee Child
“An assured debut that alternates between 1986 and 2016 with unpredictable twists. The Chalk Man fits well with other stories about troubled childhoods such as Stephen King’s novella Stand by Me. . . . Tudor never misses a beat in showing each character as both a child and an adult while also exploring the foreboding environs of a small town.”—Associated Press
“Utterly hypnotic. The Chalk Man is a dream novel, a book of nightmares: haunted and haunting, shot through with shadow and light—a story to quicken the pulse and freeze the blood. A dark star is born.”—A.J. Finn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window
“If you can’t get enough of psychological thrillers with sharp twists and turns, you need to read The Chalk Man”—Hello Giggles
“I haven’t had a sleepless night due to a book for a long time. The Chalk Man changed that.”—Fiona Barton, New York Times bestselling author of The Widow
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A must read book! Who you think is the guilty person. Better think again he just got killed . now you know who the killer is? Nope she just died. Best book I’ve read all year!
Dark coming of age under duress story. Soap opera worthy surprises in regards to relationships/family. Felt the strings being pulled a bit. Eerie milieu throughout.
LOVED IT! Great first novel from a new author. Loved the premise and the constant switching between 1986 and 2016. HIGHLY recommended if you like weird mysteries and good, quick, page-turners.
This author writes such believable “voices” that the story and setting really come to life. Excellent read.
Great book! Great characters. Plot jumps back and forth between childhood (1980’s) and adulthood (current). Often this sort of device would bug me but it works well here.
Highly recommended.
I finished The Chalk Man a few days ago. I find myself thinking about it now and then. It was hard to put down. Sort of reminds me of something by Stephen King, but still a bit different. At some point I may read it again.
Exceptional mystery!
Sin and guilt have afterlives.
The Chalk Man by C. J. Tudor is a strikingly original, stunning, entrancing example of postmodern literary fiction at its very best—literary fiction that is accessible and enjoyable to all readers, not just to the literati. The Chalk Man is much more than a mystery; it examines intertwined themes as seen through the eyes of a first-person narrator. It is a highly focused view into the mind of a likable, quirky, protagonist. The text reflects and questions values and the nature of reality, suggesting the possibility that there may be no absolute truth.
The story is set in a small town in Great Britain. Tudor includes enough regionalization to set the stage, to create a sense of place; however, she wisely keeps it to a minimum, thus allowing the setting to morph into any town for any reader, allowing all to feel at home in Anderbury.
The main character is Ed, a twelve-year-old boy/forty-two-year-old bachelor who defines himself as a “collector,” a quirky proclivity that follows him throughout his life. Ed’s thoughts and fears reflect and examine universal concerns and fears that will resonate in the minds of most readers. He is a good boy who loves his flawed family. He analyzes everything and makes questionable decisions that burrow deep and haunt him with guilt. His parents are an odd couple. His mother is a doctor who works at an abortion clinic, and his father is a freelance writer and pseudo hippy. Ed has three close friends, each representing distinct archetypal personalities. Of course, there is a pretty red-haired girl. Their lives are forever altered when they find the body parts of a young woman in the woods. Her missing head is a symbol of unanswered questions, an undercurrent that ripples throughout the entire novel.
Never assume. Question everything. Always look beyond the obvious. C.J. Tudor CLICK TO TWEET
The plot is non-linear, extremely complex and rich with numerous, unpredictable twists and turns. Readers must pay attention to every line because Tudor surreptitiously buries meaningful clues, red herrings, and reading instructions in the text. They resurrect when least expected and haunt the subconscious. Tudor skillfully leads readers back and forth between 1986 and 2016, enabling them to compare everyday children of the eighties to what they become thirty years later. It is very interesting that Tudor switches tense along with the era. When in 1986, Ed speaks in the past tense, then when the text jumps to 2016, he speaks in the present tense. This style is a bit disconcerting at first, but makes total sense once one catches on to its significance. Everything is seen through the fractured lens of Ed’s mind. The pacing is full speed and further reading is guaranteed by organic end-of-chapter hooks. Every scene is well planned and meaningful. Readers will be so entranced by the plot that they will be driven to keep reading, then end up being sorry when it’s over.
Tudor’s literary abilities are admirable. She is a master of dialogue and seldom needs tags because actions identify speakers. Each character speaks with an authentic, unique voice. A hypnotic, foreboding mood taints the narrative from start to finish. Evocative visuals and meaningful metaphors enhance the atmosphere. The title is the first of many ambiguities that will taunt readers and draw them deeper into the text, searching for answers from page one on to the shocking finale.
C. J. Tudor has created a tale of important insights that unearth and examine universal fears and issues such as secrets, obsession, abortion, family dynamics, sin, guilt, revenge, abuse, murder, mystery, health, identity, joy, terror–issues that all face. This wide range of topics guarantees that any and all readers will devour The Chalk Man with relish. As with Blake’s grain of sand, here is the universe. This read is highly recommended.
Rougeski
Wow One of the best books I read in a long time. Can’t say too much without giving too much away. It has surprises right up until the end. You won;t be sorry if you get it.
The Chalk Man was not what I thought the story would be as I read along. A few times I almost put it down but then got caught up once again. The chapters switch from 1986 to 2016 giving the reader an opportunity to see what happened in the past that would lead to the finish in 2016. Eddie and his friends along with adults in 1986 are part of the story of a murder or perhaps murders in their English Village. How their lives intersect in the past and then in the future will reveal secrets not all characters knew in the past. The story did hold me and I read this book in one day because I just wanted to know the “now what”. The 3 stars are because though the story kept me intrigued it did not have the wow factor I hoped for as the book wrapped up at the end.
After reading the blurb for The Chalk Man, I was hoping for a creepy and engrossing read. The prologue does have that element, but it quickly went downhill from there. The story is rather dry and the pacing is extremely slow, to the point that it almost drags much of the time. So much of the book is dedicated to character and location descriptions that I found myself quite a ways in and still wondering when the suspense would actually start. I could have been okay with some character description had there been any characters that were likable enough to make me want to know more about them, but that wasn’t the case. By the time Eddie and company finally found the body, there wasn’t much in the way of suspense as the conclusion was way too easy to guess. The biggest issue for this reader is the complete suspension of belief required for this tale. One example is our narrator, Eddie, telling the story by going back and forth between 2016 and 1986. The changes in tense were a minor irritation, but the thing that had this reader’s eyes rolling was the sheer number of details that Eddie was able to recall after thirty years. Major events are one thing, but to remember lengthy conversations and even what people were wearing on any given day is a big stretch. Then, as the story slowly progresses, it isn’t just about the murder of one girl. There are several little side mysteries to be solved, each with their own little twist. Sadly, as these revelations trickled in, they really weren’t all that surprising and made the conclusion more convoluted than anything else. I actually set this one aside several times, but I did finally finish the book, more out of a mild curiosity to see if I was right than anything else. In the end, I found myself disappointed in this not so thrilling thriller, and I can’t say that it’s one I would recommend.