This is a debut novel that fully deserves all the accolades that it is receiving. I really, really, enjoyed loosing myself in its pages, only looking up to feed the family and catch a few winks of sleep.

The book alternates between the 80's and the present day. Back in the 80's, Edie and his gang of friends are focussed on attending the highlight of the Summer, the travelling fair. A tragic event at the fair marks the start of a strange and unsettling Summer, one where a gift of a bucket of chalk sets of a chain of events that leads to discovery and tragedy.

In the present day, Edie is a teacher, living with his lodger in the family home, he receives a letter with a chalk man in it and discovers that his friends have also received one. They need to figure out who is sending them and return to the events of the 80's if they are to lay this to rest.

If that brief description sounds simple, the book is anything but. It reads beautifully, yet there is so much packed into the pages. Each of the characters are so well drawn, it felt as though I was hanging out with my childhood friends and enemies! There are twists and turns throughout the story and lots of little threads that join together and build up to the shocking ending. There are gruesome events, but the book is also shot through with an incredible sense of humour that had me laughing out loud in some parts. It really is an exhilarating read.

So, why only 4 stars? Well, the events that happen near the end in a tent (trying not to give anything away) didn't feel plausible to me. I can only liken it to the end of a film when the baddie just WILL. NOT. DIE. despite being shot several times.

I would still urge anyone to read the book though, when I got to the end and read those final pages, I wanted to go straight back and re-read it to see if my knowledge cast events in a different light.

Absolutely loved this book. I could not put it down as I was constantly racing ahead to see what happened next. There were some fabulous plot twists and the suspense was incredible. I can't wait to see this made into a film as I think it would transfer very well.

Totally compelling and gripping, this is a great thriller and a great debut novel.
I really enjoyed the split timeline, especially as I was of a similar age in 1986, it just resonated with me. I also really liked the little twists as much as the big ones and it kept me engrossed the whole way.
A definite recommend for crime lovers and thrill seekers, although it is a bit graphic in places.

The Chalk Man is such an interesting book!

I anticipated a creepy if somewhat standard crime novel, but The Chalk Man is far more than that. It certainly is creepy, with remarkable moments of spine-tingling eeriness, but also layers of character depth and themes of friendship, growing-up, secrets, secrets, always secrets. I was expecting more thriller & less humdrum humanity, so pleased I was wrong! It’s humdrum with the sharpness of tacks, puncturing nostalgia!

Fascinating and compulsive reading.

I've been given an ARC of this book in exchange of my honest review. All of opinions are my own.

I started this book a few days ago but with the rush from Christmas and New Years Eve it took me more time to finish than it would have, I must say I'm digesting this book and its end.
The book release is now for January and I think it will be a good hit between people who likes a mystery and a light thriller reading between the past and present of how a group of twelve years old found a mutilated body in the middle of the woods and why the consequences of the past it's reflecting on their future more than thirty years after it. The story is about this group that started to communicate with chalk figures each one of them with a different color to identify and then an outside person (aka the murderer) using white chalk leads them to a dead body.

Eddie or Ed is the main character of the story and who we read the story through. You already starts the story with the plot and the murder but you still don't know who it is or who did it; I was feeling the book from the beginning and this is one of the firsts for me it usually takes me more than a few pages to get me hooked. At first I really thought it would be about a serial killer or a psychopath on the loose who happen to like to play with chalks for fun and have its own signature but through all of the book you start seeing that it's not really about this.

He's really smart for a twelve-year-old for most part of the book, you start seeing what he's like and his friends a group of 3 other boys and 1 girl that a little before they discover the dead body starts to crumble down. For me all of the friends were a tiny bit annoying, Fat Gav and Metal Mickey the most I don't think I could have stand more of them than what it's given on the book and I'm glad for this.

But what annoys me the most is something on the book involving Nicky the only girl being the daughter of a Vicar. Being surrounded by adults and seeing her almost all the time with the boys they should have done something and helped her, the only girl character in the story and the author just got her there to do nothing, literally Eddie has a huge crush on her and then she goes away and that was it, she comes back thirty years later and I hated how dismissive it was and how quick even more her ending in the whole story.

Even being a good book overall I expected way more than what was given. There was some gaps in the storyline and at the end you're left half away satisfied. I admit I was shocked with the end, Ed's end. I start suspecting of the killer by the middle of the book but the twist at the end I did not see it coming.
I liked Eddie's parents and I think it was very interesting to choose his Mother job and how it affected them as a family and the small town they lived in. It was a nice change around book.

Eddie as a grown up got me a bit bored, I liked him as a child but I think after everything he went through something broke loose inside of him, when everyone was having fun he was taking care of his father and then he just lost himself. His love interest for me was an awful choice and I was actually glad the book didn't revolved around romance for anything, it was just about the suspense and the mystery of why killing that person. I think Ed's turned into a teacher because of Mr. Halloran and I felt his ending was sad and a lot like Romeo and Juliet.
I think Mr. Halloran character was very mysterious and deep down very cool, unfortunately his story ends too soon and I felt bad for him and for the way he died how people thought of him. From hero to judged for a crime he might have or have not committed.

For being the first book of the author I thought it was very good. I liked the suspense, the mystery, the author's writing style got me hooked from the first moment and overall a good book. I would have been ok with a bit more psychological but maybe next time. I'll be definitely waiting for more books to come. The ending was a good one too, I love when author's get open endings just right. Like I said before some books are way better with open endings and this one was just this case, I'm still breathless and digesting this whole book.

Readers who likes a light good moving pace book with a bit of suspense and a mystery this book is for you.

I read this book in a few hours, I was hooked from page 1. This story has intrigue, betrayal, murder, friendship, families and much more. I loved the way this was written in the present and the past. I found I was so engrossed reading, I jumped when the telephone rang, my family had to call me more than once for my attention and the doorbell caused me many palpitations. Childhood gives us all many experiences and memories, the main characters in this felt so real, it was interesting to see how they had grown up too. I could tell you about the plot of this book, but you will have read that, this is going to be a favourite for 2018, add it to your list. Five stars from me, thoroughly enjoyable.

The Chalk Man has been one of the most talked about books in the last few months. Everyone was reading it and writing about it. Some raved about it, others were a bit disappointed. It seems to be quite a polemic book, but still, I couldn't wait to dive into it because of the comparisons to IT, Stranger Things and Stand By Me (I'm a big fan of those three). So I finally sat down one morning and read it from beginning to end.

The Chalk Man was a truly addictive read for me. I didn't think about anything else while I got to know about the kids and the chalk figures: I read it compulsively, trying to guess what had happened all those years ago. I liked the atmosphere, the 80s flashbacks and wanted to know what was going on in the present, too. I didn't love the characters that much, but that was okay because I was really enjoying the story. Sometimes that happens.

However, when I got to the ending, I realized I didn't feel as satisfied as I had hoped. I liked the book enough and thought it was well-written, it had great ideas and enjoyed some aspects that I can't really say now because of spoilers. But the main mystery ended up being a major disappointment. I can't really say much except that I usually love this kind of "tragic endings" but I didn't care much about this one.

I liked CJ Tudor's writing and the way she kept me guessing until the very end. It's obvious that she loves the 80s and all that "retro nostalgia", and I really appreciate that. This was a great debut novel, but I think the mystery lacked a bit of that "memorable" feeling I look for when reading this type of books. Also, Nicky's character was kind of underused and I wanted to know more about her (despite her obvious similarities to IT's Beverly).

Overall, I enjoyed The Chalk Man and would recommend it if you enjoy mysteries and coming of age stories. At the same time, I can't really say it I will remember it forever.

n paper this book should be right up my street; a murder, a dual timeline, a group of childhood friends who are running from the past and a big old mystery but for some reason it fell short. I did enjoy it (I read it in a day), but there was something missing. I know that The Chalk Man is being tipped as one of the thriller books of 2018 and I do think it will do well but for some reason I just couldn't connect with it.

C.J. Tudor has created a novel that has a great premise, a group of young friends find a dismembered body in the woods. They have spent a summer communicating with one another via chalk men symbols leaving messages for each other outside their houses using code and these childhood games come back to haunt them when they each receive a note with a chalk man in a noose and secrets from that summer in 1986 threaten to be revealed.

Let me be clear, it is very well written - there is heaps of tension, clues, red herrings and suspense. I enjoyed the dual timelines of 1986 and 2016, the descriptions of the friendship dynamic between Eddie and his gang, the underlying darkness and ominous threat. There were some wonderful twists and turns, in fact some ingenious ones that had me reeling and I was annoyed at myself for not putting 2 and 2 together.

This book tackles a number of issues and subjects - many of which I won't mention as they'll give away massive plot points - which is very brave. They are also sensitively handled and, because we see these things through Eddie as a young, quite naive child, they are even more horrific and difficult to stomach because they are hinted at. We never quite know if we have misunderstood or misread and this is a brilliant method of writing which I enjoyed as I liked to be challenged when reading.

I also found that the dual timeline was wonderfully written and I enjoyed seeing the contrast between the children and the adults they grew up to be. There is some great characterisation with some wonderful and astute observations about being a child and what is important to a young boy.

Despite not connecting with this book, I would recommend it - it is a well-written and well-plotted novel with real elements of surprise and suspense.

The Chalk Man by C J Tudor

Title: The Chalk Man
Author: C J Tudor
First Published: January 18
Publisher: Micheal Joseph
Page: 352
Price on Amazon: Hardback: £10.52 Kindle: £4.99
ISBN: 0718187431

Five friends, chalk drawings, murder and alot of unanswered questions.

Back in 1986 when Ed was a young boy, terrible things happened, nobody can agree when it first started but Ed is determined to findthe truth and put an end to it all once and for all after all these years, things start making Ed question everything.

Back in 1986 Eddy as he was known back then and his friends went to the fair for the first time by thereselves and it would be unforgettable. When a tragic accident changes everyones lives, things will never be the same again.

I got this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. When I first started reading this book I was unsure as to whether I was going to like it or not however, I found myself unable to put it down, desperate to turn the oafe and find out what happens next. The book switches between the present day and 1986, now normally I find this to be off putting but this book was written so well that the two timelines interlinked so well and joined perfectly that it just added to the suspece and hunger for more that as a reader you are always hoping for in a great book.

I found the plot to be really good and easy to follow. I really enjoyed the story. I found myself completly engrossed in the story which unfortunatly got me into trouble with the wife as I was not listening and was too caught up in the book.

I enjoyed the development of the characters and seeing how different they had become as adults from when they were children. We'd all like to think we stay the same but we do change and it is not always for the best as shown in the book.

So I would like to give this book four out of five stars. I would deffinatly recommend this book to anyone looking for a great read and I would certainly read it again in the future.

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A remarkable book that is gripping and enjoyable in equal measure. A delight to read, it speaks with the voice of a 12 year old boy and his older self some 30 years later.
A story of the last days of youth, one last great hurrah for a gang of friends on the cusp of becoming teenagers whose long summer holidays would never be the same again. Into that mix of hormones and the advent of puberty the group of mates are confronted with accidents and death.
The story flows seamlessly between 1986 and 2016 and is narrated by Eddie one of the gang who has never left the community or his family home, taking in lodgers and teaching at his old school.
The days when school holidays were long and kids rode round on their bikes making dens in the woods and finding secret codes to mark them out as special. It resonants with anyone who has played in the local grove or on a recreation ground. The idea of the travelling fair, bright lights, strangers in town scary rides and smells of hot dog onions. Reading these sections I was transported many years and could feel the cling of candy floss on my face and hear the crunch of a toffee apple.
The key to these days of our youth is often our lack of interruption or conflict; fewer worries and simple friendships. A darker notion is introduced by the author by the ability to look back, see cause and effect and with adult eyes realise that all wasn’t as it once appeared.
We sense Eddie is faithfully recounting the past but still has secrets, has a desire to understand more but reluctant to share everything for fear of being judged. At the time he was perhaps well meaning but adults and the police would not appreciate his involvement or tendency to collect things.
So the truth of Eddie’s engrossing story remains a mystery as more twists and outcomes are revealed in his present. We sense he is perhaps with his group of friends more like participants than observers and perhaps their own use of chalk leaves them even thirty years later in danger from The Chalk Man.
Reality is turned on it’s head as a once idyllic past is threatened by one of the gang returning to his community seeking Ed’s help to research a book to finally reveal the ultimate truth of those events in 1986.
I loved the premise of the book, the many chords it strikes with growing up and how some kids never change while others can move on. It is scary and dark in places beautifully balanced between reveal and facts still unclear. It is a story that engages you as it is filled with characters you identify with and want to learn more about. It never chooses a common path in its expansion as a story the innovation of plot and denouncement hold the reader’s attention to the end.
All is tied up and the wonderful author still has time to throw a hand grenade into the text at the end.
A literary tour de force and one of my best reads of 2017 which is likely to please and thrill many into 2018. A book not just to marvel at its reviews but to read for yourself and remember ones own youth.

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.

It's 1986 and Eddie and his group of friends (Hoppo, Fat Gav, Metal Mickey and Nicky) are doing the sort of things that all 12-year-olds do, riding their bikes, hanging around in playgrounds, writing secret messages using chalks... Things change forever when, after following a trail of drawings depicting chalk men, they find a dismembered body in the woods.

Fast forward thirty years and the murder is still fresh in the minds of all those involved. Still living at the house he shared with his parents, Eddie is drawn back in when a face from the past reappears and he starts noticing the chalk men once again. Not quite sure whether to believe what he is seeing, another death spurs him into trying to discover exactly what happened all those years ago.

There has been so much online buzz about this book and it even got a mention in a recent talk by the Fun Lovin' Crime Writers so I thought it was about time I saw for myself what all the fuss was about. Am I so glad I did! The book grabbed me from the very first page and I found it very difficult to put down. I particularly liked the chapters set in 1986 as it evoked numerous childhood memories. I am thankful that my childhood was much less eventful than the children in this story however!

The Chalk Man is told from the perspective of Eddie and we get to see how events in 1986 have shaped both his future and that of all those involved. That year is certainly a memorable one for the children as, in addition to them finding the body, there is a fairground accident, a pro-life campaign and a serious assault to deal with. Perhaps, though, one of the most shocking parts of the book for me was the incident between Eddie and Sean, Metal Mickey's brother. It is hard to say too much without revealing any spoilers but my heart really went out to Eddie for what he went through both during the event and also afterwards.

One of the things I enjoyed most about the book is how so many seemingly separate events all link together. This made for a very tight, well-written plot with no loose ends. I did fear that one thing had been overlooked but the closing scenes certainly put paid to that idea! Last year, social media was awash with the hashtag #WTFThatEnding with regards to the book Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough. The same hashtag could certainly apply here as I actually gasped when I realised how it was going to end! Even though it was a shock, however, it was completely true to what we'd come to know about Eddie and made perfect sense.

Even at this early stage, The Chalk Man promises to be one of the big hits of 2018 and I would not be surprised if a television or film company picks it up. As I was reading, I was reminded on several occasions of The Five, a Sky TV Drama created by Harlan Coben, and thought it amusing that he was actually name checked in the book!

It is hard to believe that this is the author's debut novel and I can't wait to see what she writes next.

With thanks to Penguin UK - Michael Joseph and Net Galley for my ARC.

I was really intrigued by the blurb for this book and I wasn’t disappointed.
The story alternates from the eighties to present day (well 2016) and you gradually learn what happened to a group of friends from school and those close to them.
In the holidays Ed comes up with the idea of communicating with his friends by drawing chalk men on their paths to indicate if they should meet in the woods or park etc. However one day the chalk men drawings take them to a body and life kind of unravels for some of them.
I really felt for the adult Ed as he seemed to continue to struggle with life and seemed to be tortured by the past more than the others.
This is a great mystery thriller.
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Books for sending me a copy to read and review.

I don’t want to give away anything about the plot of this book as it’s best to go in blind, but I would highly recommend this to everyone.

The book is split between the 80s when the characters are young and present day. The scenes from the 80s are brilliantly written and takes you right back there. The characters are fascinating and complex, even the minor ones.

Very few mystery novels actually turn out to be mysteries, but this one more than delivers. There are many twists and turns I didn’t see coming at all!

A phenomenal debut from C.J. Tudor I will DEFINITELY be on the lookout for more of their work.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book.

This story follows five 12 year old friends who enjoy riding their bikes through the woods and exchanging messages using stick figures with different coloured chalks. One day whilst playing on their bikes they happen across a message which none of them have written but leads them to a very grim discovery in the woods which will have far reaching consequences in the future.

Fast forward 30 years to 2016 and Eddie receives a letter through the post which contains a stick figure and he realises that the past has come back to haunt him, he must now find out the truth about what really happened back in 1986.

This book drew me in from the prologue, the writing is dark and compelling and keeps you guessing all the way through, with a few twists along the way.

I would like to thank Penguin UK - Michael Joseph for the approval. I will post my review on Goodreads now and on Amazon on publication day.

I thought this book was a very good debut novel. It ran the storylines both in the past and the present and was all about schoolboy friends, Fat Gav, métal Mickey, Hoppi and Eddie and their adventures through boyhood to manhood.

You forget the things you used to do as a child and how important little things are to a child, which as an adult you wouldn’t necessarily worry about, and I think the author captured this very well.

The ending is excellent and not how I thought it would end.

I

The Chalk Man is an excellent novel with numerous threads leading the reader down the wrong path. Never assume that you know how the book is going to progress because just as you guess, the author throws in a curve ball and the story changes.

There is sufficient engagement that you will not want to put the book down and there was never a momemt when you felt liberties were taken with the story.

A really engaging read with an author that should go places.

A really intriguing read, there is a mystery at the heart of the story but lots of other questions that need answering and keep you guessing throughout. The last couple of chapters were an interesting surprise!

The characters are well written, mysterious yet likable. If I had the time I could have easily read this in one sitting - a really fantastic debut book.

Thanks to NetGalley, Crown Publishing and CJ Tudor for my ARC in exchange 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.

As Debuts go they don't get as good as this one,tense,edgy,keeps you guessing all the way through,Deep and well thought out characters,Can't wait for further instalments,Superb book one of the best I've read this year which is a high accolade as I've been reading the greats,Chris Carter,J A Kerley and Rachel Caine,Five stars is a good way to introduce yourself