Here is a book that has been getting a lot of hype. Like with any other highly anticipated and talked about book, I went into THE CHALK MAN with an open mind. I didn’t want to build it up too much before reading it. Well, let me tell you, this book completely deserves all of the hype and praise it’s been receiving!

First of all, the beginning of the book, that grabbed me right away. We follow Eddie throughout the book (and it’s told from his perspective), but the reader goes back and forth from 1986 to 2016. In 1986, Eddie and his friends are all close and growing up, but they still have their secret code they speak in. They call them the chalk men – as you’d suspect they’re chalk stick figures used to communicate with one another. Until one day, when a chalk man leads them to a body, their lives are forever changed.

Fast forward to 2016, Eddie is grown up and has his past behind him. One day he gets a letter in the mail containing a single chalk man. He finds out that his friends have also received the same letter. When one of them turns up dead, Eddie and his friends realize they need to figure out what happened all those years ago in order to save themselves.

This was a fantastic read. Really dark, gloomy, and at times graphic. I read this book in one sitting and I could not put it down. The ending was crazy! I found myself thinking, what the hell did I just read?? I completely agree with my buddy reader, Chandra, that it is so hard to believe that this is a debut novel. There’s no way. I will definitely be picking up more by CJ Tudor in the future.

Overall, if you want a dark and graphic crime read, then you need to get this on your TBR. If you’re a crime fiction or mystery fan, then you need this in your life. It lives up to the hype, 100%

I give this a solid 5/5 stars!

This book was very engaging and kept me guessing until the end so I liked it in that regard, but where it lost me was with the characters. I just didn't care about them. Even though Eddie is the one telling the story, there was nothing about him that made me want to get to know him better. He's a good unreliable narrator though, which is the whole point.

Overall, it was a quick and entertaining read and while I didn't enjoy it as much as I wanted, I still liked it enough to want to figure out the ending.

In this thriller meets coming of age tale, readers follow young Eddie Adams and his close-knit group of friends as their innocuous practice of leaving chalked stick figure based codes for each other is unknowingly commandeered by someone with dark intentions. After innocence is lost, decades pass before the now grown men are pulled back together by an anonymous note and a need to finally come to terms with the tragedy of the past.
The Chalk Man includes plenty of twists and thrills, but it is even more so an examination of the splintering of friendships, a child's realization of adult imperfections, an unveiling of the devastating consequences of seemingly inconsequential mistakes and poor choices.

Debut novel, my ass!

As an extremely hyped up book, I went in with a little bit of trepidation.. hoping beyond hope that the hype wouldn't let me down. You know those books that are SO hyped up you go in and while it's good, you don't quite get why everyone is RAVING about it? It's great but you just expected THAT much more because of all the hoopla? Yeah, well this one delivers!

Going from 1986 to 2016, we see through Eddie's eyes. We get that Losers Club feeling with him and his guy friends back in the 80s with their token girl, Nicky. Running away from bullies and just otherwise being kids trying to find fun in their every day lives. Cue tragedy. Fully grown in 2016 they end up reconnecting somewhat while another death brings their past up to the surface.

Where do I even start? I fear saying too much as I don't want to spoil anything for you all. I will admit that at the beginning I couldn't quite understand the hype. It's great.. I kept turning the pages, but it didn't WOW me like I thought it would. AT FIRST. Then I kept turning each page and ended up reading it in one sitting. Each time I thought it made sense, nope... not it! And then the ending. WHAT IN THE EVER LIVING HELL JUST HAPPENED? I totally did NOT see that coming. And THAT ladies and gentlemen, is what made it a 5 star rating for me. Plus, a debut novel that reads like the author has been pumping out amazing thrillers since birth? I mean......

In a gist - PUT THIS ON YOUR TBR. It's gloomy, a bit graphic in some instances, not a happy read in any sense of the word, but absolutely worth your time.

There’s a subtle creepiness that runs all the way through this book. Sometimes you feel like you know the answers, and then sometimes you don’t. That’s what makes it a great mystery. I suppose some readers will figure it out, but I didn’t (and I won't spoil it!). Ed is an interesting character—I sympathize with him, but another part of me isn't quite sure what to make of him. Should we be more wary of him or not? The author does a commendable job keeping the reading guessing. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys slow-building mysteries with a good twist.

The Chalk Man is psychological suspense at its finest. It’s destined to be the next ‘must read’ book with all the elements of a bestseller.

The Chalk Man opens with 4 young friends, 3 boys and 1 girl. The year is 1986 and the feeling of that time is filled with the freedom of bike riding, playing in the park, in the woods, and secret chalk messages only they know. Fun times that summer until something tragic happens and someone is leaving chalk drawings, but it isn't any of them. The dynamic between these friends changes and they hold secrets.

Fast forward to 2016. Ed our narrator is now a teacher and living in the same house he grew up in. Nothing much has changed except for that one little secret haunts him and now they are all receiving letters with chalk in them. At first, they dismiss it as joke, but what if there’s more to it. Does someone know their secret? One of the friends from the past appears at Ed’s house and asks a favor from Ed. He leaves Ed’s house and is suddenly missing. Strange things are beginning to happen and Ed tries to put the pieces together.

There is plenty of suspense and creepiness in the characters and the plot to keep you engaged until the end. I only rated this lower because honestly, (for me) the ending didn’t match the build-up of getting there. It was still a good read!

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35356382-the-chalk-man" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="The Chalk Man" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1498902366m/35356382.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35356382-the-chalk-man">The Chalk Man</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15754327.C_J_Tudor">C.J. Tudor</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2142695637">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
4.5 for this one!<br />A wonderfully written debut! Shock full of nightmares, terror, mystery,and murder.<br />I love the interaction of the group of 12 yr olds we meet from 1986 (reminiscent of the Stand by Me kids).<br />Every other chapter is from 1986, to present day being 2016, with chapter-ending cliffhangers. You will be completely taken in at the first page!<br />Highly recommended!!<br /><br />Many thanks to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for the advanced reading!!
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/12851291-karen">View all my reviews</a>

Excellent story telling, character development, use of dual timelines and nostalgia at its best! Have a feeling this will be a hit when officially released!

In this amazing debut, we meet our young narrator, Ed, and his friends, growing up in small-town mid-eighties England. They're just an innocent, fun-loving group of goofy of middle grade boys, with one token girl they may all be half in love with. Life isn't perfect, but it's good. All that changes in an instant when Ed witnesses a horrific tragedy, and it alters the course of his life forever.

The narrative jumps back and forth from kid Ed to adult Ed, and both sides of his personality are expertly drawn. In fact, each character is revealed slowly and deliberately, making it impossible to guess what's coming next. This is next level writing, and I'll definitely be on board to read this author's future work. Her style is reminiscent of early Stephen King, and she also nails the creep-out factor without going overboard. My only complaint is that the pacing and believability of the ending went a little off the rails.

Perfect for fans of Stranger Things, thrillers, great writing, or anyone into 80's nostalgia pieces. I think this book will find a wide audience.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read an early copy of this novel.

My first thought when I started reading this...

Oh great. Another piece of writing involving boys during the 80's, one feisty red head girl of the bunch....and bikes.

However, having loved the recent <i>IT</> movie and already being obsessed with Stranger Things, I gave this is a shot. Because let's face it...1986 was a great year. I mean, I really don't know since I was born that year, but I've heard it was like totally gnarly and tubular.

So where do I begin. That's the thing with good books such as this, it's hard to begin, and then if you do, you risk spoilers spilling out. So I will keep this brief.

This book is very reminiscent of Stand By Me, It, Stranger Things, and any other book, show, movie involving young boys coming of age. And that's about it. I honestly wish I had read this over Halloween because holy crap, it's creepy! Some parts made me a little squeamish so I will warn you about that, as well as being prepared to laugh, cry, gasp, and read this quickly!

Ok, so I read a debut novel from C.J. Tudor, The Chalk Man: A Novel this week, and I have to say, it is the best mystery / thriller I've read in some time, and probably will be for a while.

But wait, before I get too deep into this, I must state that I received an advanced review copy from NetGalley in trade for an honest review, so a big hearty thank you goes out to them, as well as Crown Publishing. (You guys rule!)

Now that I got that legal stuff out of the way, back to it. This novel, plain and simply put, is quite damn amazing. It's so precisely well written, I'm having a hard time believe that this is a debut novel. So to you, C.J. Tudor, I tip my hat.

The Chalk Man: A Novel has the simple premise of a story, being told from the point of view of twelve and forty-two year old Eddie, jumping back and forth through time from 1986 to 2016. As a child, he and his friends have an innocent enough game in which they communicate with little "chalk man" drawings they leave for one another. It's all fun and games until a series of these chalk men lead them to an area where they stumble upon a dead body. Thirty years later, as Eddie would seem at rest with the past, a mysterious chalk man drawing comes to him and digs up a series of event surrounding the death he and his friends uncovered as youth.

To me, there's nothing worse than predicting the plot twist of a book, and I thought I had this one figured out... and boy was I wrong. In a swirl of uncovered truths, lies, and secrets, The Chalk Man: A Novel the a fast paced, edge of your seat thriller that must be added to your bookshelf in early 2018. It'll keep you guessing with each flip of the page right on to the very end.

This book gets nothing short of 5 stars. Hell, I'd give it six if that were a thing.

The Chalk Man: A Novel by C.J. Tudor, comes on January 9, 2018 through Crown Publishing.

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 C.J. Tudor, Crown Publishing and Net Galley for the ARC.

Loved this debut thriller mainly because it was so unpredictable! Unlike most, somewhere near the end you may think you have things figured out, but certainly not this one! Going back and forth in time from 1986 to 2016, we see Eddie and his friends just being kids, going to the park, riding bikes, and yikes...finding a headless body! But there is much more to this mystery than just who killed her and why. Delving into the town's (and society's) issues, Tudor explores the timeless themes of sin, redemption, betrayal, deception, guilt, and fear. It's not until the final page that you can truly breathe a sigh of relief that the mysteries are solved. Might keep you up till all hours of the night! So good!

One of my favorite book bloggers went nuts over this story. After reading her praise, I immediately went to NetGalley with my fingers and toes crossed that I would get approved. And thanks to the Book Gods, I got to experience this delectable little number before its release.

As a book junkie, I've read my fair share of mystery thrillers. After reading a couple dozen (at the very least), I admittedly tend to be a tough critic especially towards this genre. I hardly (if ever) give thrillers five star ratings for many reasons. My biggest issue is they tend to become predictable once you've devoured so many. However, The Chalk Man was the freshest breath of thriller air I've had in quite a long, long time.

Tudor tells us a magnificent story from two perspectives, then and now. While this view has been done by many, I feel like Tudor easily mastered and perfected this manner of story telling. Each side was riveting and held so many clues and secrets that made it impossible to put the story. The little stinker (Tudor) would also reveal something decently shocking and make you wait a whole chapter before addressing the item revealed. Which surely encouraged me to keep going and going.

Tudor is clearly into some type of voodoo, because his ability to create and develop characters was magical. This book introduces you to numerous people. Each character presented to the reader had their own personality types, struggles, and characteristics. This was particularly impressive to me since we met a good amount of people in this story.

Overall, I am not trying to tell you much about the plot. I just want you to know, you should be prepared for some delectable twists and turns. This story is without a doubt going to be one of the most talked about Mystery Thrillers of 2018. Easily. And I am already anticipating more stories from this great mind of Tudor's.

Wow, love that ending! I really enjoyed the part of the story set in the 80s. Took me back to my childhood, riding bikes around the neighborhood and playing in the woods. Stayed up late finishing this in one day! Definitely recommend.

I love, love, loved The Chalk Man. I won’t summarize the story itself, because no summarization of it within a few lines would do justice to this complex tale.

I enjoyed the character development. Every character is distinctly depicted and easy to fathom as a real-life person.

The book moves back and forth between Eddie as a twelve-year-old in 1986 and Ed as an adult in 2016. Those transitions were clearly done, and I was never confused as to the time period being written about.

Many times during the course of the book, I was clueless as to who did what, although not in a bad way. The twists and side stories were intriguing and kept my interest throughout. It is suspenseful and fast paced to say the least; it becomes even more suspenseful as the story rolls on. The ending was a great conclusion, tying up any and all loose ends.

This book completely captured me. I literally could not put it down and kept reading from start to about 85% finished, when my eyelids would not stay open another page longer; I could not fight sleep and had to finish it in the morning.

It is remarkable that this is a first novel by Ms. Tudor. She writes like a pro. Well done, Ms. Tudor. I would give this book more than five stars if I could; it was terrific. A sincere thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review The Chalk Man.

4.5 stars

I want to be careful what I say because I don't want to give anything away. This is an extremely compelling and entertaining thriller. I look forward to reading more from this author. The characters and chapters are so well written, I fell asleep with the book next to me as I continually bargained with my eyelids to stay open, "...just one more chapter... okay just this next one..." I didn't finish it last night but I woke up this morning and immediately picked up where I left off. It's been a while since I've been that entertained by a book. At the same time, I don't want to build the book up too much because if you pick it up thinking it's going to change your life, you might be disappointed. It's a book, it's job is to thrill you, and it does it's job very, very well. The characters and situations are so well-realized and descriptive that it was almost like seeing a movie.

So there. I've told you absolutely nothing about the plot, because I don't want to give anything away or spoil anything. You're welcome.

For me, The Chalk Man, is a perfect example of how hype can ruin your reading experience. I have seen several absolutely glowing reviews of this book and I was prepared for it to be one of my new favorite books of the year. Unfortunately, it fell far short of my expectations.
Let’s start with what I did like. I really like Tudor’s writing style. This is the author’s debut novel and her writing already feels distinctive. I also am a big fan of multiple timelines and I thought it was done pretty well here.

The story was told in Eddie’s 1st person POV and I wish I could say that gave me a connection to him, but it didn’t. I never really cared that much about him. He was basically the only character in the book that had much character development and it just didn’t really do it for me. I didn’t care about his childhood friends in either timeline or his odd relationship with his lodger, Chloe.
Even though I liked the writing, I felt bored a great deal of the time. Things are revealed very, very slowly and don’t pick up until close to the end. There is a nice little twist at the end, but I felt that there were so many clues dropped into the backstory to make sure the twist made sense that it did not even come as a big surprise. I also figured out the resolution to the main mystery awhile before it was revealed.

Overall, The Chalk Man was not a bad book, but it definitely fell short of the hype for me. The slow pace, characters I didn’t really care about, and a twist with very little pay-off left me pretty disappointed. However, the author’s writing style is pretty much what made this book for me and I know I will be reading more from her in the future.

Overall Rating (out of 5): 3 Stars

SOOOOO GOOD!!
Wish I could give more than 5 stars :)

This is one of those reviews where I just don't want to say too much about the plot or the characters. I just don't think I could do any of it justice. What I want to do is just my experience with this book, and hopefully it will tweak your interest enough to grab a copy yourself....

This book came out swinging right from the first chapter and didn't let up until the last. For sure a solid thriller, but it is oh so much more as well.

Highly addictive, intense, and gripping, I couldn't help but think of the amazing film 'Stand By Me'.
The feel of that time period is very present in the chapters dedicated to the past and I found myself deeply invested. I love a book that can 'take me away' from my life, even for a few chapters.

C.J. Tudor is definitely on my radar and her next book can't come fast enough!

I highly recommend to anyone who loves a good mystery and enjoys being taken for a wild ride.

ARC provided by NetGalley

A simmering suspense novel about a group of childhood friends who devise chalked symbols to communicate with each other, but when those same chalked symbols are high-jacked by a murderer, their lives are changed forever. The friends are reunited as adults when events from the past seem to repeat themselves in unfathomable ways.

Superb thriller.

Thank you, netgalley, for the e-review edition.