I was provided this book by NetGalley for an honest review (thanks NetGalley!)

Well... where should i begin. The hype about this book was tremendous. I have a bad habit of looking at reviews before i want to read a book to make sure that i got a good one. I need to stop doing that. The reviews i read for this book were amazing and i was anxious to get it. I'm not a fan of going back and forth in time, i seem to be getting alot of those recently, but it wasn't that bad. This book gave me the douche chills once in a while and i was hoping the suspense would keep up and really spook me (I'm a big chicken so it doesn't take much) but i felt like it was a mild roller coaster. It was a good book but i don't think that it is standing to its hype. Don't get me wrong it had some pretty nice parts in it but most of the book was ok. I was intrigued enough to keep going but not bored enough to stop.

4 stars! This was a highly suspenseful, intriguing, creepy and mysterious thriller.

This novel caught my attention from the prologue and I found myself growing more attached to this story as I turned each page. The characters were well-developed – some likeable, others not. Each character had an element of mystery about them which I really enjoyed. My suspicions were flip-flopping all over the place trying to determine what had happened and how things would all end. The author did a fantastic job slowly revealing clues, secrets and lies which kept the suspense high and pace flowing.

I really enjoyed the mysterious and puzzling references surrounding ‘the chalk man’ throughout this entire book. It was a unique and clever piece of the story.

Overall, this was an additive, highly intriguing, suspenseful, fast-paced novel that I would definitely recommend! This was a Traveling Sister Read with Brenda, Norma, Diane, Rita, Susanne and Melisa. It was a great book choice for us as we all ended up loving it! We look forward to the next novel from this author - C. J. Tudor!!

A big thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Random House Canada and C. J. Tudor for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Expected Date of Publication: January 9th, 2018.

This was a hard read for me. While I was reading it, I was really into it. But when I wasn't reading it, I wasn't at all eager to get back to it. I know, confusing.

There were so many Stephen King similarities/references in this book. I dont know if that was done as an homage or not, but they were fun to find. Mr Halloran, the fight at the funeral, and there are are a couple more.

The story itself was ok, but I wasn't as thrilled with the ending as I had hoped I'd be. Solid 3 stars.

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.

This book was slow moving, but interesting enough that it kept me reading. The characters were hard to like, but I didn’t mind - it felt very ‘Girl on the Train’ (only I liked it more). I felt like the ending was pretty rushed - and everything came together/climaxed way too quickly. I felt like all the more interesting/dramatic parts felt a little rushed, but the slower parts dragged on a bit.

This was a pretty fast read - I read it on the train, over the course of a few days. It wasn’t my favourite thriller - I didn’t connect with any of the characters, or enjoy the writing style - but I did like it, and I thought the concept and the story were really interesting.