The Chalk Man: A Novel
"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 NOVEL
A 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 ending
In 1986, Eddie 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
A 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 ending
In 1986, Eddie 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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✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI
Readers say *The Chalk Man* is a twisty, dark psychological thriller set in nostalgic 1980s England, praised for its engaging blend of past and presen...
⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2 out of ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I really wanted to love this book, I truly did. Now, it’s not to say I hated it. I just felt slightly underwhelmed by the book. For me, The premise of the Chalk Man was so fascinating and something incredibly unique. I was hoping it would be a fast paced, über-atmospheric and suspenseful thriller, but the book itself started out SO SLOWLY for me. The first 50 or so pages were hard for me to get through because I was hoping for a lot more creepiness right out of the gate.
I feel like, once the suspense started kicking in, it was a lot harder for me to put the book down. At the end of the day, I struggled to connect to any of the characters at more than a surface level and wish there was a little more depth to the characters, especially their adult versions. I did love the flipping between 1986 and 2016; but I felt more of a connection and interest to the characters in 1986 because their adventures really felt like those from Stranger Things or the Goonies. But, I think we were just left scratching the surface with the characters.
Overall, I was underwhelmed and left wanting more.
I really wanted to love this book, I truly did. Now, it’s not to say I hated it. I just felt slightly underwhelmed by the book. For me, The premise of the Chalk Man was so fascinating and something incredibly unique. I was hoping it would be a fast paced, über-atmospheric and suspenseful thriller, but the book itself started out SO SLOWLY for me. The first 50 or so pages were hard for me to get through because I was hoping for a lot more creepiness right out of the gate.
I feel like, once the suspense started kicking in, it was a lot harder for me to put the book down. At the end of the day, I struggled to connect to any of the characters at more than a surface level and wish there was a little more depth to the characters, especially their adult versions. I did love the flipping between 1986 and 2016; but I felt more of a connection and interest to the characters in 1986 because their adventures really felt like those from Stranger Things or the Goonies. But, I think we were just left scratching the surface with the characters.
Overall, I was underwhelmed and left wanting more.
Wow! This is an excellently written mystery/thriller with a spooky as hell, unreliable narrator. It swings back and forth between present and past. What an ending. You won’t be disappointed. I can’t believe that this is the author’s first novel! Read it! I hope she writes more! So good!
3.5🌟
beep beep eddie
It's taken me literal days to review this book... It didn't quite fall into any one category, but held bits of thriller, suspense, and horror. Overall, it was a story about reminiscing, about the power an item holds over you. Much of the book reminded me in style of Stephen King's It, a group of children coming together one summer who experience something gruesome, and the effects of which still hold onto them in their futures. Nothing is ever what it appears to be in this read, you kinda just have to hang on for the ride.
beep beep eddie
It's taken me literal days to review this book... It didn't quite fall into any one category, but held bits of thriller, suspense, and horror. Overall, it was a story about reminiscing, about the power an item holds over you. Much of the book reminded me in style of Stephen King's It, a group of children coming together one summer who experience something gruesome, and the effects of which still hold onto them in their futures. Nothing is ever what it appears to be in this read, you kinda just have to hang on for the ride.
I love a thriller and this one delivered massively! Mystery and suspense and I did not see the twist at the end coming!
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