Even with the tied up ending and unlikable characters, The Chalk Man by CJ Tudor works. The story is told in a manner that is compelling and that keeps me reading. The writing successfully creates a chilling and creepy atmosphere even flipping back and forth between two periods. The true ending of the book leaves a chill and a shiver. Innocent chalk drawings on a sidewalk now carry a whole different meaning.
Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2018/03/the-chalk-man.html
Reviewed for NetGalley
Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2018/03/the-chalk-man.html
Reviewed for NetGalley
I had purchased this book because of the many great reviews I had read, and after doing so I posted it on Goodreads. Before starting it, naturally, I browsed through member reviews and was concerned to see a significant number who expressed disappointment. Well, now I have read it and I must say I liked it a lot. The author's writing style I found quite enjoyable. Her switching between the present (2016) and thirty years earlier (1986) at first I found somewhat perplexing but soon came to feel it provided a most interesting perspective. Indeed, in real life, I believe all of us cycle in our perspective as we proceed through each day sometimes (hopefully most times) thinking in our "adult" state of mind, sometimes in our "child" and (yes, Thomas Harris, thank you) sometimes in our "parent". So what Tudor does here, by actually making the switch physically as well as mentally (which, of course, can only be done in fiction) makes a great deal of sense to me. The plot itself, I found quite plausible, even if it was a bit morbid, and the story-telling certainly held my attention throughout. Overall I easily gave it a 4-star rating.
Interesting story
Really enjoyed this engrossing murder mystery. It reminded me somewhat of some of Stephen King's works involving a group of young people coming of age and running into very strange occurrences. The novel takes place in Britain and is written from two different points in time, 1986, when the group of kids were about 12, and 2016, when they are grown. This is similar to King's IT which also tells the story from two different times. The main protagonist, Eddie, tells the story and how it started in 1986. He is one of a group of five who hang out together and try to be there for each other. After Eddie meets with a somewhat strange teacher, Mr. Halloran, who uses pastels to draw beautiful art pieces, Eddie and the group start using chalk men to send coded messages to each other. Halloran is an albino and is also called "The Chalk Man". At one point during the summer, they witness a horrible accident at the fair where a young girl gets mutilated by a park ride called a Waltzer (I had never heard of this ride but found out online that it is a British ride consisting of a number of cars which spin freely while rotating around a central point). The girl survives but is later found murdered in the woods by Eddie and his friends. Crudely drawn chalk men were drawn pointing the way to the body. But who drew these men and how is Halloran involved? The mystery remains unanswered for years until events in 2016 lead to what really happened.
I liked how the two different time lines are used in the novel to tell the story. There were several twists along the way and I was surprised by the ending. Overall, I thought this was very good thriller with some tinges of horror thrown in. Recommend it...
I liked how the two different time lines are used in the novel to tell the story. There were several twists along the way and I was surprised by the ending. Overall, I thought this was very good thriller with some tinges of horror thrown in. Recommend it...
Parts of this twisty, well-plotted thriller are inevitably going to be compared to "Stand By Me", since it involves a small group of pre-teen buddies finding the body of a murdered girl in the woods. But it's not a true comparison, because in this work, the echoes of the crime resound through their lives for 30 years, and the tendrils that twined the group together never really let go.
Tudor has chosen to present the story by flashing back and forth between the period when the body was found and the characters' present day -- a technique not quite as annoying as it might have been, because it allows key bits of information to be doled out at the most appropriate times to keep the reader engaged and guessing. I found the early parts of the book a bit of a hard go at first, but the final 75 pages or so were definitely un-put-downable.
There's a fairly large cast of characters, not all of whom are carefully drawn. Some of the parents, particularly, are vague presences. This would normally not be an issue in a book about children's friendships, but in this case, the parents come in and out of the story throughout. Some of the British-isms may make give readers accustomed to American English a bit of a brain-stutter, but they're not overwhelming.
The mysteries (there are more than one) are nicely plotted, and the twist at the end may not be as big a surprise as the promotions promise, particularly if one is familiar with the concept of an unreliable narrator. Because Eddie, who is the exclusive POV character, isn't always forthcoming. He lies to his parents (what 12-year-old boy doesn't?), he steals things -- sometimes the things most kids steal like candy or small toys, but also things he really has no use for like a stray earring and a china figurine -- just because he wants them for his "collections". And the adult Ed is a solitary, somewhat neurotic man, still living in his childhood home and still unable to lay the ghosts that haunted his childhood.
The motif of the chalk man is nicely used throughout. Something that started as a secret code within the group becomes more and more menacing as the contemporary sections of the book unspool. It's an interesting device, with just enough unanswered questions about who is leaving them and why.
Overall, it's a fine read once it gets into gear. I'll be looking for more from this author.
Tudor has chosen to present the story by flashing back and forth between the period when the body was found and the characters' present day -- a technique not quite as annoying as it might have been, because it allows key bits of information to be doled out at the most appropriate times to keep the reader engaged and guessing. I found the early parts of the book a bit of a hard go at first, but the final 75 pages or so were definitely un-put-downable.
There's a fairly large cast of characters, not all of whom are carefully drawn. Some of the parents, particularly, are vague presences. This would normally not be an issue in a book about children's friendships, but in this case, the parents come in and out of the story throughout. Some of the British-isms may make give readers accustomed to American English a bit of a brain-stutter, but they're not overwhelming.
The mysteries (there are more than one) are nicely plotted, and the twist at the end may not be as big a surprise as the promotions promise, particularly if one is familiar with the concept of an unreliable narrator. Because Eddie, who is the exclusive POV character, isn't always forthcoming. He lies to his parents (what 12-year-old boy doesn't?), he steals things -- sometimes the things most kids steal like candy or small toys, but also things he really has no use for like a stray earring and a china figurine -- just because he wants them for his "collections". And the adult Ed is a solitary, somewhat neurotic man, still living in his childhood home and still unable to lay the ghosts that haunted his childhood.
The motif of the chalk man is nicely used throughout. Something that started as a secret code within the group becomes more and more menacing as the contemporary sections of the book unspool. It's an interesting device, with just enough unanswered questions about who is leaving them and why.
Overall, it's a fine read once it gets into gear. I'll be looking for more from this author.
Excellent book. Well written and well thought out plot.
Descriptions of this book first reminded me of 'It', but the horror of this story lies in the real life tragedies this young foursome experience. This is a story told in two time periods, bouncing between 1986 and 2016. The chapter titles list the year so there is no confusion about which time period you are reading about.
In 1986, the story describes a terrifying amusement park ride malfunction whose aftermath bonds Eddie with their new teacher who is an albino. With the teacher's recommendation, the kids develop their own coded message system using 'chalk men'. When mysterious deaths start occurring, the group breaks up.
Thirty years later, the cold case deaths resurrect when the gang receives ' chalk men' messages amid an opportunity to publish the story of the young teen they discovered murdered all those years ago. The group reunites to discover who or what was behind the multiple deaths, but all those years later, their safety isnt assured.
I really liked this creepy story as an October read. Possible 'trigger' topics include child abuse, rape, alcoholism, bullying, disfigurement.
In 1986, the story describes a terrifying amusement park ride malfunction whose aftermath bonds Eddie with their new teacher who is an albino. With the teacher's recommendation, the kids develop their own coded message system using 'chalk men'. When mysterious deaths start occurring, the group breaks up.
Thirty years later, the cold case deaths resurrect when the gang receives ' chalk men' messages amid an opportunity to publish the story of the young teen they discovered murdered all those years ago. The group reunites to discover who or what was behind the multiple deaths, but all those years later, their safety isnt assured.
I really liked this creepy story as an October read. Possible 'trigger' topics include child abuse, rape, alcoholism, bullying, disfigurement.
This book reminded me of 'IT' by Stephen King, 4 boys and 1 girl, each with their own set of problems (except there is no clown or scary spider)
I thought when I started this book I'd found a good creepy/thriller but NOT!
I trudged along with the chapters going back and forth from 1986 to 2016, I don't like writing like that but I hoped this would be a good one---NOT!
I found nothing creepy about it, I found no thriller in it, what I did find was a slow, draggy, sludge-mudge story that didn't have any 'oomph' to it at all
This is Tudor debut novel and I'd try another by her, I liked the length of the book - 277 pages - but in that short length it just wasn't thrilling at all and the 'group' of friends are just forgettable so it makes for a dull read
I thought when I started this book I'd found a good creepy/thriller but NOT!
I trudged along with the chapters going back and forth from 1986 to 2016, I don't like writing like that but I hoped this would be a good one---NOT!
I found nothing creepy about it, I found no thriller in it, what I did find was a slow, draggy, sludge-mudge story that didn't have any 'oomph' to it at all
This is Tudor debut novel and I'd try another by her, I liked the length of the book - 277 pages - but in that short length it just wasn't thrilling at all and the 'group' of friends are just forgettable so it makes for a dull read
This is compelling reading and has some creepy elements. A mystery with some twists. But it is a dark tale.
In 1986, Eddie and his friends are just kids on the verge of adolescence. They spend their days biking around their sleepy 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.
This book had a slow start for me as it kept switching back and forth from 1986 to 2016. It has a very creepy, complex plot that is very suspenseful and kept me guessing until the last page. The book has a feel of 'Stand By Me' by Stephen King but add in the chalk figures and the evil they represent. The characters were very well-drawn and intriguing. The author is very talented and I am anxiously awaiting her next book. I would highly recommend this book to those who love psychological thrillers.
This book had a slow start for me as it kept switching back and forth from 1986 to 2016. It has a very creepy, complex plot that is very suspenseful and kept me guessing until the last page. The book has a feel of 'Stand By Me' by Stephen King but add in the chalk figures and the evil they represent. The characters were very well-drawn and intriguing. The author is very talented and I am anxiously awaiting her next book. I would highly recommend this book to those who love psychological thrillers.
