The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor

The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Back in 1986 Eddie and his friends were typical kids always looking for something new to do to entertain themselves. They spent their time biking around the town and avoiding the bullies in the neighborhood that summer. The group came up with a secret code using chalk figures that they used to communicate until the day that same chalk led them to a dead body.

Now Eddie and his friends are adults and have put the past behind them until one day Eddie gets a letter with a chalk figure on it. Contacting his old buddies he finds that they have received the same and wonder if it’s a prank until one of them turns up dead. It soon becomes apparent to find out what is going on now they need to take a look at just what happened in the past.

The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor is a thriller read that almost immediately reminded me of stories I’ve read by Stephen King so it didn’t take me long to become engrossed in this novel. The story is told by alternating the chapters between current time with Eddie as an adult and flashing back to 1986 when he and his friends were kids.

The flashing back to the eighties also was a favorite of mine really bringing that era to life. The story was easy to follow along with on both timelines as the guessing begins as to what happened in either. I would warn though that there was a scene in the past that was rather cringe worthy and graphic that may bother some readers, almost needing a rape warning for it.

This story was one that makes me think of the comparison to an onion in which you need to peel back the layers to find out the truth and what had happened. It kept me quite engaged with the characters and crimes to be solved all throughout with a twinge of horror mixed in the thrilling tale. In the end I’d rate this at 4.5 stars and I’d definitely recommend checking this one out.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.