The Chalk Man

3.5 stars

ehhhhh.. this was a really really really enjoyable book in terms of writing style (omg ! ! need to read more from this author) and characters. The characters were so well written, it felt like I knew them personally. If the characters weren't so well written this book would be a 1 star, without the characters this book would fall apart.

It was interesting at first, I couldn't solve the mystery but when it does get solved.. its underwhelming. stupid really.

if I had to describe this entire book I would say its a rollercoaster. waiting in line for an hour, excitement building,youre kinda getting annoyed about waiting so long, you finally get on and you're way too excited, you cant wait for the big drop of the coaster. slowly climbing up to the big reveal, getting ready to be shocked, ready for the ride of your life and then the rollercoaster stops just before it plummets down. The ride broke, you have to get off the emergency exit and climb down the stairs. All that waiting and you were only a second away from your excitement being fulfilled but it all falls flat.

the ending was whack. Weirdly thrown in, it makes sense but still..

The first half of the book basically copied IT by Stephen king. a group of boys and one red head girl that they had a crush on. The red head girl has a abusive father, one of the boys is a master at celebrity impersonations, one of the boys dates girls that are just like his mum, the bullies are basically the same ones from IT, and many more I cant say because of spoilers.
It doesn't sound like much but when you read it, you'll think of IT straight away. Way too many similarities.


anyways in conclusion, started of really good, it was so addictive and the writing is phenomenal but I came away disappointed. It was a massive let down

This is a very impressive debut. CJ Tudor generates a great atmosphere of intrigue, with a jumping timeline between childhood and the present and a slow unravelling of the truth behind events in the past. In The Chalk Man we follow the story of a group of friends, jumping between what happened in a summer break during their childhoods and their interactions today. During this summer these children happened to come across a body, and the impact of that had a profound impact on their relationship and the community they are in.

CJ Tudor effectively manages to blend these timelines to create an intriguing mystery that is slowly revealed. Her characters are sympathetic, varied and interesting. The community feels like a real living breathing community in the south of England, with the hypocrisy and pettiness that communities always hold. She has a nice easy reading prose

Overall a thoroughly enjoyable read!

What shapes us is not always our achievements but our omissions. Not lies; simply the truths we don't tell.”

Something about the way it was written kept me at a distance from the characters even if the mystery kept me interested. More so, when when it was revealed what had really happened, I couldn't help feeling disappointed.

“The thing you have to understand is that being a good person isn't about singing hymns, or praying to some mythical god. It isn't about
wearing a cross or going to church every Sunday. Being a good person is about how you treat others. A good person doesn't need a religion, because they are content within themselves that they are doing the right thing.”

This story wasn't particularly compelling to me. Or maybe I had such high expectations because I heard such good things about this book. Fun fact: I bought this thrifted, the volunteer at the till said that they read it in their book club and she said that it's good.

It's not that it's a bad book but I just didn't connect with the characters and the story much. There were a few times when I felt a bit creeped out, especially the last scene but that was it, the rest of the book was meh.

It was written well, I actually highlighted a couple of lines, considering the genre of this book, I didn't particularly think that I would do much annotating.

Oh and the plot twist, hmmm I could say I didn't see that coming but who would see that coming.

This was my first ever experience with C.J. Tudor, and it was an exceptional one. I am always looking to discover new and exciting authors who provide a novel that captures your attention by keeping you in suspense. This novel definitely hit all the right notes for me, and it kept me in it's grips up until the final page. I have a few books so far this year read a book in one sitting. This one however was one I couldn't put down.
The novel centers around a group of friends in their early adolescent years. The book jumps back and forth in each chapter from the past to the present, but both narratives are written so well that you don't find yourself losing your place during the time jumps. The main character is trying to figure out exactly what took place years ago, as the infamous chalk man has reappeared and is leaving clues to what really happened in a murder case from his childhood. I found myself guessing who did it and why the entire time and loved every minute! I hope to read more by this author soon.

I really wasn't sure what to expect with this one. I saw it on one of the choices for The Book of the Month club and after reading the synopsis I decided to give it a chance. It's fascinating to me how becoming a reader has truly broadened my horizons because in the past I would never have read much of anything that wasn't strictly romance based. And even though I still love to read epic romances and all that, I can appreciate other genres, especially if they are written well.

From the moment I opened this book, I was NOT able to put it down. Who would have thought that a book that centers around the friendship of a group of boys would be so enjoyable to read? I was on the edge of my seat the whole time and the whole plot was so unpredictable that I seriously had no idea what really happened and who did it until it was revealed to me.

To start of, the layout of this book makes for a very intriguing read that doesn't bore at all. It bounces between the main character, Eddie, as an adult and back when he was a kid, growing up with his circle of friends and how they come about to discovering a murder. I love that little bit is revealed here and there, important stuff that doesn't seem all that important at the moment but in the grand scheme of things really helps build the book up into something extraordinary. The author was really phenomenal at using small details to make the story that much more thrilling and to just help it all come alive. Honestly, I think they should make this book into a movie because that would be one awesome movie I'd love to see.

In addition, the writing style of this book was really top notch in my opinion. Not too complicated and yet not overly simplistic, the sentences flowed very smoothly and didn't take away from the very well thought out plot. Sometimes, with certain books, I find I have to re-read certain sentences in order to get the very essence of what they are trying to convey but with this book, I had to do no such thing. On the contrary, I found myself reading at a pace I am not used to reading with, all because everything was precise and well written and directly to the point.

Further more, the characters definitely left their marks on me. They came alive right before my eyes and there was something about each and every one of them that I could relate to, even though they seemingly had nothing to do with me whatsoever. It's just that all of them had little interesting insights all throughout the book and the main character, Eddie, he was really good at pondering and thinking all those very deep thoughts. You could see how mature and observant he was, even from a young age and it was also evident that the events of the book transformed him, shaped him into a very unique adult.

All in all, this book is one of a kind. If someone like me, who usually needs a good amount of romance in her books loved it this much and had a hard time putting it down, lots more will definitely enjoy it just as much. From the plot, writing style, characterization and everything else, this book is really top notch and masterfully created. I'd recommend it to anyone!

The Chalk Man centers around a small town in the U.K. that experienced a brutal crime in the 1980s. It is now 2006, and Edward Adams is a schoolteacher living in the same house in which he grew up. One day he gets a mysterious note containing a stick figure and a pice of chalk, which causes memories of his childhood and the chalk figures he drew with his friends to resurface. Who is bringing the chalk men back after all these years? Has the time finally come for the secrets of the past to be exposed?
Tudor's novel is a psychological suspense/thriller novel somewhat in the style of Gone Girl and Lianne Moriarty's books. Perspective shifts between 1986 and 2006, with bits and pieces of information revealed gradually as the story progresses. It is a fairly quick read, and enjoyable for fans of this genre.

I was so intrigued when I first started reading this book but then I found myself not really invested in the story. The writing is good, not bad for a debut author. It has a strong premise but I guess its poorly executed. I didn't really feel much about the twist because all through out, the story felt anticlimactic.

This won the Thriller Award for 2019 for Best First Novel! There are so many twists/surprises in this book I wished it would just keep going! Involves a group of 12 year olds in 1986 and then the same group in 2016. Story keeps going back and forth in the years. That's all I will tell but this is the 4th
award winning book in a row that I have read and all have been great! David N.

“The Chalk Man” is a standalone mystery thriller written by C.J. Tudor. The novel is set in two contrasting years. The first being 1986 and the second being 2016. The novel follows the same character, Eddie, in both years. Eddie tells the story of the Chalk Man (Mr. Halloran), a murderer who gave Eddie the for the chalk drawings which was a way to leave secret messages for his friends and it was fun until the chalk men led them to a body, this was in 1986. But thirty years later, an envelope slips through the letterbox. It contains a stick of chalk and a drawing of a figure. So is Mr. Halloran the real killer, or is the real one still walking free?

This novel is fast and has some ‘taboo' things happening in 1986, and all these led to a murder. The story was interesting, especially learning about the town and all its secrets. I found the main character strange and weird, especially at the end of the novel. It was a good mystery I didn't guess who the real killer was, so I gave the novel a 3/5 stars.

An interesting story about a group of friends growing up in the eighties. A few tragedies in their childhood still haunt them in their adult lives. After decades memories are stirred up and the friends start to uncover the secrets from their past.

An enjoyable read which flits from present day to the past. Lots of suspense, twists and turns along the way.

Tahun 1986. Eddie dan teman-temannya hanyalah sekumpulan remaja. Mereka menghabiskan hari-hari mereka dengan bersepeda di seputaran desa Inggris yang sepi dan mencari sumber kegembiraan yang bisa mereka dapatkan. Orang-orangan kapur menjadi kode rahasia mereka: figur-figur kecil kapur tulis yang mereka tinggalkan satu sama lain sebagai pesan rahasia.
Namun, pada suatu hari ... sebuah gambar orang-orangan kapur misterius menuntun mereka kepada sesosok mayat yang termutilasi.
Sejak saat itulah segala sesuatunya tidak sama lagi.
Tahun 2016. Eddie sudah dewasa dan berpikir dirinya telah melupakan masa lalu.
Ketika sepucuk surat datang melalui pos berisi sosok orang-orangan kapur, dan teman-temannya pun mendapat pesan yang sama, mereka mengira itu hanyalah keisengan belaka.
Ekspektasinya tidak tinggi ketika memulai novel ini, karena review di Goodreads kurang meyakinkan. Bagian awalnya memang terasa lambat. Namun ternyata ketika misterinya terbongkar di bab-bab akhir, remah-remah fakta dan informasi yang disebar penulis di sepanjang buku, terjalin semua.
Aku merekomendasikan ini untuk para penggemar thriller & misteri.

This book definitely made for a very interesting read. It has a small town setting and a complex storyline. 

Almost everyone who reads this book mentions that this takes huge inspiration from Stephen King. Particularly IT and Stand By Me, of which have only read the former. 
The writing I will say, not nearly as complex as King's writing is. Yet the setting is miraculously similar. Especially because I could see a lot of similarities with IT. A group of 12 year old children (with one redhead girl with an abusive dad), who are going around their town in their little bicycles, getting in trouble with the bullies. Also the 80s setting and a dual timeline. Very similar to IT, like I said.

The plotline changes to a completely different thing towards the end. It gets very messy, a few plot twists are dropped, and the ending felt very confusing. 
But it could make sense when you consider that probably what happened is that POTENTIALLY MAJOR SPOILER Eddie is also developing Alzheimer's like his dad and so he's getting things mixed up and forgetting things and maybe what he thinks is the ending is not the ending at all.

Overall this was a good read, if you don't mind being confused and probably not having all your questions answered. I had fun. I'll be checking out more of this author's works.