Secrets Won’t Stay Buried in C.J. Tudor’s ‘The Chalk Man’ [REVIEW]

Chalk figures begin to appear on their own, striking fear in the hearts of longtime friends with a shared secret in C.J. Tudor’s The Chalk Man. (Photo by Quinn Dombrowski, Flickr)

In 1986, a band of misfits on the cusp of adolescence made a discovery that would haunt them forever. They agreed never to speak of it again. Now it seems someone has discovered their secret and is threatening their very lives. Will these old friends be able to stop a stranger bent on revenge before they all fall victim to a killer? Find out in C.J. Tudor’s The Chalk Man. 

Crown

As children, Eddie Adams and four of his friends used chalk men as a code to avoid bullies and plan secret meetings. At least they did until the day one of those chalk figures directed Eddie into the woods where he encountered the dismembered body of a teenage girl. Not knowing what to do, the friends do nothing at all.

Some 30 years later, someone mails each of the friends a picture of a stick figure with a noose around its neck. When a member of the old gang winds up dead, Eddie must now face the horrific past for the first time in his life and figure out what happened all those years ago before the body count climbs any higher.

This is C.J. Tudor’s first book, and she does a terrific job crawling into the minds of early teenage children. She has a knack for capturing a youth’s perspective on the various scenarios they encounter and the way they mull over the dilemmas they face. This all lent verisimilitude to the story and kept me turning the pages, eager to know more about the characters presented here.

I also enjoy how the author uses certain places and events we can all relate to in order to draw us further into the action. Whether she was writing about going to the fair, riding bikes with friends, or buying candy at a corner store, these moments are reminiscent of fond memories from our own childhood, and we find ourselves irrisistibly drawn to the characters she presents.

Tudor’s The Chalk Man is a compelling and unique modern mystery which kept me on the edge of my seat. If you like your whodunnits fast paced, gripping, and thoroughly entertaining, you won’t want to miss this novel. C.J. Tudor is a fresh voice in the genre, and one we will definitely look forward to hearing more from in the future.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

C.J. Tudor
(Photo by Bill Waters)

C.J. Tudor lives in Nottingham, England, with her partner and three-year-old daughter. Over the years, she has worked as a copywriter, television presenter, voice-over, and dog walker.

She is now thrilled to be able to write full time, and doesn’t miss chasing wet dogs through muddy fields all that much. The Chalk Man is her first novel.

Connect with C.J. on Facebook and Twitter.

THE CHALK MAN
By C.J. Tudor
288 pgs. Crown. $27

Purchase The Chalk Man from one of these fine online retailers: Amazon, Books-A-Million, and Barnes & Noble.

The Chalk Man is brought to you in association with TLC Book Tours.