The Chalk Man - C.J Tudor

Kindle Edition Publisher: Penguin Published: 11/01/18 Pages: 352 Amazon Uk Link: Here GoodReads Link: Here Given for an honest review via Netgalley

The Blurb

Looking back, it all started on the day of the fair and the terrible accident. When twelve-year-old Eddie first met the Chalk Man.

It was the Chalk Man who gave Eddie the idea for the drawings: a way to leave secret messages between his group of friends.

And it was fun, to start with, until the figures led them to the body of a young girl.

That was thirty years ago and Ed thought the past was behind him. Then he receives a letter containing just two things: a piece of chalk, and a drawing of a stick figure. As history begins to repeat itself, Ed realises the game was never over . . .

Everyone has secrets.

Everyone is guilty of something.

And children are not always so innocent.

My Thoughts

With storytelling this good its hard to believe that this is a debut Novel. This book is being touted as one of the must read books of 2018 and I normally dont buy that kind of hype but sometimes the publicists are right. This book could and should be a big one.

Some reviews are comparing it to Stand By Me crossed with The Goonies but I dont think thats fair, it has its own place and deserves it.
Told between 1986 and 2016 we get to be part of the lifes of Eddie, Fat Gav, Hoppo, Metal Mickey, and Nicky for the summer of 1986 and the consequences of that summer 30 years later.

The writing has everything you could want from a story, characterisations, Plot and outcome all faultlessly brilliant. It left me yearning for those childhood summer days of adventure but with out the ending.

Highly recommended.