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Title details for The Chalk Man by C. J. Tudor - Available

The Chalk Man

A Novel

by C. J. Tudor
Euan Morton
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
“Want to read something good?. . . If you like my stuff, you’ll like this.”—Stephen King • WINNER OF THE ITW THRILLER AWARD • WINNER OF THE STRAND MAGAZINE AWARD FOR BEST DEBUT NOVEL

A riveting psychological suspense debut that weaves a mystery about a childhood game gone dangerously awry, and will keep readers guessing right up to the shocking ending

In 1986, Eddie and his friends are on the verge of adolescence, spending their days biking in search of adventure. The chalk men are their secret code, stick figures they draw for one another as hidden messages. But one morning the friends find a chalk man leading them to the woods. They follow the message, only to find the dead body of a teenage girl.
 
In 2016, Eddie is nursing a drinking problem and trying to forget his past, until one day he gets a letter containing a chalk man—the same one he and his friends saw when they found the body. Soon he learns that all his old friends received the same note. When one of them is killed, Eddie realizes that saving himself means figuring out what happened all those years ago. But digging into the past proves more dangerous than he could have known. Because in this town, everyone has secrets, no one is innocent, and some will do anything to bury the truth.
Praise for The Chalk Man
“Wonderfully creepy—like a cold blade on the back of your neck.”—Lee Child
“An assured debut that alternates between 1986 and 2016 with unpredictable twists. The Chalk Man fits well with other stories about troubled childhoods such as Stephen King’s novella Stand by Me. . . . Tudor never misses a beat in showing each character as both a child and an adult while also exploring the foreboding environs of a small town.”—Associated Press
“Utterly hypnotic. The Chalk Man is a dream novel, a book of nightmares: haunted and haunting, shot through with shadow and light—a story to quicken the pulse and freeze the blood. A dark star is born.”—A.J. Finn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window

“If you can’t get enough of psychological thrillers with sharp twists and turns, you need to read The Chalk Man”—Hello Giggles
 
“I haven’t had a sleepless night due to a book for a long time. The Chalk Man changed that.”—Fiona Barton, New York Times bestselling author of The Widow

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    January 9, 2018

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780525526414
      • File size: 283427 KB
      • Duration: 09:50:28

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      March 26, 2018
      Scottish theater actor Morton performs a dramatic rendition of Tudor’s debut novel, a psychological thriller focusing on five 12-year-olds who experience a series of life-altering events in an English village in 1986. The preteen quintet includes Eddie, the thoughtful narrator; boisterous Gav; soft-spoken introvert Hoppo; raspy-voiced, annoying Mickey; and Nicky, the tomboy daughter of the town’s vicar. The book shifts from the preteen memories to Eddie’s unsettled life in 2016, in which he is still haunted by the series of horrific accidents and unsolved murders he and his friends witnessed 30 years earlier. Reader Morton adds depth to each of the characters in his reading for the audio edition. His Eddie has a melancholy personality that lingers from childhood into his 40s. There’s a touch of menace in the latter-day Mickey, while Gav’s brashness is diminished in adulthood. Tudor’s novel is more character study than psychological thriller, and Morton’s fully realized character voices help convey that. A Crown hardcover.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Euan Morton deftly narrates this psychological thriller as it shifts back and forth in time. In an English tourist town in the 1980s, tween Eddie and his friends create a game involving writing secret signs in chalk. They find themselves on the periphery of increasingly violent incidents until their game leads them to a body. Morton portrays young Eddie with soft vulnerability and a measured cadence; in contrast, his adult Eddie carries the weight of years in a hardened, sardonic voice as an old friend stirs up the past. Morton's skill lets the listener know where the story is at all times. His performance grounds the disjointed plot and captures the pathos of Eddie's search for answers in his murky past. S.T.C. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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