“What shapes us is not always our achievements but our omissions. Not lies; simply the truths we don’t tell.”
The eagle-eyed among you might have noticed What We Reading only came about at the backend of 2022. Because of this, it wasn’t around for when C.J. Tudor’s The Chalk Man was doing the rounds and sweeping up plaudits following its release in January 2017. And, just looking at other book reviews around for it, this was a book that had some serious hype behind it.
So, did this suspenseful thriller live up to the hype nearly five years on from hitting the shelves? Check out What We Reading’s The Chalk Man book review to find out!
Date Published: 2017
Author: C.J. Tudor
Genre: Thriller, Mystery
Pages: 280
GoodReads Rating: 3.71/5
Premise
The Chalk Man is told from the perspective of protagonist Eddie and alternates between his childhood in 1986 and the present day. Set in a quintessentially British village, the book follows Eddie and his group of three friends who, over the course of one summer, develop a secret language designed around drawing chalk stick figures.
However, sinister occurrences begin to envelop the village and its residents, leading to one fateful day where the chalk men lead the group to an especially gruesome sight.
The portions of the book set in the present day follow Eddie as he attempts to move on from the horrors of the summer. But, when one of his friends arrives at his door proclaiming to have uncovered the truth behind the stick drawings and the crime scene they led to, all manner of secrets lurking in the shadows are shown the spotlight.
What Worked
Off the bat, this is Tudor’s debut novel, but it is so hard to imagine a novel filled with so many twists and so much suspense could be crammed into a first-timer.
Tudor absolutely nails a tone across the book that flirts between humorous, whimsical and downright chilling, and the way in which she was able to keep readers guessing as to what was actually going on makes The Chalk Man a seriously riveting read. There are definite Stephen King vibes going on not only with the jumps between the past and the present, but also in the themes of adolescence, identity, and familial relationships.
The book also completely rips the brakes out when it comes to detailing the horrors that befall the setting of Anderbury village. Every bit of gore, violence, and suspense is described in such detail you can’t help but feel immersed in the terror these well-polished and believable characters are thrown into. I love it when things are so unapologetically themselves. It’s something that books like The Last and Exposure did really well if you want to check out their book reviews.
A suspenseful thriller with shades of horror and true crime, Tudor has shown herself to be an expert at gripping readers with a setting full of suspicion, intrigue, and plenty of ugly characters with plenty to hide.
What Didn’t
As mentioned above, The Chalk Man is a bit of a slow-burner when it comes to spilling the beans. For large sways of the book, there are a lot of ominous cliffhanger statements used to ramp up the tension, but it wasn’t until about three-quarters in that I felt reasonably confident in taking a guess at what was going on.
That in no way takes away from this being a dark and atmospheric coming-of-age tale in the meantime, however.
What might prove to be a deal-breaker for some readers are the characters. Whilst all of the characters introduced in the game book feel incredibly fleshed out, almost all of them are written in a way most readers will find a good number of them borderline repulsive. This is done intentionally of course, but there really aren’t too many heroes to rally behind.
Even Eddie, the protagonist of the piece, veers a little too close to the ‘so snarky and dry it’s just unimaginable picturing someone this rude in life’ for us.
Verdict
Seldom few books have managed to grip me in the way The Chalk Man did. The way in which C.J. Tudor is able to so easily sprinkle in little revelations alongside some moments of genuine terror is a real piece of skill, and it serves to make this one of the most absorbing reads any thriller book fan could hope to pick up.
Nostalgic, quirky, shocking, and chilling – the book nails so many different feelings, all of which stay with a reader even when it isn’t in their hands. Don’t be surprised to see The Chalk Man adapted for the big/small screen in the future as there is more than enough to play with!
My first introduction to Tudor’s writing, and we are absolutely certain it won’t be the last!
Our Rating: 5/5
Want more C.J. Tudor? Check out our The Burning Girls book review!
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
