Copy furnished by Net Galley for the price of a review.

A simple box of colored chalk. The magic contained inside is limited only by the range of imagination of the one using it. In Old Meadows Park, there is an empty playground which appears strangely dark even in the bright sunshine. It's all fun and games until the body of a young girl is found in the nearby woods.

Eddie, Mickey, Hoppo, and Gavin are 12 years old in the summer of 1986 and they are about to start learning some of the facts of life. For one thing, don't assume (we all know why). For another, there is not much you can do about crazy. It comes out the winner every time.

<spoiler>I got a kick out of a conversation between two of the characters while they were standing in a cemetery. They were discussing "plot holes" even as a coffin was being lowered into an empty one behind them. Ironically, this was not the type of plot hole under discussion. There is some sly humor going on there. Fantastic!</spoiler>

I am.predicting this novel will go on to be made into a movie. It is cinematic, with characters, actions and settings that are desperate to be played out on a screen. I'm not usually a fan of stories told in alternating timelines, but this one works. The author does a fantastic job if telling you just enough in each narrative to move naturally.
The opening scene isn't the grabber the rest of the novel becomes. In fact, this was a book I abandoned for others. But once I got a few chapters in, I was intrigued. Honestly, I did figure out who the killer was fairly early on, which was disappointing, and a few.of the shocks weren't as shocking as probably intended. The closing scene, however, did its job thoroughly. No.spoilers, but the twist really was one I never saw coming.

This was a decent thriller. It's a good summer read, and I would recommend it to fans of Stephen King. Based on the reviews, I expected to absolutely love this, but I guess this just wasn't up my alley exactly. It's a quick, entertaining read, full of twists and turns but it didn't re-invent the genre for me.

"People are strange........" crooned in the deep, haunting voice of Jim Morrison of The Doors.

Oh, that's only the tip on the piece of chalk that leaves irreverent drawings along the way. Quickly sketched ramblings with elusive meanings.

The pages flit back and forth in time from that serrated summer of 1986 in Anderbury. Eddie Adams and his friends are in their twelfth summer of wild boyhood and feel the excitement of good-looking girls and the fast carnival rides that hold promise at the town fair. That's when the worst of the worst actually happens.

An unimaginable accident occurs when part of a fast-moving ride breaks loose and careens into seventeen year old Elisa. Eddie had just been admiring the young beautiful girl when the mayhem broke out. Mr. Halloran, just newly hired by the school system, grabs Eddie and the two of them try to stop the bleeding of Elisa's nearly amputated leg with Halloran's belt. Eddie turns away when he realizes what the impact did to Elisa's once lovely face.

C. J. Tudor creates a boyhood atmosphere here liken to the strength of the comaraderie in Stand By Me and The Goonies. Eddie, Fat Gav, Hoppo, Metal Mickey, and Nicky are as thick as thieves that summer. They will forever be changed by what happened at the fair in those climactic moments. Tudor presents her adult characters through the limited lense of twelve year old boys. The adults' driftings and meanderings throughout the story will leave questionable trail marks in addition to the iffy honesty and the strange intentions of the boys themselves.

The discovery of a body in the woods during this same summer will certainly shake the leaves off many a tree. From 1986 to 2016 Eddie's voice will lay the groundwork for a very intense storyline filled with the reverberations of childhood slamming head-long into the chunks and pieces of their eventually unstable adult lives.

"I need to grasp it quickly before it scuttles away again like the hideous head spider from my dream." Have mercy! C.J. Tudor has an exceptional style with tasty words and phrases placed adeptly throughout this book. Her descriptives are rich in hue and that uneasy tone creaks along with uncanny results. Tudor gets into her characters' heads and seems to know just when to blink and just when to stare.

The ending left me a bit unsettled. So much was unraveling at such a fast pace. It was the lifting of the masks with results that sizzled and burned. It stirred up the cauldron in ways that brought new thoughts to the surface and old thoughts submerged. And the door was left opened just a crack.........

I received a copy of The Chalk Man through NetGalley for an honest review. Many thanks to Crown Publishing and To C.J. Tudor for the opportunity. I'm definitely keeping my eyes open for the next one from this highly talented author.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read the Chalk Men. This story line goes back and forth in time with the central character who is 42 years old. He tells the story of when he was 12 years old and witnesses a terrible accident of a young girl. This incidnent is engrained in his memory and marks a turning point as a young man.
At first I thought this was a supernatural plot, but as the story unravels the reader sees the young man struggles with the past and how decisions ,made in the past impact many things including murder and deceit that are happening in his current life.
There are alot of characters and I found some of that confusing and not critical to the story line. But overall this is a good book. 3 stars.

"The Chalk Man" is one of the most intriguing and compelling novels I've read this year.
The story is told from the perspective of a man named Eddie, about the chilling events that occurred when he and his friends were 12 years old and the related events that are happening 30 years later. Eddie and his friends were typical kids, looking for adventures, horsing around, teasing and testing their parents' limits. And then there was the bullying. And murder. And other deaths. And how does what happened when you were 12 somehow affect your life and relationships when you are 42? And why does everything seem to tie together, but you just can't put your finger on how?
I loved the twists and creepy surprises in this book and thinking I had figured it out, and then knowing that I hadn't, and then thinking again that maybe I had, and then KNOWING that I hadn't.. A page turner from start to finish! I highly recommend this book and I thank NetGalley and Crown Publishing for the opportunity to read an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Chalk Man is a mystery/suspense book told in two times. We learn what took place in 1986 to five friends which changed their lives forever and we get to know them 30 years later, in 2016. The story is told by one of the Ed who is a teacher and drinks a bit too much too often. There are many twists in this book which keeps the reader guessing until the secrets become revealed. 1986 was a hard year for the English village of Anderbury. Not everyone is who or what they seem to be. There are a lot of secrets that stay secret until 2016. The five friends invent the Chalk Men to let each other to know where they should meet up. It is an innocent private code that keeps turning up at the scene of disturbing events. Who is drawing the chalk men in 1986 and again in 2016? This book is a very fast read which keeps the reader turning pages to find out who did it. There are numerous who did it events, so this book is quite hard to put down. I will say there is at least one thing I am still confused about, but perhaps that was my incorrect interpretation of the book and it does not ruin the story line at all. This is a 4.5 star book rounded to 5 which has me wanting to read more from C. J. Tudor.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/new/35356382-the-chalk-man

I really enjoyed this book. Tudor takes a rather worn-out premise (murder in a small British village) and breathes new life into it. The narrator, Eddie, is a delightfully troubled character, and I was genuinely surprised by the twists and turns the plot takes at the end.

Eddie and four of his friends were 12 years old that summer. It was quite an exciting time for them all. It was the summer Eddie and Mr. Haloran, a teacher, saved a girl's life. Eddie and his friends found a dead body. One of them loses a brother. One of them loses a dog. One of them was abused by the reverend.

It was a summer that would seem to last a lifetime.

Slightly reminiscent of Stand By Me, this story is told in the present and bounces back and forth to 30 years ago. Four boys and a girl who started a summer in innocence and ended with something else.

Some things last forever ... the mystery of the dead girl, the death of Mr. Haloran, who taught Eddie about The Chalk Man. What really happened that summer? And how does that affect these childhood friends now they are adults?

This is story-telling at its very best, well written, with characters the reader won't soon forget. It has everything, the purity of childhood, a look at life from a child's wondering mind... the angst of growing up and away... the losses that can never be replaced ... the trust that may have been misplaced along the way. The conclusion is astounding, a surprise I never saw coming.

Makes me want to go back and read it again.

Many thanks to the author / Crown Publishing / Netgalley for the advanced digital copy of THE CHALK MAN. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own. Book will be available 1/9/18.

Anderbury in Southern England was a small picturesque town with cobbled streets. Its accessibility to beaches and forest life created seasonal festivities. How awesome to be allowed at age twelve to go to the fair without a parental unit, thought Eddie Adams. Eddie's fun ended when he witnessed an horrific accident. A carriage on the Waltzer ride uncoupled, whether through overuse or lack of maintenance. The impact disfigured a beautiful girl. Normalcy never returned to the lives of Eddie and his gang of four friends.

Eddie had a chaotic home life living with a mum who was a doctor in an abortion clinic and a dad, a writer who worked from home. Eddie was a collector, occasionally stealing small items to add to his stash. His collection was hidden from view which gave him a feeling of control. Fat Gav was the loud, obnoxious, heart-of-gold, son of a pub owner. Metal Mickey was so called because he wore braces on his teeth, He seemed to have a cold, ugly demeanor. Hoppo was easy going but was not the brightest bulb in the room. Rounding out the group was one girl, Nicky, the red haired, freckle faced, cursing and swearing daughter of the town vicar. When the Waltzer Carriage accident occurred, Eddie was supported and befriended by Mr. Halloran, a new teacher in Anderbury. Mr. Halloran was a very tall, very pale, albino man.

Fat Gav was the last group member to turn twelve. His parents created a "happening", a birthday bash with invitations extended to both children and adults. Eddie noticed that one wrapped present had escaped notice and brought it to Gav's attention. Gav unwrapped a large tub of chalk. Mr. Halloran told of his childhood use of chalk to render secret symbols that only he and his friends understood. A fun code could be created by Eddie and Co. Each friend would have a different color chalk to use to leave messages for the others. These stick figure messages, if manipulated, could lead to mystery and murder.

"The Chalk Man" is a debut novel written by C.J.Tudor. I can't say enough about how much I enjoyed the fleshed out characters created. There was humor, mystery, blood and gore. A fast paced read that hooked me from the get-go. The twists and turns spiraled to a surprise ending! I anxiously await C.J. Tudor's sophomore tome.

Thank you Crown Publishing and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review "The Chalk Man".

5 HUGE STARS!!! What a fantastic psychological thriller!!! The storyline was completely original and the writing was nothing short of brilliant! I LOVE a novel that truly has me guessing until the end, I honestly had NO CLUE what the outcome would be!! This novel is perfectly paced and once I started reading, I didn't put my kindle down for an entire day until I finished--unputdownable. The well-timed twists and turns had my jaw dropping constantly and now that I finished I'm in awe of the magnificent tangled web C.J. Tudor spun for us. I was shocked to learn The Chalk Man is C.L. Tudor's first novel, she writes like a seasoned pro!! The Chalk Man is 2018 favorite for me and I think it's must, must, must read for EVERYONE!! Winter is the best time to cozy up with a great book and The Chalk Man needs be on the top of your reading list!!

Please see review at
http://cayocosta72.wordpress.com