The Chalk Man

Thrillers tend to work for me immediately or not, and in this case I found myself easily engaged.

There are multiple reveals at the end that I wish had started to drop a little earlier, and there are a few too many convenient things to feel plausible. But overall I like where the mystery ended up, especially the very last bit.

The narrator is not very likable - he has some sexist commentary that /he/ even feels bad about sometimes. Given that the author is a woman, and given how the story plays out, I think this is intentional, but it is icky to read. Even so, while I often find a male loser protagonist too frustrating to keep reading, this one worked for me.

I enjoyed the kids as friends and all the flashback stories. It felt believable and well fleshed out. Small town drama and secrets are definitely something I enjoy in thriller/mystery.

This is not what I expected but in a good way. There is simply no way to re-invent the wheel of the thriller genre and this author, refreshingly, does not try it, for example by sacrificing characters and plots just for cheap twists. Instead she takes known plot devices and combines them to something new. So there is a little bit [b:The Body|11574|The Body|Stephen King|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328182521i/11574.SY75.jpg|2334601] , there is a bit [b:The Church of Dead Girls|215605|The Church of Dead Girls|Stephen Dobyns|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1392984185i/215605.SY75.jpg|1316738], there is mystery and a touch of horror and an unreliable yet never annoyingly deceptive narrator. Very satisfying when all loose threads come together in the end and worth a re-read later.

The audiobook is a delightful hearing experience because Andrew Scott (I knew him as Moriarty from Sherlock Holmes) reads the 2016 parts in such a very natural way of speaking I have not yet experienced in this quality. (A little too good sometimes: when you turn up your device to understand the lower, muttered parts you get a shock when he suddenly gets louder.)

I came in wanting to be creeped out, but I wasn't. Barely a thriller.

This is a debut novel by C.J. Tudor, and the bones are there. Tragedies in the past with multiple deaths. A group of young friends and mysterious happenings that are not solved at the time but everyone moves on, as life does. Here's my issue. There is too much happening. We have a doctor under fire in the community. We have a hot headed reverend who has his own secrets. We have an albino teacher who makes questionable decisions. We have schoolyard bullies. We have a group of friends who don't seem to really like each other. We have a seemingly unreliable narrator. And lots of flash forwards and jumps to the past. This book is disjointed and tries to do too much. At the end you can see the threads but they end up in a knot instead of smoothly tying it all in a bow. Plus I really couldn't stand the MC, and that's a deal breaker for me.

But please, read this anyway. I'm giving it 3 stars and I would like to talk about it with you. Change my mind, because I wanted to love it but just ended up liking it a bit instead.

I nearly passed up the chance to read this book. With it's simple unassuming cover, written by an author I had never heard of... I nearly passed it by without a second glance. Especially as it claimed to be "The Must Read" of 2018. So many make that claim. Too many make that claim. I nearly passed it by. What a loss that would have been. What a flaming pile of Buckaroo indeed that would have been on my part to miss out on reading this novel. I just this minute finished it. I'm still stunned. Pardon me if it shows. I began this book a day or so before Thanksgiving. I kicked myself over that repeatedly. So much to do and so little time to read. It took me more than a week to finish it. I thought about it day and night when I wasn't reading. All through the holiday preparations I could not wait to get back to this book. Looking at that claim now "The must read thriller" I am nodding my head in approval. I'm applauding. Heck I'm cheering out loud. This was an incredible read. 5 out of 5 stars from me, and if I could I'd give it 10.

I received an advance copy for review.