The Chalk Man popped up on my Facebook feed many times over a month or two. Stephen King actually tweeted a comment saying “If you like my stuff, you’ll like this.”

I guess marketing’s golden “rule of 7” really does work because I eventually bought it for my Kindle. The author C.J Tudor is relatively unknown, in fact, this is her first published novel.

So, full of expectations I gave it a go!

For those who grew up in the 80’s & 90’s, you’ll find this novel nostalgic. No mobile phones, not many computer games, just pure meeting-in-the-park vibes.

The novel begins in 1986, when  Eddie – the protagonist – witnesses a horrific accident at the fair.    From this tragic incident, Eddie develops a friendship with his teacher, Mr Halloran.

Eddie and his friends, Fat Gav, Hoppo, Metal Mickey and Nicky start drawing chalk men on the pavement outside each other’s houses in a code that only they understand. It is these drawings that eventually lead the gang to an unexpected discovery.

When the novel picks up again in 2016, it reminded me so much of the structure of IT by Stephen King but without the depth. Of course, IT  is over 1,000 pages so that’s not a negative comment.   I really enjoyed that The Chalk Man has so many sub-plots running throughout the novel which all tie up nicely at the end.

After the excellent beginning (the incident at the fair is all I’ll tell you) it took about 100ish pages for something else to happen. Although this was a little frustrating, I kind of liked that the gang were just riding around on their bikes and wasting time at the local park.

That’s exactly what I was doing in the 1980’s!

Overall, a good psychological thriller that deals with tragedy, friendship, childhood, betrayal,  and secrets.

Roll on the next one from CJ Tudor.

Click here to buy The Chalk Man

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