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The Chalk Man A Novel C J Tudor Books

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The Chalk Man A Novel C J Tudor Books

This is a spoiler-free review of "The Chalk Man."

Although C.J Tudor's "The Chalk Man" is set in an English village, the novel isn't an old-fashioned cozy-style mystery. Instead, Tudor treats us to a very contemporary psychologically-driven suspense novel featuring a Generation X perspective, some graphic content, and a few nightmares that momentarily seem to nudge the novel into supernatural territory. There are some very disturbing scenes and surprises buried within. Indeed, if this were a film, it would definitely be rated "R."

The strong characterizations help make this novel work. While the story seems to have been inspired by Stephen King's "Stand By Me," the characterizations of the lead characters are vivid and all contain a British sensibility about them. As the novel skips back and forth between 1986 and 2016, there are multiple opportunities to compare these characters' childhood personalities to their somewhat somber and melancholy adult attitudes. All the lead characters nurse a sense of regret about their actions in their younger days, and this colors much of the "2016" storyline.

Tudor also knows where and when to emphasize atmosphere and sociological details. The "1986" portions of the novel, thankfully, do not reek of Eighties nostalgia, and the "2016" portions often use a backdrop of dementia and being an adult caregiver to great effect. While there is a subplot involving the media exploitation of tragedies, Tudor wisely avoids turning this subplot into a distracting media satire.

It's worth your while to check this out.


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The Chalk Man A Novel C J Tudor Books Reviews

Be careful of getting sucked in because of the hype. I guess the book started out okay but it just never ever clicked for me. The endless dialogue, the constant moving back and forth in time, the immature view of the world and the lack of any solid, convincing or sympathetic character to ground the story made for a pretty boring read. Could not wait for it to end.
Some red herrings in a book are great, they keep the book interesting. So are twists and turns. Amd flashing back and forthe between the past and the future to keep the reader guessing. If they go anywhere. If they aren’t excessive. This book just tried way too hard to keep the reader guessing. Leading me, at least, to lose interest and eventually finish the book feeling let down.
The Chalk Man was one of those novels that started popping up everywhere I looked. It was on Pinterest, Facebook, my account, everywhere! People claimed it kept them up at night, that if you are only going to read one book this year (the horror of only reading one book in a year!!) it should be this one. Ooookay, consider my interest peaked. I caved in and purchased The Chalk Man.

Personally, I thought it started out slow, and remained slow. As readers, we follow Ed's story, from  when he was a twelve year old, to the present time of 2016. There was a theme in this book of digging up the past. This seems to be a common theme in books I'm reading lately. This one was laced with a bit more mature themes, sad and serious. Ed came across more than any 12-year-old boy should.

The end left me sad.... in fact, the entire book left me feeling moody and unsatisfied, which may have been the point. It was a well-written novel, and everything seemed to come to a close, but it didn't seamlessly come together. I suppose, such is the way in life. However, I wouldn't say it ever kept me up at night, and I would definitely not say if you are only going to read one book this year, make it this book.

All that being said, I did enjoy the read. The characters developed well, the story was full of twists, and I thought it was interesting to flip back to when Ed was 12 to when he was an adult, looking back at what all he was exposed to but may not have understood at that point of his life.

Read more reviews at Amy Reads It, amypauline.com
*Slams head against wall* Why, WHY am I NOT loving books that are hyped up?! I seriously expected to love The Chalk Man. It seemed right up my alley with the creepiness and the shades of Stephen King-ness. And while some of this book was good, it just did not live up to my expectations.

The Good The Chalk Man was kind of creepy and I live for creepy books. It's refreshing to see a dark mystery-thriller that does not have shades of the whole over-done Gone Girl phenomena (though I will admit that I did enjoy Girl on the Train). It veered a bit towards horror territory at times and I liked that. The Chalk Man was also an incredibly fast read and was an extreme page-turner (which is a necessity when it comes to me enjoying mysteries). The flashback childhood aspect of it was also the most intriguing part of the book.

The Eh While the childhood aspect is the best thing about The Chalk Man, I still don't think it lived up to what it was trying to do. It seemed as though it wanted to have shades of IT and Stranger Things and yet it didn't do as great of a job as it wanted to. Also, just because you have the MC admit that there are plot holes at the end, that does not automatically excuse you from having plot holes as an author. That's an author fail for me. What was up with the ghosts? They're fine in a fantasy/horror novel, but when you're trying to write a mystery-thriller with no supernatural aspects to it, you can't just stick it in there and then just never address it. I still don't get the whole Alfred and Ferdinand thing. It wasn't too clear.

In the end, I'm a fan of what The Chalk Man was trying to achieve. I can get down with the whole mystery-book-with-horror-aspects-to-it genre. It sure is better than all of those Gone Girl wannabes. However, I do feel like it could have been more well-done. There were certain aspects to this book that were slightly muddy and the middle sort of dips. This was slightly overhyped, but it still has some enjoyable aspects to it.
This is a spoiler-free review of "The Chalk Man."

Although C.J Tudor's "The Chalk Man" is set in an English village, the novel isn't an old-fashioned cozy-style mystery. Instead, Tudor treats us to a very contemporary psychologically-driven suspense novel featuring a Generation X perspective, some graphic content, and a few nightmares that momentarily seem to nudge the novel into supernatural territory. There are some very disturbing scenes and surprises buried within. Indeed, if this were a film, it would definitely be rated "R."

The strong characterizations help make this novel work. While the story seems to have been inspired by Stephen King's "Stand By Me," the characterizations of the lead characters are vivid and all contain a British sensibility about them. As the novel skips back and forth between 1986 and 2016, there are multiple opportunities to compare these characters' childhood personalities to their somewhat somber and melancholy adult attitudes. All the lead characters nurse a sense of regret about their actions in their younger days, and this colors much of the "2016" storyline.

Tudor also knows where and when to emphasize atmosphere and sociological details. The "1986" portions of the novel, thankfully, do not reek of Eighties nostalgia, and the "2016" portions often use a backdrop of dementia and being an adult caregiver to great effect. While there is a subplot involving the media exploitation of tragedies, Tudor wisely avoids turning this subplot into a distracting media satire.

It's worth your while to check this out.