I read this book in a few hours, I was hooked from page 1. This story has intrigue, betrayal, murder, friendship, families and much more. I loved the way this was written in the present and the past. I found I was so engrossed reading, I jumped when the telephone rang, my family had to call me more than once for my attention and the doorbell caused me many palpitations. Childhood gives us all many experiences and memories, the main characters in this felt so real, it was interesting to see how they had grown up too. I could tell you about the plot of this book, but you will have read that, this is going to be a favourite for 2018, add it to your list. Five stars from me, thoroughly enjoyable.

The Chalk Man has been one of the most talked about books in the last few months. Everyone was reading it and writing about it. Some raved about it, others were a bit disappointed. It seems to be quite a polemic book, but still, I couldn't wait to dive into it because of the comparisons to IT, Stranger Things and Stand By Me (I'm a big fan of those three). So I finally sat down one morning and read it from beginning to end.

The Chalk Man was a truly addictive read for me. I didn't think about anything else while I got to know about the kids and the chalk figures: I read it compulsively, trying to guess what had happened all those years ago. I liked the atmosphere, the 80s flashbacks and wanted to know what was going on in the present, too. I didn't love the characters that much, but that was okay because I was really enjoying the story. Sometimes that happens.

However, when I got to the ending, I realized I didn't feel as satisfied as I had hoped. I liked the book enough and thought it was well-written, it had great ideas and enjoyed some aspects that I can't really say now because of spoilers. But the main mystery ended up being a major disappointment. I can't really say much except that I usually love this kind of "tragic endings" but I didn't care much about this one.

I liked CJ Tudor's writing and the way she kept me guessing until the very end. It's obvious that she loves the 80s and all that "retro nostalgia", and I really appreciate that. This was a great debut novel, but I think the mystery lacked a bit of that "memorable" feeling I look for when reading this type of books. Also, Nicky's character was kind of underused and I wanted to know more about her (despite her obvious similarities to IT's Beverly).

Overall, I enjoyed The Chalk Man and would recommend it if you enjoy mysteries and coming of age stories. At the same time, I can't really say it I will remember it forever.

n paper this book should be right up my street; a murder, a dual timeline, a group of childhood friends who are running from the past and a big old mystery but for some reason it fell short. I did enjoy it (I read it in a day), but there was something missing. I know that The Chalk Man is being tipped as one of the thriller books of 2018 and I do think it will do well but for some reason I just couldn't connect with it.

C.J. Tudor has created a novel that has a great premise, a group of young friends find a dismembered body in the woods. They have spent a summer communicating with one another via chalk men symbols leaving messages for each other outside their houses using code and these childhood games come back to haunt them when they each receive a note with a chalk man in a noose and secrets from that summer in 1986 threaten to be revealed.

Let me be clear, it is very well written - there is heaps of tension, clues, red herrings and suspense. I enjoyed the dual timelines of 1986 and 2016, the descriptions of the friendship dynamic between Eddie and his gang, the underlying darkness and ominous threat. There were some wonderful twists and turns, in fact some ingenious ones that had me reeling and I was annoyed at myself for not putting 2 and 2 together.

This book tackles a number of issues and subjects - many of which I won't mention as they'll give away massive plot points - which is very brave. They are also sensitively handled and, because we see these things through Eddie as a young, quite naive child, they are even more horrific and difficult to stomach because they are hinted at. We never quite know if we have misunderstood or misread and this is a brilliant method of writing which I enjoyed as I liked to be challenged when reading.

I also found that the dual timeline was wonderfully written and I enjoyed seeing the contrast between the children and the adults they grew up to be. There is some great characterisation with some wonderful and astute observations about being a child and what is important to a young boy.

Despite not connecting with this book, I would recommend it - it is a well-written and well-plotted novel with real elements of surprise and suspense.

A remarkable book that is gripping and enjoyable in equal measure. A delight to read, it speaks with the voice of a 12 year old boy and his older self some 30 years later.
A story of the last days of youth, one last great hurrah for a gang of friends on the cusp of becoming teenagers whose long summer holidays would never be the same again. Into that mix of hormones and the advent of puberty the group of mates are confronted with accidents and death.
The story flows seamlessly between 1986 and 2016 and is narrated by Eddie one of the gang who has never left the community or his family home, taking in lodgers and teaching at his old school.
The days when school holidays were long and kids rode round on their bikes making dens in the woods and finding secret codes to mark them out as special. It resonants with anyone who has played in the local grove or on a recreation ground. The idea of the travelling fair, bright lights, strangers in town scary rides and smells of hot dog onions. Reading these sections I was transported many years and could feel the cling of candy floss on my face and hear the crunch of a toffee apple.
The key to these days of our youth is often our lack of interruption or conflict; fewer worries and simple friendships. A darker notion is introduced by the author by the ability to look back, see cause and effect and with adult eyes realise that all wasn’t as it once appeared.
We sense Eddie is faithfully recounting the past but still has secrets, has a desire to understand more but reluctant to share everything for fear of being judged. At the time he was perhaps well meaning but adults and the police would not appreciate his involvement or tendency to collect things.
So the truth of Eddie’s engrossing story remains a mystery as more twists and outcomes are revealed in his present. We sense he is perhaps with his group of friends more like participants than observers and perhaps their own use of chalk leaves them even thirty years later in danger from The Chalk Man.
Reality is turned on it’s head as a once idyllic past is threatened by one of the gang returning to his community seeking Ed’s help to research a book to finally reveal the ultimate truth of those events in 1986.
I loved the premise of the book, the many chords it strikes with growing up and how some kids never change while others can move on. It is scary and dark in places beautifully balanced between reveal and facts still unclear. It is a story that engages you as it is filled with characters you identify with and want to learn more about. It never chooses a common path in its expansion as a story the innovation of plot and denouncement hold the reader’s attention to the end.
All is tied up and the wonderful author still has time to throw a hand grenade into the text at the end.
A literary tour de force and one of my best reads of 2017 which is likely to please and thrill many into 2018. A book not just to marvel at its reviews but to read for yourself and remember ones own youth.

Wow, where do you start to describe this book without giving too much away, I loved it, I thought it was so original and very different to anything I have read recently. I liked the contrast between the past and the present and found myself totally captivated by the stories in both times .I also found the narrator to be interesting he certainly had some quirks and was an unlikely hero but he was likable.I am trying desperately not to say too much and I certainly don't want to spoil it for other readers, I will say that there are some rather nasty graphic scenes, but not too many and they are integral to the book.I did actually question what genre the book was at times I thought it crossed the line into horror which made it all the more interesting and kept me on my toes.I read this book as fast as I could because I couldn't put it down , not literally but I kept thinking about it when I wasn't reading it and wanting to pick it up again .I raved about it so much that my partner is just about to start reading it and has bumped it up their reading list to do this, I don't think they or any other reader will be disappointed.I thought it was terrific and can't recommend it enough.Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for an ARC.

It's 1986 and Eddie and his group of friends (Hoppo, Fat Gav, Metal Mickey and Nicky) are doing the sort of things that all 12-year-olds do, riding their bikes, hanging around in playgrounds, writing secret messages using chalks... Things change forever when, after following a trail of drawings depicting chalk men, they find a dismembered body in the woods.

Fast forward thirty years and the murder is still fresh in the minds of all those involved. Still living at the house he shared with his parents, Eddie is drawn back in when a face from the past reappears and he starts noticing the chalk men once again. Not quite sure whether to believe what he is seeing, another death spurs him into trying to discover exactly what happened all those years ago.

There has been so much online buzz about this book and it even got a mention in a recent talk by the Fun Lovin' Crime Writers so I thought it was about time I saw for myself what all the fuss was about. Am I so glad I did! The book grabbed me from the very first page and I found it very difficult to put down. I particularly liked the chapters set in 1986 as it evoked numerous childhood memories. I am thankful that my childhood was much less eventful than the children in this story however!

The Chalk Man is told from the perspective of Eddie and we get to see how events in 1986 have shaped both his future and that of all those involved. That year is certainly a memorable one for the children as, in addition to them finding the body, there is a fairground accident, a pro-life campaign and a serious assault to deal with. Perhaps, though, one of the most shocking parts of the book for me was the incident between Eddie and Sean, Metal Mickey's brother. It is hard to say too much without revealing any spoilers but my heart really went out to Eddie for what he went through both during the event and also afterwards.

One of the things I enjoyed most about the book is how so many seemingly separate events all link together. This made for a very tight, well-written plot with no loose ends. I did fear that one thing had been overlooked but the closing scenes certainly put paid to that idea! Last year, social media was awash with the hashtag #WTFThatEnding with regards to the book Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough. The same hashtag could certainly apply here as I actually gasped when I realised how it was going to end! Even though it was a shock, however, it was completely true to what we'd come to know about Eddie and made perfect sense.

Even at this early stage, The Chalk Man promises to be one of the big hits of 2018 and I would not be surprised if a television or film company picks it up. As I was reading, I was reminded on several occasions of The Five, a Sky TV Drama created by Harlan Coben, and thought it amusing that he was actually name checked in the book!

It is hard to believe that this is the author's debut novel and I can't wait to see what she writes next.

With thanks to Penguin UK - Michael Joseph and Net Galley for my ARC.

I was really intrigued by the blurb for this book and I wasn’t disappointed.
The story alternates from the eighties to present day (well 2016) and you gradually learn what happened to a group of friends from school and those close to them.
In the holidays Ed comes up with the idea of communicating with his friends by drawing chalk men on their paths to indicate if they should meet in the woods or park etc. However one day the chalk men drawings take them to a body and life kind of unravels for some of them.
I really felt for the adult Ed as he seemed to continue to struggle with life and seemed to be tortured by the past more than the others.
This is a great mystery thriller.
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Books for sending me a copy to read and review.

I don’t want to give away anything about the plot of this book as it’s best to go in blind, but I would highly recommend this to everyone.

The book is split between the 80s when the characters are young and present day. The scenes from the 80s are brilliantly written and takes you right back there. The characters are fascinating and complex, even the minor ones.

Very few mystery novels actually turn out to be mysteries, but this one more than delivers. There are many twists and turns I didn’t see coming at all!

A phenomenal debut from C.J. Tudor I will DEFINITELY be on the lookout for more of their work.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book.

This story follows five 12 year old friends who enjoy riding their bikes through the woods and exchanging messages using stick figures with different coloured chalks. One day whilst playing on their bikes they happen across a message which none of them have written but leads them to a very grim discovery in the woods which will have far reaching consequences in the future.

Fast forward 30 years to 2016 and Eddie receives a letter through the post which contains a stick figure and he realises that the past has come back to haunt him, he must now find out the truth about what really happened back in 1986.

This book drew me in from the prologue, the writing is dark and compelling and keeps you guessing all the way through, with a few twists along the way.

I would like to thank Penguin UK - Michael Joseph for the approval. I will post my review on Goodreads now and on Amazon on publication day.

I thought this book was a very good debut novel. It ran the storylines both in the past and the present and was all about schoolboy friends, Fat Gav, métal Mickey, Hoppi and Eddie and their adventures through boyhood to manhood.

You forget the things you used to do as a child and how important little things are to a child, which as an adult you wouldn’t necessarily worry about, and I think the author captured this very well.

The ending is excellent and not how I thought it would end.

I

The Chalk Man is an excellent novel with numerous threads leading the reader down the wrong path. Never assume that you know how the book is going to progress because just as you guess, the author throws in a curve ball and the story changes.

There is sufficient engagement that you will not want to put the book down and there was never a momemt when you felt liberties were taken with the story.

A really engaging read with an author that should go places.

A really intriguing read, there is a mystery at the heart of the story but lots of other questions that need answering and keep you guessing throughout. The last couple of chapters were an interesting surprise!

The characters are well written, mysterious yet likable. If I had the time I could have easily read this in one sitting - a really fantastic debut book.

Thanks to NetGalley, Crown Publishing and CJ Tudor for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is an exceptionally well plotted thriller based around a couple of simple ideas, neither which I am going to mention further as I believe awareness of them will mar your enjoyment of the story. Needless to say, it is very, very clever and also got me thinking further afield once I had finished the book. Honestly, this will make sense once you've read it. One thing I will say is that there is so much going on in the book but nothing is unnecessarily added. This is definitely a book that is bigger than the sum of its parts and, parts it definitely has many of.
So we first meet Ed (Eddie) in 2016 when he starts to reminisce about his childhood and where it all began. We follow him in his friends in flashback starting from 1986. Eddie, Gav, Mickey, Hoppo and token girl Nicky are close friends. A gang even, in the old sense of the word where the worst that would happen is a bit of shoplifting and a bit of damage when building dens. Well, at least initially anyway! They have a secret code of chalk men and, one day, following them leads them to a grisly discovery. There's a whole lot that also goes on before, during and after that incident, but this is the pivotal moment that basically defines the rest of Ed's life. Back in the present, Ed thinks he has left his past behind him, working as a teacher and living, with a lodger, in his childhood home. One day though, a letter brings it all back and he realises that he hasn't quite faced all he needs to face to lay it to rest. Something that he now needs to address, and that means opening up old wounds. The childhood friends are brought together once again to exorcise the ghosts of their pasts.
This book is so much more than I can ever do justice to in a review. There is so much I want to say about it but can't for fear of spoilers. As I approached the end with all my theories and predictions, I was put firmly in my place when the truth eventually came out. And, what a truth it was. As I turned the final page, I just sat there, jaw open, quite shocked, but very satisfied. To be honest, I wanted to re-read the whole thing with the hindsight I now had just to see what difference it'd make. And I very seldom re-read books! I then went to check out the author's back catalogue and was surprised and indeed a bit disappointed when I found it empty. This is a debut book, WOW!
One of the things I really loved about the book was the wonderful trip down memory lane back to the 80s. Being a child of that era, I drank in all the wonderful memory links this book gave me, often reading with a big smile on my face when I connected with one more blast from my past. Just silly little simple things mostly, like Woollie's Pick n Mix, but they're often the best!
The way that Ed narrates the book really made me feel a part of the story. Like an actual observer rather than just a reader after the fact. He sucked me in right from the start, after the intriguing enough prologue obviously, and held me captive throughout. The shortish, punchy chapters helped, especially as they often ended on a cliffhanger meant that I was pretty powerless in my attempts to put the book down, apart from when I really had to and then I was a bit grumpy until I could pick it up again. There were so many times where the author either hinted at something or just didn't quite give all the explanation straight up, making me be patient and wait for it all to come out later. That would normally annoy me as I don't need tricks like that to keep me reading if the story is good enough but in this case, it was totally justified, especially as I progressed towards the end. It was more of a tool than a trick and completely in keeping with the story being told.
I don't like comparing authors but I was constantly reminded of Stephen King as I was reading this book. Some parallels are more obvious than others, but I'm really talking about the atmosphere and creepiness of the whole thing; the way the author got into my head, it's hard to explain in words.
Characterisation was, quite simply, brilliant. I totally believed in the kids in the 80s; what they did, what they said, how they interacted with each other and the adults. Similarly, in the present day, I felt that the characters that were repeated had grown up and developed congruently with what had gone before. I am not usually a very visual reader but I could actually visualise the characters playing their parts, often quite clearly. I think the film option for this book will not be long in being snapped up!
Anyway, I could bang on about this book for ever, it's THAT good, but my ever growing TBR beckons. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

As Debuts go they don't get as good as this one,tense,edgy,keeps you guessing all the way through,Deep and well thought out characters,Can't wait for further instalments,Superb book one of the best I've read this year which is a high accolade as I've been reading the greats,Chris Carter,J A Kerley and Rachel Caine,Five stars is a good way to introduce yourself

Wow - what a fabulously well written book! I can't believe this is a debut novel, it's so slick and accomplished, with a way with words which makes the story slide through your mind like treacle. Move over Stephen King, there's a new kid on the block, she's English and I love her mind.
Being a child of the 80's shows in her writing.

Gliding effortlessly back and forth in time spanning an era of 30 years we follow the life of Eddie and his little gang of mates, fat Gav, Metal Mickey, Hoppo and Nicky when they are young adolescents and in the present time when Ed has grown into a solitary 43 year old who has been shaped by events this fateful year when he was a 13 year old. That summer of 1986 there is a lot going on, there is a terrible accident, a dismembered body, a new teacher, friendship, bullying, parents behaving unpredictably, as parents often do, and a game the lads play with a bucket of coloured chalks sending messages via chalk men to each other which is at the very heart of the terrifying tale which is The Chalk Man.

Between the fun of the fair, cycle rides through the woods and games at the playground a chilling darkness spreads its talons and scary things, that will make your skin crawl, occur. It's wonderfully terrifying, achingly nostalgic and a thoroughly, jaw-droppingly good, read, peppered with tricksy twists to make you gasp.

I had a reading slump in the latter part of 2017 but this (and the wonderful Three Things About Elsie by Joanna Cannon) have completely renewed my faith in my ability to be totally absorbed in a book, in fact, although a very different kind of story, Chalk man reminded me a lot of The Trouble with Goats and Sheep by the same Joanna Cannon, both involving kids growing up in a 1980s they made me remember growing up in, even though I was fully grown by then!

I finished the Chalk man last night and I'm still reeling with awe and admiration. If you want something to send shivers up your spine - read it! It's dark, relentless, scary and nostalgic.

The Chalk Man – C.J. Tudor
In The Chalk Man, we follow Ediie and his friends during two points in his life. His past and during the now.

In 1986, Eddie and his friends are on the verge of adolescence. They spend their days biking around their sleepy little English Village and looking for any taste of excitement they can get, as every little kid does. The chalk man are their secret code; little chalk stick figures they leave for each other as messages only they can understand. But then a mysterious chalk man leads them right to a dismembered body, and nothing will ever be the same.
In 2016, Eddie is fully grown, and thinks he’s put his past behind him. But then he gets a letter in the mail, containing a single chalk stick figure. When it turns out his other friends got the same messages, they think it could be a prank.. until one of them turns up dead. That’s when Eddie realizes that saving himself means finally figuring out what really happened all those years ago…

First of all, I want to thank Penguin or granting me a review copy! I got so excited when I saw that I could read and review this book!

So yeah, this book is actually on my anticipated reads 2018 list. Which means I’m very hyped about this book! Which also means, that most of the time, those books disappoint me. So, did this book ended up being a huge disappointment?

I loved that we had a story that was both relevant in the past and in the now. That tells you the importance of the stuff that has happened in the past, and how you need to pay attention to everything that happened when Eddie was a child, and when he is a grown-up.

The book kept me in the dark with everything until the last page, which is so amazing! Things were so mysterious and it kept me craving for more, even after the book ended!
The whole book was such a mind blowing thing! It left me on the edge my seat with my mouth wide open in disbelieve! And I am so serious about it keeping me on the edge on my seat, I literally finished the book in less than 24 hours. Because I couldn’t stop reading!
It was practically impossible to stop reading! The book was so freaking addictive!

I’ve read that this book probably will be the next global thriller sensation. But I can leave the ‘probably’ out. This book is so freaking amazing! I cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy and re-read it with the knowledge I’ve gained!
This book is so amazing, and I so recommend you this book! If you’re in to thrillers, it is a crime to not read this book!

I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars!

A wonderful, creepy, haunting storyline. It’s what the characters don’t say that’s scary. Had to stay up all night to finish it.

If like me you follow up and coming book releases with interest then you will know there is a lot of hype surrounding The Chalk Man, and I can see why, it's highly original, well written but if I'm honest although I enjoyed this book I didn't love it as much as I thought it would. Now I know this statement is going to have many fellow readers up in arms, but unfortunately and probably due to the huge amount of hype surrounding this book I expected so much from this book but it never quite hit the mark. Don't get me wrong it's well written and the author has done a remarkable job creating her characters and producing a book that was both atmospheric and creepy, but I found the pace slower than I like in a book.

Im kinda sad. I havent been this sad in a while after finishing a book. You know why? Becasue the book was just so friggin good and enjoyable I didnt want it to end!

Its hard to give a synopsis of the story without giving away some spoilers but here goes. (spoiler free)

The story is based around a group of 5 friends, told from their childhood in 1986 and present day as adults.
Our main protagonist and narrator of the book is Eddie and we also have Fat Gav, Hoppo, Metal Mickey and Nicky.

They leave secret messages for themselves with drawings of chalk men. Only they can understand who left the message and what they mean. But when they find a mysterious chalk man image and it leads them to the dismembered body of a girl in the woods.

Back to present day and Eddie thinks he has left it all behind him until he receives a chalk man in the post. He soon finds out that his other friends have also received one and when one of them turns up dead he realises that he needs to figure out what really happened all those years ago if he is to save himself and his friends.

Now that just skirts the surface of this fantastic novel. You will have to read it to find out the whole story and enjoy the time with these five characters and numerous other fantastically vivid and memorable ones - the Vicar and Mr Halloran to name two. They are already etched in my brain.

The story is set in the town of Anderbury in England but for some reason I spent most of my time picturing this story somewhere in the US. Maybe because it reminded me a lot of The Body by Stephen King with a touch of The Goonies thrown in. Hell even the vicar felt like a US preacher and Mr Halloran also felt like he belonged in a strange novel set in a small US town.

I cant begin to tell you how much I loved this book. It was just immensely readable. The story itself is really good but its more how it is told here that is the real beauty of this book. Yes, there is a mystery to it but thats not really the point of this book, or more to the point, the real enjoyment of this book. The beauty of this is in the writing, the characterisation etc. You are put into an immersive world with fantastically vivid characters popping out of the pages. I cant remember the last time I was so invested in a book and so totally immersed. I tried to slow down towards the end as I didnt want it to come to an end.

it is hard to believe that this is a debut novel. There is such an assuredness about the authors writing. You feel like your hand is held from the start and you are brought on the journey with the characters through the magic of the authors words as she steers you safely through the many crazy happenings and characters in Anderbury.

If you havent guessed already from my somewhat babbling and incoherent review, I adored this book. It is among and quite possibly my favourite read of the year. Do yourself a favour and get your hands on a copy. id be astonished if you dont find it anything short of brilliant.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Penguin UK and C.J. Tudor for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and to Penguin UK for offering me an ARC copy of this novel that I freely chose to review.
This story, told in two different time frames by Eddie Adams (known as Eddie Munster as a child, because all the friends had nicknames and somehow the Munsters and the Adams became conflated into one…), has all the elements fans of mysteries and thrillers love. Strange characters, plenty of secrets, red herrings and false clues, lies, many suspects, a slightly odd setting, bizarre murders, strange relationships… A murder involving bizarre circumstances (a chopped-up body with a missing head, strange chalk drawings…) took place in a small and picturesque UK city (it sounds small enough to be a town, but as it has a cathedral, it is a city) in 1986 (although there were other strange things that happened at the time too, coincidental or not), and became known as the Chalk-Man murder. Thirty years later someone starts asking questions and stirring things up. Eddie narrates, in the first-person, the events, including his memories of what happened when he was a teenager and also telling us what is happening now. Those of you who read my blog know I have a thing for unreliable narrators, and, well, Eddie is a pretty good one. He is an English high school teacher and seems fairly reliable and factual in his account, and he does a great job of making us feel the emotions and showing us (rather than telling us) the events; although slowly he starts revealing things about himself that make him less standard and boring, and slightly more intriguing. Eddie does not have all the information (it seems that the friends kept plenty of things from each other as children), and sometimes he is unreliable because of the effect of alcohol, and possibly his mental state (his father suffered early dementia and he is concerned that he might be going down the same path). But there are other things at play, although we don’t fully get to know them until the very end.
The story reminded me of Stephen King’s It, most of all because of the two time-frames and of the story of the children’s friendship, although the horror element is not quite as strong (but there are possible ghosts and other mysterious things at play), and the friends and their friendship is more suspect and less open. In some ways, the depiction of the friend’s relationship, and how it changes over time, is more realistic. Of course, here the story is told from Eddie’s point of view, and we share in his likes and dislikes, that are strongly coloured by the events and his personal opinions. The main characters are realistically portrayed (both from a child’s perspective and later from an adult one), complex, and none of them are totally good, or 100% likeable, but they are sympathetic and not intentionally bad or mean (apart from a couple of secondary characters but then… there is a murderer at work). Morality is ambiguous at best, and people do questionable things for reasons that seem fully justified to them at the time, or act without thinking of the consequences with tragic results. I am not sure I felt personally engaged with any of the characters (perhaps because of Eddie’s own doubts), but I liked the dubious nature of the narration, and the fact that there were so many unknowns, so many gaps, and that we follow the process of discovery up-close, although there are things the main character knows that are only revealed very late in the game (although some he seems to have buried and tried hard to forget). The parents, and secondary characters, even when only briefly mentioned, serve the purpose well, add a layer of complexity to the story and are consistent throughout the narration.
The mystery had me engaged, and the pieces fit all together well, even when some of them are not truly part of the puzzle. I can’t say I guessed what had happened, although I was suspicious of everyone and, let’s say I had good reason to be. I liked the ending, not only the resolution of the mystery but what happens to Eddie. If you read it, you’ll know what I mean.
The writing is fluid, it gives the narrator a credible voice, it gets the reader under the character’s skin, and it creates a great sense of place and an eerie atmosphere that will keep readers on alert. The story deals with serious subjects, including child abuse, bullying (and sexual abuse), dementia, and although it is not the most graphically violent story I have read, it does contain vivid descriptions of bodies and crime scenes, and it definitely not a cozy mystery and not for the squeamish reader.
A great new writer, with a very strong voice and great ability to write psychological thrillers, and one I hope to read many more novels by.