3.5 stars
I enjoyed this book - to a point. The Tall Man is well-written but slightly disappointing, it is not scary which I anticipated it to be and was a bit slow paced. I didn’t mind the story, but the synopsis had me ready for something so much more exciting and sinister. It kept me interested for the most part, but I wasn’t enthralled.

Thank you!

I have absolutely no doubt that The Tall Man is set to become one of this summer's sure-fire hits. I loved everything about it and shall be recommending it to absolutely everyone!

The story centres upon the Banner family. 16 years earlier mum Sadie abandoned her young family, leaving husband Miles to raise baby Amber alone. But now she's returned; fearful for her daughter's life. Sadie is being pursued by a supernatural entity known as The Tall Man and is terrified he's coming for Amber.

WOW, I thought this was an awesome book! It's hauntingly dark; dripping with tension and uneasiness. The reader is unsure how much is real and how much is the product of an unbalanced mind. It's loaded with dread and apprehension from start to finish. I guarantee you wont be able to put it down until you've devoured the lot!

Set in the present day but cleverly using flashbacks to earlier events, the reader is shown how Sadie's life becomes entangled with the legend of The Tall Man and of the terrible consequences heaped upon her.

I thought it was excellent and well-deserving of a top placing in its genre. I'm grateful to have been given the opportunity to read it.

I had high expectations for this novel expecting a really creepy read that sucked me in. Sadly this didn’t happen it was a slow read where I found my mind wandering at a tangent. Sorry not one for me.

A good story. Creepy and riveting in places. However it is hard to follow and confusing in places as well. I would have given this book 4 stars if it had been structured better.

Wow this book kept me up most of the night. Original, full of suspense and creepy. Everything you need for a thrilling edge of your seat style read!

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. What a thoroughly addictive read with a great storyline and can be quite creepy in places. Recommend

I found the idea of this book really appealing. The Tall Man is somewhere between a myth, a legend and fantasy - a story to scare children with maybe - or is it? "He killed his own daughter because she didn't do what he wanted". "He can make you special". The scene is set in two eras. A current era note on a documentary about the Banner family in 2019. Then, in italics, a story about young girls being told about The Tall Man by older friends - this part is certainly a little spooky. This is in an earlier time to any other part of the story and is indicated by the use of italics in the main stories.

The story then runs in three time periods in addition to the earlier "italic" story. In 1999 we see Sadie, Miles and a baby about to be born who will be Amber. In 2016 we see Miles, Amber and a now returned Sadie who has been away from the family for a long time. In 2018 we see Amber after her trial for murder being filmed for the documentary. The only person who clearly appears in all time periods is Sadie who is one of the girls in the woods being told about the Tall Man.

This is obviously a gradual reveal type of story where we will find the threads connecting as the book goes on. This is one of my problems with this book. There is a reveal to come about Amber's murder case and one about Sadie's absence however that information was disclosed far too slowly for me. While quite spooky as a read at times, I did find it quite hard to get a handle on the early parts of narrative too.

I found the sections relating mainly to Amber - the 2018 ones - didn't really hold me at all until the end. We know Amber has committed murder from quite early on but I didn't feel I was being fed enough of the story. Equally I found her a hard character to engage with in any way. In fairness she was not the only character I felt that about.

Until I was around 70% through this, I felt it lacked pace and was a disjointed read for me. I found it awkward to follow at times and didn't get any feeling of depth from any of the characters. From then on it did get more interesting and I probably would not have stopped reading it. However even the end left me fairly indifferent. I'm sure many people will enjoy this tale and get more out of it than I did.

Phoebe Locke's debut thriller, The Tall Man, is an original and gently creepy read that's ultimately let down by its poor structure.

The Tall Man moves between three timelines. First, we're introduced to a group of young girls in the 1980s, who are sharing stories about the mysterious Tall Man, who 'takes daughters' but can also 'make you special'. Second, we read about Miles and Sadie, who are expecting their first child in 1999. But shortly after her daughter Amber's birth, Sadie disappears, fearful that otherwise the Tall Man will follow her. This thread picks up in 2016, when Sadie returns to reunite with Amber and Miles. Finally, we meet Amber in 2018, when she's become notorious after her involvement in a murder case. Straight off, it's obvious that The Tall Man is trying to handle a bit too much at once. While I didn't find the multiple timelines confusing as such, I found it difficult to remember what the central mysteries of the book were, and what was motivating the characters in each timeline.

Locke handles the Tall Man himself adeptly for most of the novel, capturing the eeriness of the stories that children tell among themselves. But - and I'm finding this increasingly often with this kind of novel - I felt she should have given the supernatural element of the novel a bit more space. In the final chapters, the novel pretty much falls back on a familiar psychological thriller ending, and I felt this was a wasted opportunity. I understand that Locke probably didn't want to dive too deeply into speculative fiction, but this book lacked the kind of otherworldly hint that Tana French (for example) handles so well in her crime novels In The Woods and The Secret Place.

The Tall Man also suffers from pacing problems, in that it sags in the middle then tries to wrap up its multiple threads far too quickly at the end. I ended up feeling quite confused about what exactly had happened, and there seemed to be a lot of loose ends. I'm happy with endings that leave us with unanswered questions, but there seemed to be far too many here - most notably concerning the Tall Man himself, the most interesting part of the novel for me.

The Tall Man definitely shows promise, and takes a rather different tack from many psychological thrillers, which is refreshing - but I hope that Locke can tackle these structure and pacing problems in her next novel.

I really loved this book! Excellent story with brilliant main characters. I would recommend this book.

I really tried with this book and I hate giving up reading a book but this jumped about a bit too much for me and so I started to lose the storyline. Sorry not for me.

Unlike some other reviews I didn't find this boring or confusing. It follows the tale of Sadie, Amber and Myles and the childhood legend of the Tall Man. It's a tale of how susceptible young people can be to the stories of being made "special" if you sacrifice things to the Tall Man and what happens in the later years.

It had a good story line and was suitably creepy in places and, for someone who normally gets the plot twist, I didn't guess it at all until right towards the end.

Many thanks to the publisher, author and Netgalley for the ARC

This book wasn't for me. I found it boring, dragging and a little confusing in parts.

The Tall Man is a brilliant take on the urban legend. The story moves between different points in time, all of which give you smallinsights into the plot. You know that something has happened, but to who? And why? Well written and a good story. I thought I knew how it would end, but I was left with a sense of uncertainty...

I kinda enjoyed this but to be honest got slightly bored with it in places. I don’t think it was as creepy as I wanted it to be or expected it to be but I did enjoy it. I didn’t really gel with any of the characters but that didn’t really bother me. I’d recommend it to others I just don’t think it was for me (maybe I read far too much of this genre and it takes a lot to shock me!?).

This book is a gripping read from page one to the last. I was sucked into the story and had my own mental cinema running; goosebumps included.

It`s a story of grief and guilt; about secrets and their consequences.
All embedded into the tale of THE TALL MAN...
... He lives in the woods
... He sees everything
... He`s a murderer who killed his own daughter
... He came at night.... and takes daughter`s.
- But he also can make you special. ... If you ask...

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was confusing but gripping and even when you finish it you’re trying to decide is the Tall man real to the characters or urban legend. I like that every reader will reach their own conclusion.
The main character is Amber and the story both past and present revolves around her. You know that Amber has been on trial for murder and was found not guilty. There is now a camera crew making a documentary about her story. The chapters alternate between the present and 2016 when the murder took place. You also learn about Amber’s mother Sadie and her introduction to the Tall man.
There are so many questions you ask yourself whilst reading this and most of them get answered. It’s not a happy ever after story and you sense that all the characters in the story are touched by the Tall man.
#TheTallMan #NetGalley