A compelling, intriguing read, with a great voice, an interesting sense of place, and a surprising ending. I think the pacing towards the end of the book was a bit off - suddenly everything happened at once and it was a challenge to untangle - but I enjoyed it overall and there's much to like here.

I wasn't sure what to expect with 'The Taking of Annie Thorne' and (to be honest), I expected it to be another easily digestible - if forgettable - thriller featuring an unlikeable male narrator getting himself into all sorts of scrapes. Yeah, sorry about that C.J Tudor.

As it is, Joe Thorne (the main character), isn't particularly likeable. He's a high functioning alcoholic, a pretty terrible teacher and an even worse gambler. He also surprised me by being a fantastic narrator who made me really invested in his story. His little sister went missing mysteriously 25 years ago. She came back...but she didn't come back as the same person. And now more children are disappearing and coming back as different people too. There's definitely elements of Stephen King here, intermingled with old tales of 'faery children' - babies who are kidnapped by faery folk who leave hideous, damaged imposters in their place.

C.J. Tudor is a fantastic story teller with a great sense of place. I'm attracted to anything set in the North of England and she really captures the creepiness and desolate atmosphere that you get in old mining towns which lost a bit of their heart when the pits closed down. The characters are great too (no spoilers, but Gloria is a fantastic - if sadistic - minor character.) I was also kept guessing about what was going to happen well until the end, definitely the sign of a great read!

I'll definitely be recommending this to people as a nice bit of bone chilling winter reading...

Fantastic story of a childhood of misfortune which wasn’t actually as he remembered.

Beautifully written and an engaging storyline.

Really enjoyed this book

Bring on the next

Phew! This is Pet Cemetery on steroids! A tragic event in Arnhill leaves a vacancy at the local school. A place that used to support a mining community before the pits closed. It offers an opportunity for Joseph Thorne to flee from serious gambling debts and apply for the teaching post - in the village where he spent his formative years. Where his eight year old sister Annie disappeared for forty-eight hours - and then she came back. But was it Annie, really? Does Joe remember everything that happened twenty-five years ago? Beth Scattergood teaches art at Arnhill. She says on meeting Joe: "Only two types of teacher end up at Arnhill Academy. Those who want to make a difference and those who can't get a job anywhere else. So, which are you?" What was it Joe? That mysterious text you received? 'I know what happened to your sister. It's happening again' A shiver down the spine...

The old gang are still here, well, some of them. Joe's mates from way back. The ones who were there when it happened. The only ones who knew... Sinister events from all those years ago woven into a horror story that is epic and truly frightening. Throw Stephen King, James Herbert and a touch of Edgar Allen Poe into the blender and C.J. Tudor emerges with this delicious tale of a village, a pit, unexplained suicides and hair-raising scary events.

I cannot say more about the plot without spoilers. I can say though, do not read in bed, at night! And if you enjoyed The Chalk Man you will certainly get chills from reading The Taking of Annie Thorne.

My thanks to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for my ARC.

This is an intriguing plot, with a host of interesting characters, alternating chapters which appears to be a very similar set up to The Chalk man both in layout, tone and character definition.
However, I liked the flawed main character and felt he was well drawn.
The plot is at times a little muddled, but I enjoyed the blend of supernatural, crime, suspense, thriller, mystery, which helped to keep me reading. I found the ending a little disappointing. I would like to have known where Annie went, why did she come back so different - this wasn't really explained very well after such a good set up. CJ Tudor is almost certainly influenced by Stephen King's writing and in some ways this felt very similar to Pet Cemetery which clearly inspired this novel. I would like to see CJ Tudor develop more of her own unique style and the gang of kids, the past and present sections felt repetitive after her debut.
I read the chalk man and thoroughly enjoyed it, but for me this felt a little same.

Overall however, good read.

It was probably a terrible idea to start this book right in the middle of a really busy couple of weeks in university. I finished it in two days (which is impressive for me). Two days where I had so much else to do but I just couldn't drag myself away from it. I actually finished it at half 2 in the morning because I couldn't sleep until I knew how it ended.

I was hooked from the first page. This was a great story and a brilliant read, CJ Tudor deserves so much praise for this book. Addictive, creepy and chilling. Like The Chalk Man, the story jumps between past and present, which is actually something I really like in a book.

I really enjoyed The Chalk Man and personally I think The Taking Of Annie Thorne is even better. I enjoyed it so much more. Definitely one you'll want to put at the top of your TBR list when it's released next year.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy or this ebook in exchange for my honest review.

I devoured The Taking of Annie Thorne in one sitting, it had me totally hooked from page one and did not let up, this is the 2nd book I have read from CJ Tudor and I'm thirsty for the next!!!

Basically, Joe's sister Annie goes missing when she is 8 years old, to return 24hrs later completely different person and won't say where or who she has been with, strange to say the least,

When Joe is much older a good 10yr later he gets an email saying that the same thing has happened again and against his better judgment gets a job at his old high school to enable him to look into what is going on in the town, he's running from bad debts and bad people and so sees his as an opportunity to solve what happened t his sister and get away!

You got to read this book, its scary and a few times I was hiding behind my hands lol not daring to read another line but obviously carried on anyway haha, seriously good book, it's thrilling and scary and also funny in parts. Has all you would want from a good read!!

5 stars again CJ Tudor!

A great read.
This book is very dark and creepy with lots of twists and turns. I enjoyed the way it went from then and now to tell the story. The characters were interesting and all had a less than flowery past really.
The book kept me wanting to turn the pages to find out what happened next.
I don’t think I’ve read a book that is like this for a long time.
Loved it.
A must read

Very Creepy and dark, what a brilliant read, I haven't read anything so good since James Herbert. It is totally spine chilling I loved the story line and the writing style. I just didn't want to put it down.

A fantastic, well-written eerily, creepy, riveting second novel from this author, what more can I say. A great edge-of-your-seat read and a must for anyone looking for a tense thriller. If you haven't read CJ Tudor's debut The Chalk Man then why not? This one is just as good! Thank you NetGalley and Michael Joseph publishers for allowing me to read this advanced copy.

The Taking of Annie Thorne by C J Tudor. Out February 21st 2019

Chilling, creepy, gripping and oh my that doll !! 5 stars



When Joe Thorne was fifteen, his little sister, Annie, disappeared. At the time, Joe thought it was the worst thing in the world that could ever happen. And then she came back.

Now Joe has returned to the village where he grew up, to work as a teacher at the failing Arnhill Academy. Not an act of altruism, but desperation. Joe has bad debts – and bad people – he needs to escape. He also has an anonymous email: I know what happened to your sister. It’s happening again.
But coming back to the place he grew up, means facing the people he grew up with, and the things they did. Five friends: Joe, Stephen Hurst, Marie Gibson, Nick Fletcher and Chris Manning. They were the five who were there that night. Something they haven’t spoken about in 25 years.
Coming back means opening old wounds, and confronting old enemies and Joe is about to discover that places, like people, have secrets. The deeper you go, the darker they get.
And sometimes, you should never come back.


I loved Chalk Man it was one of my favourite reads this year, so when Nick and Lucy said they had read this I knew I had to read it too.
From the first few pages I was hooked and what a way to start a book!!
Arnhill is a grim bleak pit town where the coal mine is now shut and the whole place screams of deprivation and you get a sense quickly that something bad happened here and is happening again.
The way the author describes the village of Arnhill I am not sure it would be on anyone’s holiday destination list.
Joe Throne has been away from Arnhill where he grew up with his family for a while. Joe is a teacher and comes back to teach at his old secondary school. When he returns, he meets up with people from his past and encounters their children whilst working at the school.
Joe has a lot of skeletons in his closet and you never see where the next one will pop out. I think the way that the author is able to portray this suspense is key to the story.
Joe’s sister Annie went missing from her room one night when he was a teenager, only to return two days later, what happened to Annie and Joe after this and is uncovered in the chilling and creepy book.
The occupants of Arnhill are equally as grim as the setting and everyone has a story, and this mostly revolves around the pit and the village and what happened there. The characters were really well developed, and I felt a real empathy for some and a real loathing for others. I also enjoyed how Joe revisited his past and saw people in a different light which is often the case with people you go to school with.
The book was so creepy in places and you never knew what was coming next. There were times I had to put it down as I needed to take in what I had just read also times when I experienced hide behind the pillow moments. Being able to make a reader feel like this is a real gift.
C. J Tudor is a fabulous storyteller and I love how she has a way of bringing the past into the present as she did in Chalk Man.
This book really unnerved me at times, but I could not put it down and it was a really fantastic book.

This is a genrally a very well written story and kept me intrigued throughout but was somewhat disappointed with what I felt was a weak ending to an otherwise good tale.

Suspense throughout and wondering what the dark secret was but felt this was never really revealed and instead of focusing on the why and what had happened to all the children the focus was on the lead character.

A lot of characters in this book that you could never warm to including the main protagonist and after reading this was left with a feeling of "so what".

''The past isn't real. It is simply a story we tell ourselves. And sometimes we lie''.
This is the first novel written by C.J. Tudor that I've read, for some incomprehensible reason I skipped ''The Chalk Man'' perhaps due to the hype and the plethora of raving reviews that set off an instant suspicion on my part. Anyway, I didn't exactly know what to expect when I started reading ''The Taking of Annie Thorne'' but, in the end, I felt thoroughly satisfied and entertained by this mixture of crime and horror novel and in many instances the prose of C.J. Tudor reminded me other acclaimed crime/horror fiction writers such as Stephen King, Yrsa Sigurdardottir and Sharon Bolton. The book is permeated by a gloomy and sinister atmosphere, hinting supernatural intervention nut never fully acknowledging it and offer a lot of suspensful moments through the unfolding of its tightly-woven plot. The protagonist Joe Thorne returns to the place where he grew up as a child, in Arnhill. where a series of unexplained disappearances, suicides and homicides have occured in the past and present. Joe, a gambler and expelled school teacher, is burdened by the grief of losing his little sister Annie, an eight-year old girl who disappeared for about 48 hours and when she returned, nobody could recognize her due to extreme behavioral changes. Joe has no friends from the past in Arnhill as his old school gang seem to be eager to shoo him away as fast as possible. This is a book that you are bound to read fast, I finished it in only two sittings, as the quality of Tudor's prose, the creepy descriptions and the excellent dialogue compose a read that you shouldn't miss. It is a book that cannot be strictly categorized in crime or horror genre and it seems to reach a harmonious balance between the two. I literally couldn't wait to see what happens next and find answers to the novel's big mysteries. The only drawback is that I found the finale to be rather weak and not at the same level with the rest of the book.but this couldn't change the overall more than positive impression of ''The Taking of Annie Thorne''. I will definitely check out future works by C.J. Tudor and Ι will try to read ''The Chalk Man'' as soon as possible.
I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free ARC of this novel.

In 1992 Joe Thornes 8 year old little sister Annie goes missing from her bed, only to reappear 48 hours later, refusing to say what happened, she is so terribly different to the child she was before. Once so loveable and sweet, she is now completely unrecognisable.

This tells the story of troubled teacher Joe returning to his home town to face past demons...

A real page turner of a book, perfect for thriller fans, this will keep you guessing until the end.
Thank you to the author, publisher and netgalley for allowing me to read in return for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an arc of this book.

The Taking of Annie Thorne was creepy, atmospheric and I totally did not see the end coming.

I think this is better than The Chalk Man, in that the characters were all fab, including psycho Gloria!

Looking forward to lots more by CJ Tudor...…..

This is a creepy story, no two ways about that!
Although I have never read horror and most probably won't, this one came very close with its darkness and skittering noises and creatures of the night!
Joe Thorne is a down on his luck gambler with some very unsavoury creditors after him for money he owes. Forging a recommendation, he has returned to the town he grew up in, Arnhill, to take up the post of English teacher. The position is vacant and his for the taking because his predecessor Julia Morton and her son Ben were victims of a murder suicide that no one saw coming.
But there is something in Joe's past in this very town that he fears is revisiting. A secret about a night 25 years ago that he and his gang of then friends have buried forever. Joe's sister Annie who went missing returned completely changed and he has never been able to forget just how scary she was after.
Facing trouble in the school from students with influence and beatings outside the school from those who wish him gone so the status quo can be maintained, Joe struggles to just exist until he can use an ace he thinks he has and solve all his problems.
A complete, unapologetic anti hero, Joe does whatever needs doing to get to the point where he is no longer the hunted. But there is something he can't control and it is coming for him.. the past!

The writing gives you enough shivers so that you don't want to read this alone at night, with images of one eyed dolls staring at you and scenes in dangerous, underground coal pits.
Different from what I normally read but very gripping indeed.

I loved this book I really need to go back and read the chalk man. I understand fully why Stephen King is so impressed with CJs work.

Rather than talk about the amazing story that CJ slowly and mesmorisingly grabs the attention with and risk potential spoilers I would just say if you love classic horror stories with numerous unexpected twists and turns populated by 3d characters who suprise you by not being quite what you peg them for then this book is definitely for you.

CJ has rapidly become one of my favourite authors and I will be buying myself a copy of this next year.

I'm so glad I got the chance to read this book and hope my honest review is helpful as CJ deserves the recognition

When Joe Thorne was fifteen, his little sister, Annie, disappeared. At the time, Joe thought it was the worst thing in the world that could ever happen. And then she came back. she wasn't the same not the fun loving Little Annie that he loved, she was a stranger someone he didn't know the sister he once loved he was now scared to death off!

now after so many years away from the place he grew up in Joe returns and gets a job at his old school Arnhill Academy but why is he truly back? could it be that his on the run from the people he owes money too, could it be that he just wants to come back to a place he called home or is it because he wants REVENGE! for what happened to his Sister Annie and his school friend Chris.. Five friends: Joe, Stephen Hurst, Marie Gibson, Nick Fletcher and Chris found something a secret place when they as younger a place that screamed Danger! a place that once they go in it will never ESCAPE Them!

SECRETS,LIES,DECEPTION,BRIBERY AND MURDER!! Tie these Five people together tying them in multiple knots till they choke begging to break free of the past!!

the secrets will come out shocks will be made old battles will come back to haunt all those involved is Joe going to find out the truth to what happened to his Sister and Chris is what he thinks happened really true or is there a much darker truth going to come out that is going to be more shocking and devastating?

The Taking Of Annie Thorne has the chilling haunting Eco of The Chalk Man it takes you grips you holds you tight until you are breathless with fear and shock!

i loved C.J Tudor's first book The Chalk Man and i was worried that this book may not be as good but i think it was even better and The Chalk Man was great and creepy, The Taking Of Annie Thorne is a book that will give you chills you will find it hard to put down it's one of those books where you just want to keep reading because you want to know what happens next it's filled from the bottom till the top of the page with twists and turns it will make your head spin i truly i truly loved it i didn't see the twists coming this is a 5 star book one they i will recommend to family and friends.. thank you to the Publishers and Netgalley for letting me read this book early i loved it

I would like to thank Netgalley and Penguin UK - Michael Joseph for an advance copy of The Taking of Annie Thorne, a stand alone thriller set in the Nottinghamshire mining village of Arnhill.

In 1992 8 year old Annie Thorne disappeared for 48 hours and came back a different personality. 25 years later her brother, Joe, returns to Arnhill looking for ...

I thoroughly enjoyed The Taking of Annie Thorne which is a creepy thriller with horror overtones and much more going on than the synopsis suggests. It took me out of my comfort zone which is the rather prosaic realm of police procedurals and enthralled me to the extent that I read it in one sitting, unable to put it down. I have not read a horror novel before, unwilling to suspend my disbelief of what I can’t touch or logically explain, so I didn’t know what to expect. I actually found it quite easy to accept the inexplicable and just go with the flow. Much of this is, I think, due to the inviting nature of the rest of the novel which grabs you and doesn’t let go. Apart from a bit of scene setting at the outset the novel is told in the first person from Joe Thorne’s point of view. He has a very appealing cynical take on life which draws the reader in and holds the attention but the real hook is his reason for being in Arnhill. Initially it is very unclear and only unfolds throughout the course of the novel. Quite often I find this secretiveness in a novel extremely frustrating but in this case I found it intriguing and was desperate to find out more. Add to this the troubles that followed him to Arnhill and it makes for a very good read.

The novel is billed as horror so there are the requisite creepy moments with beetles and Annie Thorne’s behaviour, told in flashback to 1992, at relevant points but, to me, the real horror lay in the Lord of the Flies attitude permeating the local school. I found it fascinating and revolting.

I really liked the interplay between Joe and his old school friends as their past relationship is gradually revealed. Nothing is as it seems and the twists come thick and fast as the novel draws to a conclusion. It seems in retrospect to be a master stroke to make the novel a first person narrative because the reader is reliant on Joe for information and assessment, who, it soon becomes apparent, despite being smart, does not have the best judgement. I found it very human that he thinks he knows what happened and is acting accordingly.

The Taking of Annie Thorne is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

Sometimes I find writing book reviews challenging. Have I been fair in my assessment and scoring? Have I been too harsh? Have I been too gushing in my praise for a favourite author?
And then, like today, it's a doddle.

I loved this book and I really, really love the writing style of CJ Tudor. Her debut novel 'The chalk man' was fabulous and so it was with some trepidation that I opened her new novel. Wow! I should have known, this is an excellently crafted, spooky tale with characters that, within the fear and suspense, made me laugh out loud. It's a great storyline about a teacher, Joe Thorne, who returns to his childhood village where some horrible murders have taken place and where he continues to grapple with his own personal demons, problems and nightmares.

It made me laugh, it made me cry. I was frustrated by the lead character, Joe, whilst simultaneously hoping agains hope that he'd get the upper hand and that all would become clear (it does). There are sinister undertones throughout, where you just know something horrible is going to happen, but, you're not sure what? or when?

The writing is a dream, the storyline gripping and in summary it's a 'must read' for anyone who loves a spooky, riveting tale and who doesn't?

Fabulous 5 Star read.