"A swift, cleverly plotted debut novel that ably captures the insular, slightly sinister feel of a small village. Children of the 1980s will enjoy the nostalgia." - Kirkus Reviews
The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor
Synopsis:
The past comes back to haunt Eddie Adams in The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor after a mysterious letter shows up in his mailbox. Its contents, a crayon-drawn stick man strung up by a noose and a single piece of white chalk, brings back memories of the summer of 1986 with his friends, Fat Gav, Metal Mickey, Hoppo, and lone girl Nicky - a summer that shatters their innocent lives.
As children, the gang of friends developed a system of secretly
communicating with each other around their English town of Anderbury using
chalk drawn stick figures. Innocent as their drawing seem, their stick men
suddenly start appearing at the scenes of death including a headless body of a
girl in the woods. The suicide of a local teacher with whom the girl was close
to gives to the assumption that her murder has been solved.
Alternating between 1986 and 2016, the now 42 year-old Eddie
is once again haunted by the chalk men as one of his friends ends up dying
under mysterious circumstances. Can he find the answers in his childhood
memories? Does his much younger border, Chloe, have something she’s hiding?
This thrilling tale takes many twists and turns before Eddie’s
past and present collide in one last confrontation with evil.
Thriller Elements in The Chalk Man:
·
The mystery at the center of the story is
revealed in pieces and gives the appeal of solving a puzzle.
·
The plot hinges on an elaborate narrative ripe
for cinematic value.
·
Eddie is a typical thriller protagonist:
sympathetic but flawed, unable to trust the people in his life, and follows his
own moral patterns, which leads to a few twists in the book.
·
Plot elements bring in several social and moral
topics such as abortion and extremem religion.
·
The protagonist finds himself dealing with
various secrets and betrayals as story elements are revealed to him and the
reader.
·
The ultimate villain (or villains?) represent
the bad side of nature in the battle of good and evil.
·
The tone is dark and gray.
Read-Alikes:
·
It by Stephen King
o
Nostalgia (past vs. present, childhood vs.
adulthood)
o
Dark
o
Setting (small town)
·
Killing Time by Linda Howard
o
Nostalgia (past vs. present)
o
Convoluted plot
o
Setting (small town)
·
Grist Mill Road by Christopher J. Yates
o
Nostalgia (past vs. present)
o
Setting (small town)
o
Intricate plot (twists & turns)
Wow! That synopsis has me hooked. I just placed a hold on it myself. It reminds me a lot of "Runaway" by Peter May, which I really enjoyed. Were you able to solve the mystery before the protagonist? Good work comparing this book with the read-a-likes you provided. That is a great RA skill when recommending new titles to a patron.
ReplyDeleteI kind of figured out who the true villain of the piece was about 3/4 of the way through. However, I was off about the why. In hindsight, I could pick out some of the clues that were sprinkled throughout.
DeleteExcellent annotation! You did a great job with your summary, elements, and readlikes! Full points! This has been on my tbr pile and your review makes me want to read it even more. Great job!
ReplyDelete