Children aren't always so innocent in this Stephen King-style thriller, backed by MJ's biggest marketing campaign for a debut this year.
C. J. Tudor's love of writing, especially the dark and macabre,
started young. When her peers were reading Judy Blume, she was
devouring Stephen King and James Herbert. Over the years she has
had a variety of jobs, including trainee reporter, radio
scriptwriter, dog walker, voiceover, television presenter and
copywriter.
She is now the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Chalk Man,
The Taking of Annie Thorne, The Other People, The Burning Girls and
The Drift. All of her books are in development or optioned for TV,
and The Burning Girls debuted on Paramount Plus in 2023. She is
also the author of a short story collection, A Sliver of Darkness.
Wonderfully creepy - like a cold blade on the back of your neck
*LEE CHILD*
The Chalk Man works, it's a lively and entertaining read . . .
Tudor's got talent
*The Times*
This assured debut is very much in the Stephen King vein - creepy
with plenty of menace
*The Guardian*
Hot damn C. J. Tudor's The Chalk Man is good. Very Stephen
King-esque
*Ruth Ware*
CJ Tudor's very clever, wrong-footing debut will leave you checking
that doors and windows of your holiday cottage are secure . . .
*Radio Times*
A striking debut
*Sunday Times*
A tense gripper with a leave-the-lights-on shock ending
*Sunday Times Crime Club*
You'll be gripped by this cracking debut novel . . . it will keep
you up all night with all the lights on. This intriguing,
satisfying thriller delivers a series of shocks . . . reminiscent
of the master of horror Stephen King
*Daily Express*
If you like my stuff, you'll like this
*STEPHEN KING*
It's a very clever story - you'll love it!
*Joanna Cannon*
Gripping, chilling . . . brilliant. As creepy as that house with
dark windows we all knew as kids. I can't wait for the next one
*Luca Veste*
Completely engrossing. Puts me in mind of Stephen King's The
Body
*JOHN BOYNE*
The past rises from the chalk dust. A labyrinthine tale that kept
me guessing right to the end
*The Mail on Sunday*
Half horror, half crime, The Chalk Man is a creepy, compulsive
novel
*Red Online*
Taut, twisty and very creepy, this is a must for anyone who enjoys
psycho-thrillers . . . The ending is genius
*Saga*
Deliciously creepy with a side order of Eighties nostalgia
*Good Housekeeping*
Started and finished in one day. Absolutely gripping, chilling, and
as creepy as that house with dark windows we all knew as kids.
Brilliant read and can't wait for the next one!
*Luca Veste, author of the Murphy & Rossi novels*
A well-constructed thriller layered with secrets, suspense, twists,
turns and an outcome you may not see coming
*Choice Magazine*
It is hard to believe The Chalk Man is the debut novel from C J
Tudor. The writing is sublime, and the ending is spine-tinglingly
chilling
*The Sun*
This insanely readable chiller has it all - a brilliant, nostalgic
flavour, humour and heart . . . A fantastic debut from a major new
talent.
*The Sunday Mirror*
Strong characterisation, plenty of plot twists and an evocative
portrait of small-town life in the 1980s add up to a riveting
read
*The Guardian*
The prose is punk, the pace fast and the plot sinewy. There are
shades of Stephen King when the reality bends into the sinister,
and a deliciously creepy finale . . .
*Daily Mail*
Even Brexit impact reports made less frightening reading than C. J.
Tudor's Stephen King-esque coming-of-age story cum murder mystery
The Chalk Man. With tyro crime writers this dark, the future is
bright
*Daily Telegraph Books of the Year*
The novel is so well executed . . . Tudor is very good at deploying
shocks and surprises that catch you off guard. I jumped so many
times while reading I could have been sitting on a chair made of
cactus
*The Sunday Express*
Thriller of the Week - an intriguing puzzle with an engaging cast
of characters . . . a highly promising debut
*The Mail on Sunday*
A must-read for all horror fans
*Daily Express*
There are enough twists and turns in this dark debut thriller to
tie you in knots. The end is fabulously surprising and satisfying .
. . creepy
*The Sunday Post*
[CJ Tudor] creates a winningly dark atmosphere and serves up a
beautifully timed stream of intriguing new plot elements
*Readers Digest*
A nail-biting thriller
*Inside Soap*
Book of the Month
*Prizes Magazine*
A compelling debut
*Mail Online*
Scare yourself silly with this brilliant chiller . . . a
spine-tingling read
*Best*
One of the best suspense thrillers i've read. A very easy 5 big fat
stars and 100% recommended
*Compulsivereaders.com*
Is The Chalk Man one of THE books of 2018? YES, YES YES IT REALLY
IS . . . an absolute corker, a spine tingling read
*Pageturnersnook*
A fantastic debut novel to keep you up late at night
*BookLiterati*
A nail biting thriller
*Inside Soap*
It's a corker that'll give you the willies. Chalk one up to C J
Tudor.
*Sunday Sport*
Genuinely creepy books don't come along very often, but this one
can hold its missing head up high
*Heat*
There are shades of Stephen King in this very creepy timeslip, as
well as an evocative portrait of small-town life in 1980s
Britain
*Guardian, Books of the Year*
My favourite crime book of 2018 would have to be The Chalk Man. It
initially brought to mind twisted tales of suburban Americana such
as Stand by Me and Carrie. However, by weaving in authentic and
evocative period detail C. J. Tudor manages to create a story that
tells of the darkness at the heart of small-town life that is, like
the rotten pastoral in a M. R. James ghost story, uniquely English.
Unsettling, taut and skillfully plotted, The Chalk Man grabbed me
by the throat from the very first sentence and didn't let go until
the final, heart-stopping page
*Nuala Ellwood, author of The Day of the Accident*
[I] haven't had a sleepless night due to a book for a long time.
The Chalk Man changed that. Many congrats C. J. Tudor
*bestselling author of The Widow*
What a great book. A twisty thriller and downright creepy ending. 5
stars.
*Behind Her Eyes*
Tense, skillful storytelling
*Good Me Bad Me*
Absolutely brilliant. I was expecting a creepy horror story that
I'd have to read with all the lights on but this book is so much
more than that - it's witty, insightful, clever, thoughtful,
mysterious, gripping, nostalgic and utterly compelling. Publishers
often talk about "an exciting new voice in fiction" and I genuinely
think C. J. Tudor is going to be huge. This book has bestseller
written all over it and if it doesn't go to number one I will eat
my crime writing hat
*author of The Missing*
What an amazing debut! Such an ingenious, original idea. I was
engrossed from the very first page. I loved how the 1986 and
present day storylines weaved so skilfully together to create that
unforgettable and unexpected ending. Compelling, taut and so very,
very chilling. This book will haunt you!
*Sunday Times bestselling author of Last Seen Alive*
It's been a while since I've read such an impressive debut. The
pace was perfectly judged, the characters superbly drawn and
there's a creeping sense of unease that starts with the prologue
and grows throughout the book. And then that ending! It feels so
fresh and deserves to be a huge success
*Sunday Times bestselling author of the Inspector McLean
series*
Utterly Hypnotic. The Chalk Man is a dream novel, a book of
nightmares: haunted and haunting, shot through with shadow and
light - a story to quicken the pulse and freeze the blood. A dark
star is born
*Mr A. J. Finn*
Impossible to put down, cleverly constructed and executed
*author of the bestselling Dark Iceland series*
Kept me up until five in the morning. Wonderfully written. I loved
it!
*bestselling author of Backstabber*
I absolutely loved The Chalk Man . . . It's a dark, mesmerising
thriller with an ending that left me with goosebumps!
*author of My Sister’s Bones*
One of the best books I've read since I first read Stephen King's
IT when I was 14. Go get it!
*author of The Many Colours of Us*
I've just finished The Chalk Man by C. J. Tudor. WOW! I could not
put it down. If you like Stephen King, you'll LOVE this!
*author of Showstopper*
At the heart of this accomplished debut lies a shocking crime
stumbled upon by a group of teenage friends. It is a discovery that
shatters their innocence and haunts the whole community. Now,
twenty years later, someone is sending anonymous letters - chalk
drawings of a stick figure with a noose around its neck - someone
who hasn't forgotten what happened in the woods all those years
ago. The past is very much alive in this book where memory is
unreliable and old secrets fester, threatening to turn as odorous
as a rotting corpse. Tudor's sharp eye for detail and ear for
dialogue lend the childhood scenes an immediacy and authenticity
that completely convince. With its driving plot and sensitive
evocation of friendship and loneliness, The Chalk Man is an utterly
gripping read, with an ending that will make the hairs on the back
of your neck bristle
*bestselling author of Can You Keep a Secret?*
Just finished The Chalk Man. Dark and addictive. This page-turner
is more twisty than a rollercoaster. And one hell of a ride.
*Dark Pines*
The Chalk Man is a stunning debut, a riveting thriller about the
powerful grip of the past and the unbreakable bonds of childhood
friendship. The ending of this smasher will completely throw you
for a loop
*Bring Her Home*
The Chalk Man is an intricate and surprising book that will reward
the reader who approaches it with the attention it deserves
*The Old Man*
Absolutely loved it! Creepy, brilliant and tense, I could not put
it down!
*The Perfect Girlfriend*
Blasted through this beauty in one intense and thrilling
sitting
*The Killer You Know*
The Chalk Man stole my weekend! Wow. Just wow. The tension just
builds and builds. And what a final page . . .
*The House*
Finished reading The Chalk Man by C.J Tudor last night. What a
book! Enjoyed every minute of it. A total banger!
*author of The Innocent Wife*
C.J. Tudor brilliantly weaves past and present into a haunting,
vividly imagined tale. Much more than a murder mystery, it is a
sharp, terrifying exploration of the bonds and limitations of
childhood friendships and of secrets that refuse to remain buried.
I fell in love with the guiding voice of this novel, the thoughtful
and solitary Eddie. Prepare to be surprised again and again, even
until the final page
*The Marriage Pact*
The Chalk Man is an unpredictable and engaging thriller: sinister,
tragic, and with a beautifully rendered sense of time and place.
That final page still haunts me
*Dear Amy*
The grip the past has on the present reveals itself in ever more
sinister and macabre ways in this utterly original and relentlessly
compelling psychological thriller. The Chalk Man kept me guessing
all the way to the end
*bestselling author of The Betrayals*
As well as being unputdownable, it was emotionally intelligent,
touching and credible
*author of One Little Mistake*
Easy, gripping and enjoyable
*bestselling author of P.S. I Love You*
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