01 Apr Book Review: The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor

Some thrillers rely on shocking twists, while others slowly build an atmosphere of creeping dread. The Chalk Man manages to do both. C.J. Tudor’s debut novel is a gripping blend of psychological suspense, small-town secrets, and the kind of childhood fears that never quite fade. It is part coming-of-age story, part murder mystery, and part unsettling psychological thriller, all woven together with a sense of nostalgia that makes the darkness feel even more unnerving.

What’s it about?

The novel moves between two timelines—1986 and 2016—both centered around Eddie Adams, a man haunted by the events of his past.

In 1986, Eddie is just a twelve-year-old kid growing up in a small English town. He and his friends—Fat Gav, Hoppo, Metal Mickey, and Nicky—spend their days riding bikes, exploring the woods, and trying to stay out of trouble. They have their own secret way of communicating: drawing little chalk stick figures on fences and sidewalks to send messages to each other. It starts as an innocent game, a code only they understand. But everything changes the day the chalk men lead them to a dead body.

The body is of a teenage girl, dismembered in the woods. The murder shocks the town, and though a suspect is arrested, the case never quite feels closed. Something about it does not add up. Eddie and his friends try to move on, but the discovery marks the end of their childhood, and the secret they share binds them together in ways they do not yet understand.

Jump to 2016, and Eddie is now an adult, still living in the same town, but with a life that has not turned out quite as he had hoped. He is a schoolteacher, drifting through life, still carrying the weight of what happened thirty years ago. Then, out of nowhere, he and his old friends receive a chilling message—an envelope containing a piece of chalk and a drawing of a stick figure.

Someone is bringing the past back to life, and when one of Eddie’s childhood friends turns up dead, it becomes clear that what happened in 1986 is far from over. Eddie is forced to revisit those long-buried memories, piecing together what really happened all those years ago. But the truth is not as simple as he thought, and as he digs deeper, he starts to realize that everyone—himself included—has secrets they have kept hidden.

The novel unfolds like a puzzle, slowly revealing the connections between past and present. What really happened the day they found the body? Who has been watching Eddie all these years? And what do the chalk men really mean? As the mystery unravels, Eddie is forced to confront the idea that some childhood games have consequences that never go away.

What This Chick Thinks

A thriller that plays with memory and perception

One of the most fascinating aspects of The Chalk Man is how it deals with memory. Eddie is not always a reliable narrator, and the novel explores how childhood experiences can become distorted over time. As the story moves between past and present, it becomes clear that what Eddie remembers may not be the full truth—and that some things he has convinced himself never happened might be more real than he wants to admit.

A Stephen King vibe with a British twist

There are definite echoes of It in this novel—a group of kids encountering something terrifying, only to have it follow them into adulthood—but The Chalk Man has a voice and style that make it stand on its own. The setting is quintessentially British, the characters feel grounded in reality, and the horror is less about supernatural forces and more about the darkness that lurks inside people.

A slow burn that keeps you hooked

While the novel starts with a shocking discovery, it does not rely on constant action to keep the reader engaged. Instead, it builds tension gradually, letting the mystery unfold piece by piece. Every chapter adds a new layer, a new clue, a new reason to question what is really going on. It is the kind of book that makes you want to read just one more chapter, over and over again, until suddenly you have reached the end.

A main character who feels real, flaws and all

Eddie is not your typical thriller protagonist. He is not a detective, a journalist, or someone seeking revenge. He is just a guy who never quite escaped his past, and that makes him both relatable and frustrating. He is messy, sometimes unreliable, and often makes bad decisions, but that is what makes him feel human.

Final Thoughts

The Chalk Man is an atmospheric, eerie, and deeply unsettling thriller that lingers long after you finish it. It is not just about a murder—it is about childhood friendships, the way the past never really leaves us, and the terrifying realization that we do not always know the full story of our own lives.

If you enjoy psychological thrillers with multiple timelines, complex characters, and a slow-building sense of dread, this book is definitely worth picking up. It is chilling without being overly graphic, and the mystery keeps you guessing until the very last page.

Rating: 8.5/10

Try it if you like

• The Whisper Man by Alex North – Another atmospheric thriller that blends childhood fears with a modern mystery.
• Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn – A dark, psychological mystery with a protagonist who is forced to revisit a traumatic past.
• The Boy Who Drew Monsters by Keith Donohue – A haunting novel about childhood nightmares and the blurred lines between reality and imagination.