Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor

22 reviews

anzelotte's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Read within a day. Loved. I found myself unable to put the book down!

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bigcandle's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Really intense and gripping horror, balancing a complicated series of mysteries and horrors which fall together beautifully.

Tudor keeps you gripped by alternating chapters between 1986 and 2016, leaving each chapter on a mini cliffhanger that gets resolved incrementally in a way which manages to be incredibly satisfying, instead of frustrating. At no point does it get jumbled or unclear, which is impressive considering how many plot points are introduced across timelines!

It's brilliantly mysterious and spooky, funny at points and devastating at others. I just could not put it down and read the final 200 pages last night. Just a great balance of tense thriller and contemplative discovery.

Oh, and the epilogue? Incredible. It tied the story together in a way which was equal parts shocking and satisfying. I literally closed it and said "yep. That was a fucking good ending." Very gothic very good.

I think there could/should have been some more exploration of certain types of trauma and how they influence the character, specifically
Ed being raped by Sean, which is really very rarely discussed, but would have been a good point of exploration/relation particularly w regards to his issues with navigating sexuality/relationships with women. Basically just. More exploration of how it affected him, would have tied in more of Adult Ed's personality to the traumatic things which happened


One thing I really enjoyed was the tragedy of consequences, how impulsive, understandable actions led to cascade effects which were unthinkable. It really evokes a feeling of the gothic, of corruption and fear meddling in people's lives, leaving them to stand by and watch their awful role.

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eelsauce's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

The resolution was slightly disappointing but the ending was enough to win me back. It’s hard for a book to keep my attention but this was really very good. 

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kelkelau's review against another edition

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mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5


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nrogers_1030's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense
  • Loveable characters? No

3.25


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tlskayte's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5


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castamere's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5


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killmoore_'s review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This had all the makings for a really great thriller, but man oh man did the ending fall flat for me. 

I was not impressed with the whodunit reveal. I feel like out of all the options we had, all the paths we were led down, this was by far the most disappointing outcome. **I was hoping for it to be our MC, ngl**. There were too many plot holes, and too many quick attempts to plug half of them with more confusion, and the whole plot could have been flushed out a lot more. 

However - The build up was thrilling, and it was a very fun read that kept me hooked from the beginning. A pretty graphic SA scene that I could have lived without, and the dog dies, but enjoyable none the less. I'd pick up more of Tudors work!

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meeshell89's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Ahhh this book was great! So creepy and messed up! Loved all the twists and turns and I really liked the alternating chapters from past to present. Definitely gave me Stephen King’s “It” vibes. Love the tag line of the book- “everyone has secrets” .. oh yes, yes they do!!! So glad I picked this book up! Now I feel like re reading it to pick up on all the little clues scattered throughout. 

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lvdani's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5


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