Reviews with content warning for Adult/minor relationship - The Chalk Man

this might be my least favourite CJ Tudor so far but also I'm giving it 4 stars because it's still a very solid story, and considering it's her debut!! I really liked the setting of the book, I enjoyed the dual timeline and reading from the perspective of a child. I did see the ending coming (kind of) but it wasn't as annoying as one might think. it's a fast paced thriller that does its job of grabbing your attention and breaking any reading slump. I will definitely continue my journey through tudor's backlist and I'm excited to pick up the next one.

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whiskeywoman79's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense slow-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

3.0

Fiction / Horror / Mystery / Thriller / Crime / Suspense
⭐⭐⭐/5
TW: SA (graphic once, but mentioned in different ways throughout)

I am not sure what to say about this story. It was creepy. It had its good parts and its bad parts? I was left confused and underwhelmed? I am rather unsure how I feel about it as a whole.

I feel like the author kept trying to justify inappropriate adult-child relationships. Like the one that was forced was bad, but because the young girl liked the teacher back that one wasn't bad, TF?!! Both shouldn't have happened, and neither should be condoned.
Can we also acknowledge that he was sexually assaulted!! They kept glazing over that Other than when he asked about the accusation made at the church "What he did to you - some people would give that same name."
I have no idea how it won the awards it did.
Will like this if you like Stephen King? For me it is like SCI Fi movies it's the B-rated version of Stand By Me.
I grew up in a small US town in the 1980s, yet I felt so disconnected from the flashbacks, maybe it is a UK v US thing? I never believed they were 80's kids.
I had such high hopes for this read because The Burning Girls is one of my 5-star reads for this year, after DNFing The Drift, and now my experience with this I am starting to think it was a one-off.

I am using this for a challenge I am just not sure which one yet.

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georgiiaa's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-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? It's complicated

3.0

Bit of a slow burner.
Twists and turns but almost so many it got a bit confusing I found? Lots of different names and relationships to keep track of.
Although, the ending was wrapped up nicely - I enjoyed the last few pages.

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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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sylvermoon's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

It was a decent, fast read. The twist wasn’t shocking, but I didn’t see it coming either. I liked some of the foreshadowing, but some plot points seemed rushed or clearly written because the author didn’t know how to get from one point to the next without them. It was long enough, but would have done well with some things fleshed out a bit more.

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