A story that starts with chopped up body parts has to be good. And The Chalk Man doesn’t disappoint. Set in a small town in England, The Chalk Man is story of five friends who have barely turned teenagers when they find a dead body in the woods.

The novel starts in the year 1986 and the narrative keeps moving between 1986 and 2016, the present time. Eddie and his friends have a perfectly normal small town life with their days spent playing in the park, leaving chalk messages for each other and exploring the woods around the town. This normal life is suddenly disrupted by death and ominous signs that stay with them through their lives. And, once again, after 30 years, the same events come back to haunt them.

CJ Tudor has created a creepy story, with correct dose of supernatural and imagination. The story is engrossing and moves at a good pace. Though, at one point in the middle I just wanted to give a push to the narrative. The author is clearly influenced by the writing of Stephen King and some characters were quite clichè. Having said that, you will enjoy it and definitely find some goosebumps moments. And be on a lookout for the missing head!

My rating: 4/5