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The Chalk Man

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The Chalk Man

By: C J Tudor
Narrated by: Andrew Scott, Asa Butterfield
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About this listen

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of The Chalk Man by C. J. Tudor, read by Andrew Scott and Asa Butterfield.

None of us ever agreed on the exact beginning.

Was it when we started drawing the chalk figures, or when they started to appear on their own?

Was it the terrible accident?

Or when they found the first body?

©2017 C. J. Tudor (P)2017 Penguin Audio Coming of Age Crime Fiction Crime Thrillers Fiction Genre Fiction Horror Mystery Psychological Small Town & Rural Supernatural Suspense Thriller & Suspense Scary Crime Thriller Paranormal Exciting

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Critic reviews

"[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." (Fiona Barton, best-selling author of The Widow)
"It's been a while since I've read such an impressive debut." (James Oswald, author of the Inspector McLean series)

"Tense, skillful storytelling." (Ali Land, best-selling author of Good Me Bad Me)

"If you like my stuff, you'll like this." (Stephen King)
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I'm still totally confused as to why Ed had an Irish accent when he was older!!! I kept waiting for an explanation, did I miss something!

Enjoyed the story but......

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Very well narrated though was a tad confusing about why Eddie developed an Irish accent later in life!

Original and gripping

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This is a story in two voices; Eddie the younger is pure Enid Blyton, abetted by a plummy Asa Butterfield (lashings of fizzy pop, anyone?),and Ed the older has Andrew Scott as the the laconic, world weary (he's only 42!) school teacher. It could be the writing, but I found it difficult to imagine the two characters as one person. The writing is occasionally good (great opening!), sometimes clunky, and in the case of Eddie the younger, often cringe-worthy. I was never quite sure if Eddie was speaking as a child or remembering himself as a child. But for Andrew Scott's masterful performance, I would never have persisted to the book's preposterous finale.

Andrew Scott is a master narrator

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Rather a lot of mumbling and lost ends of sentences from one narrator. Found his voice nice but I missed a lot of the story listening on a long flight.

Don’t listen on a plane or loud environment

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Loved this book. Excellent characterisation coupled with Andrews Scott’s laconic lilt made this a thoroughly enjoyable listen.

Gorgeously dark

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I enjoyed the plot, the story was well structured using two timeframes to slowly unravel a compelling series of events. I wasn’t keen on the narrator for the adult voice - his voice or at least the delivery of the dialogue was a bit tedious and lethargic. That being said overall, well worth adding to your collection for the story alone. I’ll be reading more from this author.

Top class mystery with unpredictable twists

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The story is captivating. I really enjoyed it, and it's always exciting to 'read' books that are set in familiar locations. I did have a problem with the narration - one of the narrators came across as mumbling a lot in a pitch that was really difficult for me to catch - for someone with a hearing difficulty it was sometimes difficult to hear the actual words at times. Whilst I appreciate it is a bit of acting in a narration of a story, the enunciation must be clear to hear.

Narration difficult to hear at times

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I really enjoyed this one, as it was set in the 80's for part of the story, it conjoured up a lot of memories for me, like Woolworths, and Pick 'n' Mix.

The story was good and the characters were very well written.

Stephen King fans will see a slight nod to The Long Walk (A short story that was then made into a movie Stand By Me, which is awesome if you haven't seen it)
And even the King himself has said that 'If you like my stuff, you'll like this' Which is very high praise indeed.

Told in a duel timeline 1986 as a child, and 2016 as a teacher, Eddie is still coming to terms with the fact that him and his friends found a body in the woods, a murder that has never been solved.

They all played games as children, and one of these was communicating with Chalk Man figures drawn on the floor, each friend was represented by a different colour.

One day Eddie receives an envelope through the door with a drawing and a piece of chalk, and this gives him enough courage to try and get more information about the unsoved crime.

Growing up myself in the 80's, this book gave me great pleasure being reminded of certain things, and the story was very well paced.

🎧🎧Narration of the audio book was great, Andrew Scott and Asa Butterfield really brought the characters to life.
All of the charaters had their own voices, and i was never wondering what person was talking, or who was who

Memory Lane for some

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Absolutely loved this book and the narrator's were superb. Andrew Scott has a beautiful voice.

loved it

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Really enjoyed most of this book but wanted so much more from the last couple of chapters. Will happily try another from the author before writing hi off. Enjoyed the narration but found the difference in the main characters child & adult voice off putting at times.

Great book untill loses ends tied up

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