Although I try to avoid it, some spoilers may be in the summarised story below if they are needed. But of course I do not tell all details, else there would be no sense reading the book yourself. Please forgive me for any grammer errors, I am not strong in English writing.

C.J. Tudor came to the idea of writing The Chalk Man after her daughter’s second birthday, when chalks were given and a lot of stickman like figures were draw with it. She found that those figures really looked sinister in the dark. Although she started writing on a young age, she only started to do so properly in her thirties. The Chalk Man is her first novel,.

The story is about Eddie Adams (Munster) and his friends Gavin (Fat Gav), Mickey (Metal Mickey), David (Hoppo) and Nicky. It is set in the years 2016 and 1986, written through the eyes of Eddie in an I perspective. Each chapter is or the adult Eddie or the teenager, so the present and the past are tangled up.

The story
In the woods a girls body was found, despite a weeks search, the detectives never found the head.

2016 timeline:
Eddie says no one knows the exact start of it, but he thinks it was at the fair when he met Mr. Halloran. Eddie got a letter, Chloe, his lodger, asks about it, but Eddie does say what is in it. Later that day he meets up with Gav and Hoppo, were they talk bout Mickey’s return in town. At home Eddie opens the envelope, revealing it’s contents. In the evening Eddie got a dinner with Mickey, asking him for help on telling what really happened by writing a book. In the night Eddie can not sleep, goes down for medication and find someone had entered the living room. The next morning Chloe shows him what happened to the living room, but Eddie can not remember. Later he gets a call of Chloe, telling she found the wallet of Mickey in the house. Eddie fails to contact Mickey and later finds out why. On an evening Chloe comes home crying, they drink and talk for a bit until a doorbell rings. Two policemen are in front of the door with bad news. Eddie goes to a church sitting inside thinking about the last few days. When he gets home, his mother brought the cat he forgot about and finds his mother knows more then she wants to say. Eddie goes to Gav, finding him on the playground, who reveals why he does not talk to Mickey and he also got a letter. One day Eddie finds his long coat missing, after a search he finds it in a closet and after checking finds more. Later he does to Hoppo, informing him about Mickey and asking if he also got a letter. After that visit Eddie call Chloe to apologise, she says she is working and got no time. He then goes to her job, finding she got sacked a month ago for insulting a customer, someone he knows. Eddie finds the phone number of this person and calls to meet up, finds out this person also got a letter and who Chloe really is. At home he finds Chloe missing. Eddie’s mother came back earlier and they have a talk at father’s grave, were she reveals everything she knows about Revd Martin. Because of this Eddie goes to where Revd Martin now lives, to investigate and ending up ‘talking' with Martin. Eddie also talks to an other resident and that makes him think. On his way home he thinks everything through, but at home he finds Chloe is back. She confirms a lot about what Eddie found out, reveals a bit more and then leaves him something that belonged to Mickey. Thanks to that he finds out what he would not without.

1986 timeline:
Eddie form a ‘gang’ with his friends and they meet up outside the fair. Eddie loses his wallet, goes on a search and then meets Mr. Halloran. Right after a disaster happens were a girl, Waltzer’s Girl, gets wounded. Eddie and Mr. Halloran help her out. At the birthday of Gav, Eddie finds an unopened present, gives it to Gav and they find chalks in it. Right after Revd Martin, father of Nicky, and Eddie’s father are in a fight, causing them all to leave early. Eddie’s dad is silent about why, Later in year Eddie drives to the woods, stops when he sees Mr. Halloran making drawings to have a look. Later they part, Eddie goes on to the woods to build a den with his friends, but get attacked big Sean, the brother of Mickey, and Eddie managed to hit Sean with a rock. Eddie and his friend run out the woods after, on the playground Eddie gets a great idea. Days later Eddie finds the secret mark, a stickman in chalk with the colour of Mickey, asking him to go to the playground. There he finds not Mickey, but Sean beating him up until Mr. Halloran comes by and ands it. Mr Halloran takes Eddie to his place to clean himself, but then Eddie finds something in the house and Mr. Halloran asks him to keep it silent after dropping Eddie home. Summer break ended and they all have to go to school, nothing changed there accept for Mr. Halloran starting as teacher, how later gets a nickname. Dome while later a body was found in the river, Sean, how haunts Eddie in the night leaving a message and a chalk drawing. At the funeral of Sean a small commotion interferes the ceremony and after the chest is buried Hoppo finds his dog is missing. After a long search, they find him on the playground. Hoopo’s mother found a disturbing scene inside the church and Revd Martin half beaten. Nicky left town with her mother, Eddie’s father gets arrest and set free after a witnessing of Mr. Helloran, but Mr. Halloran now points suspicion on himself. Mr. Halloran is resigned from school, after it came out he was secretly meeting with the Waltzer’s Girl. All of the gang, accept Nicky, find the secret mark and are coming to the playground, but one called anybody. Then Eddie finds a chalk figure that calls them to the woods, there they follow a path of drawings to a girls body. Although Eddie may nog go to Mr. Halloran he still goes, but find him bathing and then leave leaving something behind. Later his mum comes home with sad news.

Conclusion
The story builds up well, is easy to follow and reads like a Young Adult, although it is an adult story. There is a bit of humour, sadness, joy and horror, all adding up the suspense until the reveal at the end. Ones you think you figured out how things work out, C.J.Tudor turns around the story and leaving you guessing. There is no telling how it all ends infill the last chapters. Although at some moments I thought C.J. Tudor would spoil the story be revealing parts in it. None the less it is a story hard to put a side, you just want to know who killed the girl in the woods and why. I find it a must read for people loving thrillers and suspense and would recommend still book if one asks me for a good story, but not to complex.