The Chalk Man

October 2, 2017
In 1986, Eddie Adams, the narrator of British author Tudor’s promising debut, and his four best mates, all early adolescents, become ensnared in a series of ghastly events in the picturesque English town of Anderbury, with the nightmarish inevitability of the Grimmest of tales. In the most shocking episode, a mysterious man leads them to the dismembered remains of a teenage girl in the woods. Not surprisingly, these traumas, which also include abuse, sadistic bullying, and a prank that turns deadly, cast a sizeable shadow over the friends’ futures. In 2016, Mickey, one of Eddie’s old friends, returns to town after more than 20 years away, planning to write a book about the girl’s murder upon the occasion of the murder’s 30th anniversary. Danger looms after Mickey announces that he knows who really killed the girl (the prime suspect killed himself before his likely arrest). Though Tudor makes a couple of rookie missteps, including excessive plot twists seemingly for the sake of surprise, her storytelling prowess is undeniable. Agent: Madeleine Milburn, Madeleine Milburn Literary (U.K.).

March 26, 2018
Scottish theater actor Morton performs a dramatic rendition of Tudor’s debut novel, a psychological thriller focusing on five 12-year-olds who experience a series of life-altering events in an English village in 1986. The preteen quintet includes Eddie, the thoughtful narrator; boisterous Gav; soft-spoken introvert Hoppo; raspy-voiced, annoying Mickey; and Nicky, the tomboy daughter of the town’s vicar. The book shifts from the preteen memories to Eddie’s unsettled life in 2016, in which he is still haunted by the series of horrific accidents and unsolved murders he and his friends witnessed 30 years earlier. Reader Morton adds depth to each of the characters in his reading for the audio edition. His Eddie has a melancholy personality that lingers from childhood into his 40s. There’s a touch of menace in the latter-day Mickey, while Gav’s brashness is diminished in adulthood. Tudor’s novel is more character study than psychological thriller, and Morton’s fully realized character voices help convey that. A Crown hardcover.