For months we have been warning people that he is coming, and now he is finally here: The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor is published today in the UK by Penguin Random House / Michael Joseph, following the US launch on Tuesday 9th January.

Fellow authors, readers and booksellers have all been caught up in the excitement surrounding The Chalk Man, hailed by Michael Joseph as the biggest thriller of 2018. With an audio book narrated by Andrew Scott and Asa Butterfield, a cover to instill fear into the heart of any reader, and a story so captivating you’ll need to read it in one sitting, we’re sure it will live up to the acclaim.

You can find out even more about C.J. Tudor in her Penguin Podcast with Konnie Huq, which also includes a few more extracts from the audiobook and five objects that inspired her writing (including a Stephen King book and a glass dolphin).

Here are just a selection of quotes that have come in over the past months and weeks, in case you were in any doubt of just how explosive this twisting, terryifying novel is:

“The Chalk Man is coming there’s nothing you can do to stop him. Tense, skilful storytelling and plenty of horror.”
Ali Land, bestselling author of Good Me, Bad Me

“C.J. Tudor knows the twelve-year-old who still lives in all of us, that kid who chills himself to the bone with an intuition of what lurks in the woods, or in his own closet, and The Chalk Man walks the haunted bridge between then and now—between sheer childhood terrors and a true crime so grisly and personal it’s cold hand never leaves the back of your neck.  Suburban adolescents on bikes, squeamish love, nascent sexuality meets adult-world obsession and lust and violence…and through it all runs an affecting story of friendship, loss, and the inescapable frailties of mind and body.”
Tim Johnston,  bestselling author of Descent

“Imaginative, with an intriguing premise that straddles two fascinating worlds.  It’s a frenetic ride that’s deep and alluring, oozing with suspense.  A rollicking good time.”
Steve Berry,  bestselling author of The 14th Colony

“What a great book, echoes of The Body by King, a twisty thriller, and downright creepy ending. 5 stars.”
Sarah Pinborough, bestselling author of Behind Her Eyes

“Absolutely brilliant. I was enthralled from start to finish. I was expecting a creepy horror story that I’d have to read with all the lights on but this book is so much more than that – it’s witty, insightful, clever, thoughtful, mysterious, gripping, nostalgic and utterly compelling. Publishers often talk about ‘an exciting new voice in fiction’ and I genuinely think CJ Tudor is going to be huge. This book has bestseller written all over it and if it doesn’t go to number one I will eat my crime writing hat.”
C.L. Taylor, bestselling author of The Escape

“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, bestselling author of The Widow

“In The Chalk Man, C.J. Tudor brilliantly weaves past and present into a haunting, vividly imagined tale. Much more than a murder mystery, it is a sharp, terrifying exploration of the bonds and limitations of childhood friendships and of secrets that refuse to remain buried. I fell in love with the guiding voice of this novel, the thoughtful and solitary Eddie. Prepare to be surprised again and again, even until the final page.”
Michelle Richmond, author of The Marriage Pact

“CJ Tudor has written an utterly original novel—a thriller in which the suspense comes not simply from what happens, but from that dark place within the human mind from which all the greatest mysteries and terrors emerge.  This one will hold you in its grip to the last page.”
Joyce Maynard, bestselling author of Under the Influence and To Die For

“I am not the biggest reader since becoming an author myself, but devoured it in two sittings. Kept me up until five in the morning. Wonderfully written. I loved it!”
Kimberley Chambers

“I finally finished The Chalk Man in the wee small hours this morning…it’s been a while since I’ve read such an impressive debut. The pace was perfectly judged, with a lovely feel of Stand By Me about the 1986 scenes and beguiling nostalgia in the contemporary narrative, all mixed in with a creeping sense of unease that starts with the Prologue and grows throughout the book. The characters were superbly drawn…And then that ending.”
James Oswald

“What an amazing debut! Such an ingenious, original idea. I was engrossed from the very first page. I loved how the 1986 and present day storylines weaved so skilfully together to create that unforgettable and unexpected ending. Compelling, taut and so very, very chilling. This book will haunt you!”
Claire Douglas, Sunday Times bestselling author of Last Seen Alive

“The grip the past has on the present reveals itself in ever more sinister and macabre ways in this utterly original and relentlessly compelling psychological thriller. The Chalk Man kept me guessing all the way to the end.”
Fiona Neill, author of The Betrayals

“The Chalk Man is an unpredictable and engaging thriller: sinister, tragic, and with a beautifully rendered sense of time and place. That final page still haunts me”
Helen Callaghan, bestselling author of Dear Amy

‘C.J. Tudor bursts onto the scene with a page-turning thriller that draws simple but terrifying lines about evil and the haunting nature of childhood. Flip open the first page and you’ll curl up all night.’
Julia Heaberlin, Sunday Times bestselling author of Black Eyed Susans

“I enjoyed it from start to finish.  It brought back so clearly what it was like to be at school, to deal with adults and that awful feeling of tension and almost morbid curiosity and embarrassment when you begin to realise that they are human and have feelings too (god forbid!). As well as being unputdownable, it was emotionally intelligent, touching and credible.”
Emma Curtis

“One of the best books I’ve read since I first read Stephen King’ s IT when I was 14. Go get it!”
Rachel Burton, author of The Many Colours of Us

“Tudor’s sharp eye for detail and ear for dialogue lend the childhood scenes an immediacy and authenticity that completely convince. With its driving plot and sensitive evocation of friendship and loneliness, The Chalk Man is an utterly gripping read, with an ending that will make the hairs on the back of your neck bristle.”
Karen Perry

“An intriguing puzzle with an engaging cast of characters . . . highly promising debut”
Mail on Sunday, Thriller of the Week

“The buzz started months ago for this tense gripper with a leave-the-lights-on shock ending, in which the past catches up with a group of friends. Has been compared to Stephen King”
Sunday Times

 

Congratulations once again Caz, we are thrilled for you and your unique and terrifying creation!