The Chalk Man by C. J. Tudor

In 1986 Eddie and his friends, a group of 12 year olds, discover a dismembered body in the local woods. As a result of a series of chalk drawings found in the local area the murder is ascribed to "The Chalk Man". Jump forward 30 years and Eddie, still living in his childhood home, receives a letter which brings back troubling memories of what happened.

The opening page really grabs you, with a seriously creepy description of finding the dismembered limbs in the woods. The story then alternates between what happened leading up to the discovery in 1986 and events in 2016 when Eddie begins to question if events were as they seemed.

C. J. Tudor does an excellent job of writing 12 year old Eddie and 42 year old Eddie as two very distinct voices. Alongside this is the description of the town of Anderbury - a quaint market town. However, if you scratch the surface things aren't quite as picturesque as they seem. The town is surface gloss, hiding a seedy under layer with lots of secrets.

In 1986 the story begins in summer, a colourful time, full of light, innocence and happiness. We are slowly drip fed events leading up to the discovery of the body. As the tension slowly builds we move from summer in to autumn, a season of death and decay that pervades everything.

The descriptions of the friendships between Eddie, Hoppo, Fat Gav, Metal Mickey and Nicky along with the sinister undertones of the town of Anderbury have vibes similar to Stephen King. C. J. Tudor keeps the reader guessing until the very end whether it's a resident of the town or supernatural forces responsible for the murder.