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Rating 4.5

When I initially saw reviews of this book, I thought 'OK', someday I might consider it. I don't read much Thriller or mystery books so I was not in too big of hurry to read it. I ended up winning a copy of this via a giveaway from ReadItForward. And then it sat at my house until I decided to give it a shot. I was then immediately hooked. I had to think about my rating and review for a bit though.

The story rotates in time between 1986 and 2016 telling the story of four young boys and The Chalk Man. Naturally, boys can tell whoppers of stories and that's how the nickname 'The Chalk Man' came about. The story is told from the point of view of Ed at 12 years old, and then a later, older Ed. When he was young, he and his friends found a dead body, all in pieces. It's quite gruesome. Then, slowly Ed unfolds the story of how the dead body came to be, who it was, and how it all happened. And when they were kids, he and his friends used to draw chalk men to leave each other messages. And someone left them chalk men messages, leading them to find the dismembered body. Now, in 2016, everything is coming back to them, someone is sending them letters with chalk men, drawing them. The story slowly unfolds and it seemed each chapter ended in some cliffhanger. I loved it, I would read more and more to see what would happen. I had to stop myself from flipping ahead chapters to stay in the same year and find out what happens. I had to know! It was quite a psychological mind mess and creepy too.

Now, as I read this, I could not help thinking of various Stephen King works - Stand By Me and It. This story had that same creepy vibe in it from It, the rotating story back and forth in time, the sinister feel to it, and that coming of age story in Stand By Me (along with a dead body). (I used to read King a *long* time ago.) I shucked all responsibility to read this one and it kept me so enthralled...BUT...something in the ending really bugged me, hence a lower rating. (view spoiler)[Is everyone in this town a freaking psychopath! What happened to these small boys to make them turn out the way they did. It was a stinking pile of buckaroo! (hide spoiler)] Overall, I'm so glad I read this one, it was a great way to kick off the new year of reading. And I look forward to more from this author in the future. Thanks so much Penguin Random House, Crown Publishing, and ReadItForward for an advance copy of this one. Else, I'm sure it would have languished on my TBR mountain forever. #RIFWinner