It's almost as thrilling to see a writer like James Patterson at the top of his game as it is to read The Black Book – a total page-turner that will keep you guessing from start to terrifying finish.

The Black Book has more twists than a Formula One race, and the pace is just as fast. Deeply rooted characters, a touch of humour, and a climax nobody can see coming – it's vintage Patterson.

The plot twists will give you whiplash . . . an engaging read

Brilliantly twisty ... Many readers will agree with Patterson that this is the "best book [he's] written in 25 years".

The mystery is authentic, the lead-up genuinely suspenseful

A Sliding Doors thriller with a moral dilemma at its heart. Brilliant

A smartly conceived psychological thriller

This gripping thriller will make you wonder: What would I do? We couldn't put this book down!

This clever novel reminds me of Sliding Doors - it will challenge every belief you have

Joanna has two choices: does she call 999 or run? Ingeniously, the novel's alternating chapters depict both riveting options

All the hallmarks of a stunning psychological thriller: Pace, twists and turns and the heart-stopping realisation that it could easily be you

Completely original. I was gripped

Hard to put down. The two storylines work so well and the balance is perfect . . . A gripping story with real characters

A Sliding Doors-style thriller that will keep you gripped until the final page

The novel is ingenious . . . a beautiful and original book

An expertly crafted novel full of drama and tension . . . An impossible feat accomplished with great skill. Bravo

Praise for Everything but the Truth

Perfection. Intriguing and compelling. An exceptional debut

Wonderful writing and a brilliant story. An amazing debut

Packed with twists and turns that will make it almost impossible to put down

A beautifully written domestic noir full of secrets and lies

This contemporary love story wrapped up in a thriller is a brilliant read. Compelling and intense

A gripping, compelling page turner that kept me up half the night

You won't be able to put it down!

An utterly unique story . . . my heart was in my mouth the whole time

An assured and gripping debut

Tense and compelling

I found myself wanting to pick it up at every opportunity. Brilliant

Top domestic noir

Once I'd started I was powerless to stop. Brilliantly executed, clever and utterly realistic

This is a book to devour

Startlingly good. Gillian McAllister is a new star in psychological thrillers

Intriguing and atmospheric

Breathlessly brilliant

A thrilling book club read

Prepare to be gripping by this tense thriller

Prepare to be gripped by this tense thriller

Genuinely creepy books don't come along very often, but this one can hold its missing head up high

There are shades of Stephen King in this very creepy timeslip, as well as an evocative portrait of small-town life in 1980s Britain

My favourite crime book of 2018 would have to be The Chalk Man. It initially brought to mind twisted tales of suburban Americana such as Stand by Me and Carrie. However, by weaving in authentic and evocative period detail C. J. Tudor manages to create a story that tells of the darkness at the heart of small-town life that is, like the rotten pastoral in a M. R. James ghost story, uniquely English. Unsettling, taut and skillfully plotted, The Chalk Man grabbed me by the throat from the very first sentence and didn't let go until the final, heart-stopping page

[I] haven't had a sleepless night due to a book for a long time. The Chalk Man changed that. Many congrats C. J. Tudor

What a great book. A twisty thriller and downright creepy ending. 5 stars.

Tense, skillful storytelling

Absolutely brilliant. 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 C. J. 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

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!

It's been a while since I've read such an impressive debut. The pace was perfectly judged, the characters superbly drawn and there's a creeping sense of unease that starts with the prologue and grows throughout the book. And then that ending! It feels so fresh and deserves to be a huge success

Utterly Hypnotic. The Chalk Man is a dream novel, a book of nightmares: haunted and haunting, shot through with shadow and light - a story to quicken the pulse and freeze the blood. A dark star is born

Impossible to put down, cleverly constructed and executed

Kept me up until five in the morning. Wonderfully written. I loved it!

I absolutely loved The Chalk Man . . . It's a dark, mesmerising thriller with an ending that left me with goosebumps!

One of the best books I've read since I first read Stephen King's IT when I was 14. Go get it!

I've just finished The Chalk Man by C. J. Tudor. WOW! I could not put it down. If you like Stephen King, you'll LOVE this!

At the heart of this accomplished debut lies a shocking crime stumbled upon by a group of teenage friends. It is a discovery that shatters their innocence and haunts the whole community. Now, twenty years later, someone is sending anonymous letters - chalk drawings of a stick figure with a noose around its neck - someone who hasn't forgotten what happened in the woods all those years ago. The past is very much alive in this book where memory is unreliable and old secrets fester, threatening to turn as odorous as a rotting corpse. 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

Just finished The Chalk Man. Dark and addictive. This page-turner is more twisty than a rollercoaster. And one hell of a ride.

The Chalk Man is a stunning debut, a riveting thriller about the powerful grip of the past and the unbreakable bonds of childhood friendship. The ending of this smasher will completely throw you for a loop

The Chalk Man is an intricate and surprising book that will reward the reader who approaches it with the attention it deserves

Absolutely loved it! Creepy, brilliant and tense, I could not put it down!

Blasted through this beauty in one intense and thrilling sitting

The Chalk Man stole my weekend! Wow. Just wow. The tension just builds and builds. And what a final page . . .

Finished reading The Chalk Man by C.J Tudor last night. What a book! Enjoyed every minute of it. A total banger!

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

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

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

The Chalk Man is superb: compelling, beautifully written and utterly chilling