The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor

The must-read thriller of 2018, this riveting and relentlessly compelling psychological suspense debut will keep readers guessing right up to the shocking ending

In 1986, Eddie and his friends are just kids on the verge of adolescence. They spend their days biking around their sleepy little English village and looking for any taste of excitement they can get. The chalk men are their secret code; little chalk stick figures they leave for one another as messages only they can understand. But then a mysterious chalk man leads them right to a dismembered body, and nothing is ever the same.

In 2016, Eddie is fully grown, and thinks he's put his past behind him. But then he gets a letter in the mail, containing a single chalk stick figure. When it turns out that his friends got the same message, they think it could be a prank . . . until one of them turns up dead. That's when Eddie realizes that saving himself means finally figuring out what really happened all those years ago.

Expertly alternating between flashbacks and the present day, The Chalk Man is the very best kind of suspense novel, one where every character is wonderfully fleshed out and compelling, where every mystery has a satisfying payoff, and where the twists will shock even the savviest reader.  

I nearly passed up the chance to read this book. With it's simple unassuming cover, written by an author I had never heard of... I nearly passed it by without a second glance. Especially as it claimed to be "The Must Read" of 2018. So many make that claim. Too many make that claim. I nearly passed it by. What a loss that would have been. What a flaming pile of Buckaroo indeed that would have been on my part to miss out on reading this novel. I just this minute finished it. I'm still stunned. Pardon me if it shows. I began this book a day or so before Thanksgiving. I kicked myself over that repeatedly. So much to do and so little time to read. It took me more than a week to finish it. I thought about it day and night when I wasn't reading. All through the holiday preparations I could not wait to get back to this book. Looking at that claim now "The must read thriller" I am nodding my head in approval. I'm applauding. Heck I'm cheering out loud. This was an incredible read. 5 out of 5 stars from me, and if I could I'd give it 10.

I received an advance copy for review.

Killer Choice by Tom Hunt

The electrifying debut thriller that asks the question: To save the one you love, is there any price you wouldn’t pay?

His wife is sick.
He needs $200,000 to save her.
A mysterious man offers to give him the money with just one catch: He has to murder someone to get it.

Gary Foster’s life is finally heading in the right direction. After years of trying, his wife, Beth, is pregnant, and he recently opened a business with his brother. But one phone call changes everything....

After collapsing suddenly, Beth has been rushed to the hospital. Tests reveal a devastating diagnosis: an inoperable brain tumor. Their only hope is an expensive experimental treatment available abroad, with a cost that’s out of their reach. And Beth’s time is running out....

Then a strange man approaches Gary and offers the money he needs, on one condition: that he kill someone, no questions asked. End one life to save another.

In this nail-biting debut novel of domestic suspense, one man makes a choice that forces him to confront the darkest reaches of his soul and betray those closest to him. As he’s swept up in a nightmare of escalating violence, he must question his own morality—and determine just how far he’s willing to go to save the woman he loves.

Gary and Beth are happily married and happily pregnant after having tried so long for a baby that they had nearly given up hope. All seems to be going well until suddenly and unexpectedly Beth collapses. After a trip to the emergency room they are given devastating news. Beth has an inoperable tumor and may have less than a year to live. Her only hope of survival is a costly experimental treatment that they can not afford.

Meanwhile a shady character named Otto has caught the eye of a crooked cop and wants to be rid of him permanently. He hatches a plan to have the cop murdered by someone who has no connection to him so that he will never be a suspect. When Otto sees an article about Gary and Beth's dire situation he decides to take advantage of their desperate need for money.

This was a fast paced, suspenseful, action packed thriller with a lot of heart. There were a couple of things that irked me, having to do with police procedure and cash that I won't go into so as not to spoil the story but overall I enjoyed it.
3.75 out of 5 stars rounded up to 4

I received an advance copy for review.

Green by Sam Graham Felsen

Description
A novel of race and privilege in America that you haven't seen before: a coming-of-age story about a life-changing friendship, propelled by an exuberant, unforgettable voice.

"This isn't some Jedi bull****; the force I'm talking about is real, and its energies are everywhere, working on everyone."

Boston, 1992. David Greenfeld is one of the few white kids at the Martin Luther King Middle School. Everybody clowns him, girls ignore him, and his hippie parents won't even buy him a pair of Nikes, let alone transfer him to a private school. Unless he tests into the city's best public high school--which, if practice tests are any indication, isn't likely--he'll be friendless for the foreseeable future.

Nobody's more surprised than Dave when Marlon Wellings sticks up for him in the school cafeteria. Mar's a loner from the public housing project on the corner of Dave's own gentrifying block, and he confounds Dave's assumptions about black culture: He's nerdy and neurotic, a Celtics obsessive whose favorite player is the gawky, white Larry Bird. Together, the two boys are able to resist the contradictory personas forced on them by the outside world, and before long, Mar's coming over to Dave's house every afternoon to watch vintage basketball tapes and plot their hustle to Harvard. But as Dave welcomes his new best friend into his world, he realizes how little he knows about Mar's. Cracks gradually form in their relationship, and Dave starts to become aware of the breaks he's been given--and that Mar has not.

Infectiously funny about the highs and lows of adolescence, and sharply honest in the face of injustice, Sam Graham-Felsen's debut is a wildly original take on the struggle to rise in America.  

This coming of age story is set in the 1990s and centers around the friendship of David and Marlon, two very different kids who find they have a lot in common.
David is one of the only white kids at Martin Luther King Middle School in Boston. He's a target for bullies and hates that his parents won't send him to a private school like his little brother Benno.
Marlon is being raised by his grandmother because of his mother's instability. When Marlon sticks up for David one day when he's getting bullied the 2 strike up a friendship. They find they are both basketball fans and both hoping to attend Harvard someday. Marlon is embarrassed by his mother, while David is embarrassed by his Grandfather. Although they share much in common their friendship is repeatedly tested.
While I enjoyed the story I felt there were quite a few aspects of Marlon's character that could have been better developed and that were deserving of a more in depth exploration other than just being the black kid with big dreams and an unstable mother.

I received an advance copy for review.

The Lerewood by Andrea Churchill

Description
Legends speak of a place called Lerewood, an isolated little village set in the middle of an immeasurable, ghostly wood. The townspeople suffer from severe poverty and filth, living more like savage animals than a cultured civilization. However, despite the town’s inhuman conditions, the townspeople never seem to die from disease or starvation, and their numbers only seem to grow with each generation. No one knows the truth of how Lerewood came to be, but many secrets seem to revolve around an ancient, legendary creature that lives in the surrounding forest. They say she’ll hunt anyone who dares trespass onto her land; those who enter the forest never come back.

One middle aged man, Uallas, depressed and tired of abuse from his monstrous wife, decides to commit suicide by entering the wood. But when he steps foot into the mythical dark forest, Uallas finds that everything he ever knew about the town, and himself, were lies. These new discoveries only lead to more questions, where the truth can only be found in the mysterious, undiscovered world.

The Lerewood introduces the topics of natural evil, identity, and judgment, all while moving the reader with detailed personification. It is a tale of darkness, and will appeal to many readers with its rich, moody descriptions of the eerie, mythological forest.

 Most of the people of Lerewood seem to accept their fate, that they can never leave, and that there is no other way of life out there. To venture into the woods would mean certain death, for those who have tried it have never returned. It's easy for the townspeople to believe there is nothing else out there since they are taught this from the time they are children. Legend has it that many years ago two outsiders did make their way into the village and that is what is possibly behind the curse that leaves these people trapped in poverty and despair. One man will find out the truth when he is driven out of his home by his abusive wife. The Lerewood is a dark and magical tale that I found most intriguing.

I received a complimentary copy for review.