The Chalk Man
C.J. Tudor, read by Euan Morton. Random House Audio, unabridged, 8 CDs, 9.5 hrs., $35 ISBN 978-0-525-52638-4
Scottish theater actor Morton performs a dramatic rendition of Tudor’s debut novel, a psychological thriller focusing on five 12-year-olds who experience a series of life-altering events in an English village in 1986. The preteen quintet includes Eddie, the thoughtful narrator; boisterous Gav; soft-spoken introvert Hoppo; raspy-voiced, annoying Mickey; and Nicky, the tomboy daughter of the town’s vicar. The book shifts from the preteen memories to Eddie’s unsettled life in 2016, in which he is still haunted by the series of horrific accidents and unsolved murders he and his friends witnessed 30 years earlier. Reader Morton adds depth to each of the characters in his reading for the audio edition. His Eddie has a melancholy personality that lingers from childhood into his 40s. There’s a touch of menace in the latter-day Mickey, while Gav’s brashness is diminished in adulthood. Tudor’s novel is more character study than psychological thriller, and Morton’s fully realized character voices help convey that. A Crown hardcover. (Jan.)
Details
Reviewed on: 03/26/2018
Genre: Audio
Compact Disc - 978-1-4450-7103-9
Hardcover - 288 pages - 978-1-5247-6098-4
Hardcover - 368 pages - 978-1-4448-3840-4
MP3 CD - 978-1-4450-7104-6
Mass Market Paperbound - 384 pages - 978-0-593-35901-3
Mass Market Paperbound - 368 pages - 978-1-4000-2691-3
Other - 978-1-4450-7105-3
Paperback - 304 pages - 978-1-5247-6099-1
Paperback - 448 pages - 978-0-525-59001-9
Paperback - 288 pages - 978-0-385-69007-2
Paperback - 304 pages - 978-0-385-69009-6
Pre-Recorded Audio Player - 978-1-5094-6600-9
