The Chalk Man: A Novel

In 1986, Eddie and his friends spend their days biking in search of adventure. They use chalk figures—stick men—as a secret code to leave hidden messages for one another. One morning, they discover a chalk man drawing that leads them to the woods, where they find the dead body of a teenage girl. Thirty years later in 2016, Eddie struggles with a drinking problem and tries to distance himself from his past. He receives a letter containing a chalk man identical to the one from 1986. He soon learns that all his childhood friends have received the same message. When one of them is killed, Eddie realizes he must uncover what actually happened decades earlier to save himself. However, investigating the past becomes increasingly dangerous as he discovers that everyone in the town harbors secrets, no one is innocent, and some will go to great lengths to keep the truth hidden. The Chalk Man won the ITW Thriller Award and the Strand Magazine Award for Best Debut Novel.