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jimbowen0306's review against another edition
4.0
This is probably the best book that I've read, so far, this year. It sees a teacher return to his old stomping ground as a kid (an old Nottinghamshire mining town that has been dying on its feet since they closed the mine). He's a teacher at the local secondary, and they're relieved to have him (at least at first), because it's THAT SORT OF SCHOOL in THAT SORT OF COMMUNITY.
We learn pretty soon that the "goodness of his heart" isn't the only reason he's back, as he falls out with the local school bully, and his bully boy father, who was the school bully back in the day, when the teacher was a kid. At the same time, we learn who Annie Thorne is, and we gradually get a sense of what might have happened to her years ago.
It's pretty clear the teacher is up to something, and as the book progresses we watch the teacher try and shake things up back home. As this goes on, we get glimpses into the past, and find out what happened to the teacher, his friends, and the town, all those year ago, to give us a bit of background. While these threads progress, we're also introduced to an element of mysticism related to the mine, and peculiarities that went on there (is there something living there, or is it talk to keep the kids away from the now disused pit).
I don't want to give the story away too much, which is why I've kept what I have said fairly generic, but I would recommend this book. I wasn't wholly convinced by the mystical elements, they reminded me of a Stephen King book, a little too strongly, and in a weirdly contrived way that made me half expect it to carry on in that vein, but I would really recommend this book. It proved to be the one book this year that encouraged me to find other books by the same author.
We learn pretty soon that the "goodness of his heart" isn't the only reason he's back, as he falls out with the local school bully, and his bully boy father, who was the school bully back in the day, when the teacher was a kid. At the same time, we learn who Annie Thorne is, and we gradually get a sense of what might have happened to her years ago.
It's pretty clear the teacher is up to something, and as the book progresses we watch the teacher try and shake things up back home. As this goes on, we get glimpses into the past, and find out what happened to the teacher, his friends, and the town, all those year ago, to give us a bit of background. While these threads progress, we're also introduced to an element of mysticism related to the mine, and peculiarities that went on there (is there something living there, or is it talk to keep the kids away from the now disused pit).
I don't want to give the story away too much, which is why I've kept what I have said fairly generic, but I would recommend this book. I wasn't wholly convinced by the mystical elements, they reminded me of a Stephen King book, a little too strongly, and in a weirdly contrived way that made me half expect it to carry on in that vein, but I would really recommend this book. It proved to be the one book this year that encouraged me to find other books by the same author.
kerri_reads_books's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
mezzoir's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars, - would've 4 stars but just a bit too much Stephen King influence....
bosbury2602's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
maiarmash's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
a solid read. some very predictable moments (for me) but it was a really good concept. the pit kinda reminded me of the fear street stuff
courtneyhollyy's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Overall an okay thriller/horror, but one that left me with more questions than I started with. It was very obviously inspired by Pet Sematary in a lot of ways, but I don’t think the horror part of the plot was executed that brilliantly. I still don’t understand what was actually happening in the pit to some of the people who went in? We never found out the details and that left me very unsatisfied.
Some of the dialogue and interactions were quite cheesy as well, especially between Joe and Gloria & Joe and Brendan. Not sure how I felt about her portrayal of Brendan as an Irish man constantly saying “feck” ALL the time. Is this Father Ted?
I will say this book was a page-turner. It kept me engaged enough, but overall the execution disappointed me. A shame because I remember really liking The Chalk Man when I read it!
Some of the dialogue and interactions were quite cheesy as well, especially between Joe and Gloria & Joe and Brendan. Not sure how I felt about her portrayal of Brendan as an Irish man constantly saying “feck” ALL the time. Is this Father Ted?
I will say this book was a page-turner. It kept me engaged enough, but overall the execution disappointed me. A shame because I remember really liking The Chalk Man when I read it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Blood, and Gore
Moderate: Gun violence, Car accident, and Cancer
libraryofholly's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
A mid tier book that I think I only enjoyed because I was coming off the back of two quite slow books.
jidcreates's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
aelela's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
bookph1le's review against another edition
4.0
I was surprised by how much I liked this book. I started out thinking it was a mystery/thriller, and though those elements are there, I would classify this more as horror. I'm not typically a horror reader, so when I could see the book heading in that direction I wasn't sure if I wanted to stick with it. I'm glad I did.
What worked most for me was the main character. He's awful. He's frank about being a liar, and he's a fraud in pretty much every sense. So I loved that the author made him so compelling to me. I loved that I needed to know what had happened to him, what his story was, even though I did not like him. Give me all the unlikable, unreliable characters--as long as you make them compelling.
Creepy and lightly supernatural, this book kept me turning pages.
What worked most for me was the main character. He's awful. He's frank about being a liar, and he's a fraud in pretty much every sense. So I loved that the author made him so compelling to me. I loved that I needed to know what had happened to him, what his story was, even though I did not like him. Give me all the unlikable, unreliable characters--as long as you make them compelling.
Creepy and lightly supernatural, this book kept me turning pages.