Review: A Sliver of Darkness by C.J. Tudor

Author: C.J. Tudor
Publisher: Ballantine Books (Random House)
Publication Date: November 2022

The debut short story collection from the acclaimed author of The Chalk Man, featuring ten bone-chilling and mind-bending tales

Timeslips. Doomsday scenarios. Killer butterflies. C. J. Tudor's novels are widely acclaimed for their dark, twisty suspense plots, but with A Sliver of Darkness, she pulls us even further into her dizzying imagination.

In Final Course, the world has descended into darkness, but a group of old friends make time for one last dinner party. In Runaway Blues, thwarted love, revenge, and something very nasty stowed in a hat box converge. In Gloria, a strange girl at a service station endears herself to a cold-hearted killer, but can a leopard really change its spots? And in I'm Not Ted, a case of mistaken identity has unforeseen, fatal consequences.

Riveting and explosively original, A Sliver of Darkness is C. J. Tudor at her most wicked and uninhibited.

A Sliver of Darkness is a horror anthology with eleven short stories.  I can genuinely say that I enjoyed all of the stories in this collection.  It's not often that I can say that as I am usually only half impressed.  This collection is what I expect when I want to read a horror anthology.  As I was reading, I felt nostalgia for early Stephen King horror anthologies like Skeleton Crew and Night Shift.  It was that good.

To start each story, the author gives us a peek into what motivated her to write the story.  All of the stories were creepy, twisted and disturbing.  It is hard to pick a favorite.  If I was hard pressed, I would have to say "Dust", "The Block" and "Final Course" are the ones that stuck with me the most.  I definitely think there is something in here for any horror fan.  I highly recommend it!

Review: The Other People by C.J. Tudor

Author: C.J. Tudor
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Publication Date:  January 2020

Driving home one night, stuck behind a rusty old car, Gabe sees a little girl's face appear in the rear window. She mouths one word: 'Daddy.' It's his five-year-old daughter, Izzy.

He never sees her again.

Three years later, Gabe spends his days and nights travelling up and down the motorway, searching for the car that took his daughter, refusing to give up hope, even though most people believe that Izzy is dead.

Fran and her daughter, Alice, also put in a lot of miles on the motorway. Not searching. But running. Trying to keep one step ahead of the people who want to hurt them. Because Fran knows the truth. She knows what really happened to Gabe's daughter.

Then, the car that Gabe saw driving away that night is found, in a lake, with a body inside and Gabe is forced to confront events, not just from the night his daughter disappeared, but from far deeper in his past.

His search leads him to a group called The Other People.

Of the three books that I have read by this author, The Other People is probably going to be my least favorite.  It was one of my most anticipated books of the year.  I wish I could say I loved it, but it ended up being just OK for me.  The story follows a couple of story lines:  a father who swears his daughter was kidnapped, but no one believes him,  a nurse taking care of a girl in a coma and  a mother on the run with her daughter.

I'm not sure I can pinpoint any one thing that made this kind of a bland story.  The characters were a little forgettable. I wanted a thriller and I just didn't get one.  It has been a couple of weeks since I finished the book and I honestly forgot most of what happened in the story.  Good thrillers tend to stay with me.  The story was a bit convoluted with a couple of twists.  The ending does wrap up the story fairly well but I still had a couple of questions.   I'm still a fan of this author's so I do look forward to the next book.  It's not the worst thriller I have read, it's just not the best either.

Blog Tour: Review of The Hiding Place by C.J. Tudor

Author: C.J. Tudor

Publisher: Crown

Date of publication:  February 2019

The thrilling second novel from the author of The Chalk Man, about a teacher with a hidden agenda who returns to settle scores at a school he once attended, only to uncover a darker secret than he could have imagined.

Joe never wanted to come back to Arnhill. After the way things ended with his old gang–the betrayal, the suicide, the murder–and after what happened when his sister went missing, the last thing he wanted to do was return to his hometown. But Joe doesn’t have a choice. Because judging by what was done to that poor Morton kid, what happened all those years ago to Joe’s sister is happening again. And only Joe knows who is really at fault.

Lying his way into a teaching job at his former high school is the easy part. Facing off with former friends who are none too happy to have him back in town–while avoiding the enemies he’s made in the years since–is tougher. But the hardest part of all will be returning to that abandoned mine where it all went wrong and his life changed forever, and finally confronting the shocking, horrifying truth about Arnhill, his sister, and himself. Because for Joe, the worst moment of his life wasn’t the day his sister went missing.

It was the day she came back.

I have been looking forward to reading The Hiding Place since reading Chalk Man last year.  The story involves Joe, who reluctantly moves back to his home town.  He wants to right some wrongs that happened when he was a teen and his sister went missing.  He takes a job at his old high school and soon learns people in the town don't want him stirring up trouble.

 I am pleased to say that I did like this one a lot.  The Hiding Place was creepy and had a great paranormal atmosphere to it. It's a slow burn mystery that gave me the creeps as I began to realize what was going on in the town.  It's actually best going into the book not knowing much about it.  The characters were interesting, especially Joe.  He is the type of character that is not very likable, but you find yourself rooting for him anyway. 

I definitely recommend this one!  I can't wait to see what is next for this author.

Purchase Links

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

About C.J. Tudor

C. J. TUDOR is the author of The Chalk Man, and lives in Nottingham, England, with her partner and three-year-old daughter. Over the years she has worked as a copywriter, television presenter, voice-over, and dog walker. She is now thrilled to be able to write full-time, and doesn’t miss chasing wet dogs through muddy fields all that much.

Connect with C.J.

Facebook | Twitter

C. J. Tudor’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:

Monday, January 28th: Books & Bindings

Tuesday, January 29th: Books Before Bedtime and @booksbeforebedtime

Wednesday, January 30th: Palmer’s Page Turners

Thursday, January 31st: Jessicamap Reviews and @jessicamapreviews

Friday, February 1st: No More Grumpy Bookseller

Monday, February 4th: Patricia’s Wisdom

Tuesday, February 5th: @outofthebex

Wednesday, February 6th: Bewitched Bookworms

Friday, February 8th: Thoughts from a Highly Caffeinated Mind

Monday, February 11th: Novel Gossip and @novelgossip

Tuesday, February 12th: Erica Robyn Reads

Wednesday, February 13th: @scaredstraightreads

Thursday, February 14th: From the TBR Pile

Sunday, February 17th: Rockin’ Book Reviews

Monday, February 18th: @wherethereadergrows

Monday, February 18th: Girl Who Reads

Wednesday, February 20th: Kahakai Kitchen

Thursday, February 21st: Book by Book

Friday, February 22nd: Book Fidelity

Monday, February 25th: @hotcocoareads

Wednesday, February 27th: Booktimistic and @booktimistic

Thursday, February 28th: Midwest Ladies Who Lit

Monday, March 4th: Wining Wife

Tuesday, March 5th: Write Read Life

TBD: @prose_and_palate

Blog Tour: The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor

Author: C.J. Tudor

Publisher: Crown

Date of publication: January 2018

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.

“Readers will undoubtedly be reminded of the kids of Stand by Me and even IT…[the] first-person narration alternates between past and present, taking full advantage of chapter-ending cliffhangers. A swift, cleverly plotted debut novel that ably captures the insular, slightly sinister feel of a small village. Children of the 1980s will enjoy the nostalgia.”—Kirkus 

“I haven’t had a sleepless night due to a book for a long time. The Chalk Man changed that.” —Fiona Barton, New York Times bestselling author of The Widow

I was super excited to read The Chalk Man.  I had seen lot of the hype about it and it made my most anticipated list of 2018. It's been a while since I have found a good thriller/horror novel that freaks me out.  This book waffles between the past when the main characters are kids and the present when is seems that the Chalk Man has come back.

So, did I love it? Sadly, no...I liked it, I just didn't love it. Don't get me wrong. For a debut novel, I found it well written and well thought out.  I liked that I didn't call all of the twists so I was surprised in the end.  As a mystery, it was pretty enjoyable.  If not a bit slow at times. I liked the main character, Eddie and the flashbacks to the kids' childhoods was most enjoyable.  However, I felt a bit deceived.  I was expecting a psychological thriller that would "keep me up at night".  It just never lived up to that expectation.  I think if you go into it knowing it's a just mystery you will be fine.  I am interested in trying out this author again in the future.

Purchase Links

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

About C. J. Tudor

C. J. TUDOR lives in Nottingham, England, with her partner and three-year-old daughter. Over the years she has worked as a copywriter, television presenter, voice-over, and dog walker. She is now thrilled to be able to write full-time, and doesn’t miss chasing wet dogs through muddy fields all that much. The Chalk Man is her first novel.

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Connect with C. J.

Facebook | Twitter

C. J. Tudor’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:

Tuesday, January 2nd: BookBub blog “18 Books for Stephen King Fans Coming in 2018”

Friday, January 5th: BookBub blog and Facebook video “16 Novels We’re Looking Forward to Reading in 2018”

Monday, January 8th: Katy’s Library blog and @katyslibrary

Monday, January 8th: Jenn’s Bookshelves

Tuesday, January 9th: @everlasting.charm

Tuesday, January 9th: Clues and Reviews and @cluesandreviews

Wednesday, January 10th: She Treads Softly

Wednesday, January 10th: Moonlight Rendezvous

Wednesday, January 10th: Tome Tender

Thursday, January 11th: Books a la Mode – author guest post

Thursday, January 11th: Rockin’ & Reviewing

Friday, January 12th: Snowdrop Dreams

January 15th: BookBub Blog – author guest post “Eight Thrillers with Scary Children/Teenagers”

Tuesday, January 16th: Bewitched Bookworms

Tuesday, January 16th: Booksie’s Blog

Wednesday, January 17th: Suzy Approved

Wednesday, January 17th: A Chick Who Reads

Thursday, January 18th: Lit Wit Wine Dine

Thursday, January 18th: Bibliotica

Friday, January 19th: Write Read Life

Friday, January 19th: 5 Minutes for Books

Monday, January 22nd: What is That Book About

Monday, January 22nd: Ms. Nose in a Book

Tuesday, January 23rd: A Bookworm’s World

Tuesday, January 23rd: The Book Diva’s Reads

Wednesday, January 24th: Girl Who Reads

Thursday, January 25th: Black ‘n Gold Girl’s Reviews

Friday, January 26th: Lovely Bookshelf

Monday, January 29th: Novel Gossip blog and @novelgossip

Monday, January 29th: A Literary Vacation

Monday, January 29th: Patricia’s Wisdom

Tuesday, January 30th: From the TBR Pile

Wednesday, January 31st: Staircase Wit

Thursday, February 1st: No More Grumpy Bookseller

TBD: Jathan and Heather