C J Tudor is one of a few authors who can really set my nerves on edge. The Taking of Annie Thorne is both satisfying and complex. Joe, is a creepy central character and the dismal small minded and claustrophobic Midlands former mining town is an ideal setting .

Joe returns to his old school as a teacher intent on uncoveringthe truth around the disappearance of his sister years earlier. He’s seedy, rundown and difficult to like, but compelling nevertheless as layer upon layer of secrets are revealed. Kept me gripped as a thriller right the way through and a couple of scenes, particularly in a disused mine shaft, are genuinely chilling.

My thanks to the publisher for a review copy via Netgalley.

Set in Nottingham, a child goes missing and then came back not the same person. The brother returns to his roots and the past all comes back to haunt him. Another fantastic book from CJ Tudor, you won't want to out this down!

Wow, this is a fabulous, scary, menacing story, that had me gripped all the way through. It's every bit as good as C J Tudor's wonderful previous book the Chalk man and similar in style and type of setting, though both are very different, stand-alone novels. This is a superb horror story well worthy of comparisons to Stephen King.

Our protagonist is Joe Thorne, he's a teacher who returns to his childhood hometown, an old pit village called Arnhill, near Nottingham, to take up a position teaching at the local school he was once a pupil at. Joe is quite a complex character, though one I really liked. He obviously has a bit of a past, both back when he was a boy and in the intervening 25 years since he left school as he seems to know a few really dodgy characters and it isn't long until he starts bumping into folk from his childhood, this is a small town with that claustrophobic feel, where everyone knows everyone else and you just can't avoid anyone for long.

He doesn't want to avoid people though, he's come back to confront a terrible event which happened when he was 15 and discover once and for all what happened to his little sister Annie, whom he adored. At only 8 years old she went missing. He has had a cryptic anonymous message saying only, it's happening again and he is reluctantly drawn back to this gloomy place, shadowed by the traces of the old mine which created the town in it's heyday, then virtually destroyed it following it's closure. Now turned into a piece of parkland the Pit looms around every corner and it's influence remains in the very air of Arnhill.

Like the authors first book, it is told in dual time as Joe narrates it now and then takes us back to when he was a lad, when the story of what happened to little Annie is the stuff nightmares are made of.

This is one heck of a scary book, creepingly fearful it oozes with a malignant miasma that taints everything it touches. Even the house Joe rents has its secrets. There is a taint of a murder which was committed there, we are treated to chittering, skittering creepy crawlies, and the overwhelming sense that something, or someone is out to get Joe.

Several storylines intertwine and we are never quite sure who, of the many brilliant characters can be trusted and who is to be viewed as an enemy. If you like something to send shivers down your spine this is the perfect book to curl up with by a cozy fire this winter, but maybe not when you're completely alone in the house.

Annie Thorne was 8 years old when she went missing for 48 hours, only to die some months later with her father in a tragic traffic accident, in which her older brother Joe was badly injured. Years later, Joe returns to his home town, a hopeless, depressed, mining village. Joe is now a teacher but also a drunk and a gambler, with no living family and few friends. Joe has large gambling debts, for which he has already been crippled in one leg, and now he hopes to use events from his childhood to raise funds to pay off his debts, save his life and settle old scores.
This is a dark story, with both horrific and supernatural aspects. The main characters are for the most part unpleasant. There is evidence of ancient evil powers possessing both people and places. There is unremitting darkness for most of the book, yet the twist in the ending makes it worthwhile.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Michael Joseph for a free advance copy in exchange for an honest review of the book.

I really enjoyed this book - it was fast paced and dramatic. I enjoyed the characters and felt their motivations were realistic and believable. Loved the touch of gothic, too!

⭐️⭐️⭐️

But disappointing for me sorry.

The characters were all unlikeable and although I can see what the author was trying to do creating a suspenseful almost horror story, something didn’t click for me.

The last third picked up the pace and I did enjoy this section however I felt the end let it down, the ‘twists’ at the end didn’t really add anything to the story.

I’m obviously in a minority though judging by the 4 and 5 stars others are giving it.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I have read one other book by this author and really enjoyed it and this book was just as good. A MUST read

I really enjoyed reading this book,I enjoyed The Chalk Man, and I think this was even better.The main character was not obviously likable but I warmed to him, faults and all.The story was interesting and unpredictable,and kept me guessing.I loved the fact that it was different to the usual thriller with dark undertones of horror thrown in.It was edge of my seat reading as it developed and became increasingly scary.I had no idea how it was going to pan out.It was a cracking read, thanks very much to netgalley and the publishers for an ARC.

Twisting and full of intrigue, this is an excellent thriller which will give you the creeps.

Having very much enjoyed The Chalk Man, I was keen to get my hands on The Taking of Annie Thorne. I hoped that Tudor would be able to produce something of the same quality and was not disappointed. The gentle drip-feed of information, the slow reveal of the characters' histories and the shocking twists and turns right to the final page all kept me hooked, although I didn't dare read it too close to bed-time!

This is a must-read for 2019.

I loved loved loved The Chalk Man and so was desperate to get my hands on The Taking of Annie Thorne. I read it very quickly after receiving it but had to take a little time to collect my thoughts on the novel because it was not at all what I was expecting. It was part psychological thriller, part horror story and fully creepy. It made me think of well loved Stephen King novels and kept me guessing throughout. Like King, CJ Tudor gives good characters, they are believable and multi-faceted.

Joe Thorne returns to his hometown. A place filled with bad memories and dark secrets. His sister disappeared a number of years previously, throwing the family into turmoil. When she returned twenty-four hours later she was not the same person who had left. There are many twists and turns in the novel. The tension is built well throughout and really ramps up as the end approaches. I couldn't put it down and if I was forced to then I raced to get back to it. In true horror style there were occasions where I was reading with my hands over my eyes.

I will definitely be keeping an eye out for CJ Tudor's next book.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers and the author for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Going back is never easy. Joe returns to Arnhill to take up a teaching post at his old school, a post that became available in the most awful circumstances. Tragedy is nothing new to the old mining town, which is something Joe knows all too well. When he was a child, his little sister went missing. He doted on Annie, so her disappearance was the worst thing to ever happen to him – until she came back.

The Taking of Annie Thorne is an exceedingly creepy suspense novel with a dash of the supernatural. Tudor expertly leads the reader through the past and present traumas of Joe Thorne, a man who wants nothing more than to never have to revisit his boyhood haunts.

Sometimes, the best way to deal with the past is to leave it behind and never look back. Sometimes, you just don’t get the choice.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved it. Really loved it. Creepy to the point I had to stop reading. The characters were finely drawn and believable, the suspense unnerving.

I read the authors previous novel The Chalk Man which I enjoyed but this is far, far better.

If you like being chilled and watching over your shoulder when the moon Is dark and the chittering of creatures scurrying in the walls is what you hear, this is the novel for you.

OMG!!! a thrill of a read yet again by CJ. I am in awe at how good this was, well worth the wait. You’ll be delightfully terrified! *****

This book had me thoroughly gripped, almost from the first page. Joe is a teacher who returns to his old school in Arnhill, a surprising decision as his childhood there had been pretty miserable. What unfolds is a story from his schooldays to the present day. There is something strange about Arnhill, a small town which has a desolate history. There are many unexpected twists to the story, a real page turner. Brilliant!

Very, very good. An absolutely compelling read which certainly spooked me at times - perhaps the only book which has done so since I read “IT” as a teen. Genuinely enjoyed this and will be recommending it everywhere.

This is the first book I have read by this author but it certainly wont be my last! The story was excellent, kept me gripped right until the end, absolutely excellent book, would definitely recommend

With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the book in exchange for an honest review.
I read C J Tudor’s first book ‘ The Chalk Man and enjoyed it very much. I believe this book ‘ The Taking Of Annie Thorne’ is even better.
It is extremely creepy, haunting and scary and I loved it!! It has all the ingredients of a psychological thriller with all the twists and turns but then there is the unknown element, that is scary and possibly true.
Highly recommended.

Dark thriller in the old Nottinghamshire colliery village

Joe Thorne was born and bred in Arnhill, a village in Nottinghamshire. He got a new job at the same school where he was educated, as the English teacher. He was once part of a gang led by Stephen Hurst who terrorised the students when they were the teenagers.

Joe heard the story about the respected previous teacher. Both she and her son were found dead in the cottage that Joe rented. He suffered some flashbacks from the 1980s.

His eight-year-old sister, Annie was missing for 48 hours until she was found alive. She acted very strangely. One month later she and their father met their fate.

One student, Chris Manning was said to have jumped to his death from the roof of the school building. Joe wondered if those horrible deaths were linked to the old and dark coal mine pits.

There was an explosive hell breaking loose from the abandoned colliery and I was not able to put the book down.

Columbpoirot

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review

For the most part, I enjoyed The Taking of Annie Thorne.
Character creation was really good and the writing, of course, was excellent.
But I felt there was something lacking in the story, something that didn't quite work for me this time. Maybe it just took too long to get there.
Sometimes mysteries can do that with me, wind me up a bit. "Just get on with it," I end up screaming at the pages.
It was also a bit of a stop start book, spanning a good few weeks.
That never helps.
This wasn't entirely the books fault. More life's distractions.
But I still think this one is a worthy 3.5 stars. Definitely bordering on 4.
And I managed to finish it so that's always a good sign.

What a great book, full of twists, turns and suspense. I read it in two sittings. Its not like a book I have read before and it was a welcome change. I would recommend this book.