“Sometimes Dead is better…”

Imagine a cross between a classic 20th Century horror story and a really great modern British psychological thriller and that is what the wonderful C. J. Tudor’s new novel is like. Set in a bleak Nottinghamshire pit-village and time hopping between the 1990’s and the present day, it has everything you could wish for in a spinechiller and then more – it is creepy, exciting, immensely readable and fabulously well written.

There is more than an element of Stephen King in Ms Tudor’s storytelling, but that is not a bad thing; the basic plot reminds me a lot of ‘Pet Semetary’ - but I suppose that book was based on some scary folk legend in the first place – and of course authors have always drawn on classic stories for their inspiration.

The Taking of Annie Thorne is a must read for everyone who was blown away by Ms Tudor’s first novel ‘The Chalk Man’. She is definitely well on her way to being a British literary superstar.

Loved, loved, loved this! Such a well written novel with lots of twists and turns and questions as to what happened that it really keeps you enthralled!

Well, knock me down with a feather. THIS was good.

Strike that. This was staggeringly good. "The Taking of Annie Thorne" has given fear a voice, which builds from a whisper into a scream. It contains something dark and predatory – and I’m not just referring to one or two of the characters.

So many curious instances got under my skin that I was itching for explanations. And there were plenty of corners for folks to back themselves into, like Annie’s brother, English teacher Joe Thorne, whose prospects are already packed and waiting to leave the building.

When challenged Joe seems to have a pathological need to make his life way more difficult than it already is by making flippant remarks (quite brilliantly, I might add), which provokes more than a raised eye brow in response. He certainly lives up to his name by becoming a ‘Thorne’ in most people’s side, with minimal effort on his part.

The dialogue volleys and character depictions are delivered with an extra-special kick to give an immediate impression of a person’s outlook. But whether this ensures they are perceived as a victim or survivor, hunter or prey, blameless or otherwise, is a distinction that blurs over time.

Connecting the last of the dots that lead to Annie’s disappearance and her subsequent return (not to mention other significant peculiarities) made me realise why you should never, ever jump to conclusions. "The Taking of Annie Thorne" is so much more than a compelling story – it’s a cunning and slippery journey into the unknown.

I was very curious to see how Caz would follow up the roaring success of the Chalk Man, and was thrilled to see it's every bit as good. Great use of the claustrophobic small-town setting, secrets-galore, and a cast of characters with multi-layered motives keep you turning pages at a rate of knots.

I absolutely love Chalk Man by the same author so was thrilled to receive this to read and review. Absolutely loved it especially the character of Joe. He's such a lost soul but also intriguing. The author set the story perfectly and coming from a mining area myself I could picture the old mine and the land very easily. Cracking read

The Taking if Annie Thorne is a gripping and chilling read. It has a creepy and unnatural back story alongside a damaged cast of characters. I couldn’t put it down. I strongly recommend it.

I was really looking forward to reading this having read and loved The Chalk Man. Unfortunately for me it didn’t quite hit the mark. I found it a bit long winded and dull. 70% in I started skim reading then at 80% I gave up. I really wanted to finish it but I lost the will.

I have mixed feelings on this book, characters are excellently written and the story flows well. It's just a bit slow with no great pay off towards the end (which I was expecting!). I enjoyed the timeline going to the past and then back to now, very gripping!

It's evident to see that C J Tudor is a huge Stephen King fan as there are definite parallels with some of his work

I was hooked on this one from the opening chapter, where a gruesome and violent murder takes place, I'm not usually a gore fan but I was definitely intrigued as to the what and why!

C J Tudor has an amazing talent for descriptive writing, she used such vivid imagery in setting the scenes I could nearly have been there!

I found the majority of the characters likable/engaging although I did think some of them and their story arc completely unnecessary and not really in keeping with the story

Overall a very solid story that I really enjoyed

The Taking of Annie Thorne is the second C.J. Tudor novel I have read this year. The story follows Joe Thorne, the title character's brother, as he returns home when events seem to be repeating themselves. This is probably as much information that I can give about the story without going too far into spoiler territory.

This is most definitely a creepy and engaging story. with an interesting cast of characters who will stay with you long after you have finished the story. Joe was a great main character, he was believably written with his flaws open for the reader to see. Despite this, you are most definitely rooting for him throughout. Gloria and Beth were also stand out performances as they really demonstrate Tudor's ability to create multiple characters really well. I wish that the Hurst family had more of a redemption arc, as even though this is hinted at in one case I really felt that they remained typecast as the villains of the town and therefore were perhaps the weakest of the bunch. Once certain revelations were made about the town and what is going on, I think the character could have been taken in a different direction and not given the easy ending that they received. I also felt that their participation in events was not really confirmed or disproved by the end of the book, leaving me a little disappointed about not knowing what events actually took place and which were speculation. Certain events, such as Beth's niece and Chris, are not really resolved as to what actually happened and I wish we had more information.

In terms of plot, this story moved a lot slower as a whole compared to The Chalk Man, and there were definitely times where it was difficult to get through. With the twists, whilst I didn't figure any of them out they did not seem to have the shock value that I was expecting. It was slightly surprising but more of a "oh ok" reaction rather than a "OHMYGOODNESSIDIDN'TSEETHATCOMING" reaction. The ending itself felt rushed and the epilogue only really served to try and make the book creepy (which it had already achieved without the unnecessary end chapter) so it was more annoying than anything else. However, that is just my opinion and some people may like how the book ends overall. The reveal about The Fat Man was predictable as well, however it was completely unbelievable and raises questions about how much of a bad guy The Fat Man was considering his presence throughout the book. I semi wish we had more from Gloria as I loved her from the moment we met her.

Once again, there are the comparisons with a Stephen King novel (if you get the title it is a major spoiler for what is going on). Whilst the comparison can be made throughout, I think that Tudor has truly made this story unique and her own, just as she did with the Chalk Man.

I would like my final comment to be on the sheer amount, once again, on the amount of gore, violence and nauseating scenes that are throughout this novel. As with my comments on the Chalk Man, these scenes only serve to enhance what we already know about a character or situation rather than revealing anything new. This means that they do nothing for the story, in my opinion, and are rather extraneous to the overall atmosphere. If anything I felt thrown out of the narrative in these scenes. The opening scene being a classic example of too much telling and after that I felt it took a bit of time for the overall creepiness to feed into the novel. Once it is there though I don't think there is a moment it ever goes completely.

A strong book with some brilliant characters, however there are some problematic areas that may not work for people (me being one of them) and the end few pages serve no purpose than to detract from the rest of the book, feeling a bit like an add on rather than part of the overall story. Otherwise, it was really good. I do have a question about the end of the book (which contains a minor spoiler) but why was it just Chris and Annie at the end considering what happened with Ben and Beth's niece? Why was it just the two of them?

Anyway, many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

This is a bleak and gritty thriller. I read up to chapter 7 before deciding that it just wasn't for me. The dishonest, gambling addict who chooses to live in the house where a murder was committed may have an intriguing back story and reasons to be there but, after beetles in the toilets, dreams about dead relatives and a weird doll featuring in the first few chapters along with a gruesome death and a run down environment , I decided that this wasn't the type of psychological thriller that I enjoy.
I understand that this is because I dislike the genre and the writing is fine. The title and the cover do suggest a psychological thriller and not the type of thriller with graphic descriptions like in this book. I think many readers may buy this and then find it far too graphic.
I'm writing this for the publisher and netgalley and won't send my review elsewhere as I'm not a fan of this genre.

A compelling, intriguing read, with a great voice, an interesting sense of place, and a surprising ending. I think the pacing towards the end of the book was a bit off - suddenly everything happened at once and it was a challenge to untangle - but I enjoyed it overall and there's much to like here.

I wasn't sure what to expect with 'The Taking of Annie Thorne' and (to be honest), I expected it to be another easily digestible - if forgettable - thriller featuring an unlikeable male narrator getting himself into all sorts of scrapes. Yeah, sorry about that C.J Tudor.

As it is, Joe Thorne (the main character), isn't particularly likeable. He's a high functioning alcoholic, a pretty terrible teacher and an even worse gambler. He also surprised me by being a fantastic narrator who made me really invested in his story. His little sister went missing mysteriously 25 years ago. She came back...but she didn't come back as the same person. And now more children are disappearing and coming back as different people too. There's definitely elements of Stephen King here, intermingled with old tales of 'faery children' - babies who are kidnapped by faery folk who leave hideous, damaged imposters in their place.

C.J. Tudor is a fantastic story teller with a great sense of place. I'm attracted to anything set in the North of England and she really captures the creepiness and desolate atmosphere that you get in old mining towns which lost a bit of their heart when the pits closed down. The characters are great too (no spoilers, but Gloria is a fantastic - if sadistic - minor character.) I was also kept guessing about what was going to happen well until the end, definitely the sign of a great read!

I'll definitely be recommending this to people as a nice bit of bone chilling winter reading...

Fantastic story of a childhood of misfortune which wasn’t actually as he remembered.

Beautifully written and an engaging storyline.

Really enjoyed this book

Bring on the next

Phew! This is Pet Cemetery on steroids! A tragic event in Arnhill leaves a vacancy at the local school. A place that used to support a mining community before the pits closed. It offers an opportunity for Joseph Thorne to flee from serious gambling debts and apply for the teaching post - in the village where he spent his formative years. Where his eight year old sister Annie disappeared for forty-eight hours - and then she came back. But was it Annie, really? Does Joe remember everything that happened twenty-five years ago? Beth Scattergood teaches art at Arnhill. She says on meeting Joe: "Only two types of teacher end up at Arnhill Academy. Those who want to make a difference and those who can't get a job anywhere else. So, which are you?" What was it Joe? That mysterious text you received? 'I know what happened to your sister. It's happening again' A shiver down the spine...

The old gang are still here, well, some of them. Joe's mates from way back. The ones who were there when it happened. The only ones who knew... Sinister events from all those years ago woven into a horror story that is epic and truly frightening. Throw Stephen King, James Herbert and a touch of Edgar Allen Poe into the blender and C.J. Tudor emerges with this delicious tale of a village, a pit, unexplained suicides and hair-raising scary events.

I cannot say more about the plot without spoilers. I can say though, do not read in bed, at night! And if you enjoyed The Chalk Man you will certainly get chills from reading The Taking of Annie Thorne.

My thanks to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for my ARC.

This is an intriguing plot, with a host of interesting characters, alternating chapters which appears to be a very similar set up to The Chalk man both in layout, tone and character definition.
However, I liked the flawed main character and felt he was well drawn.
The plot is at times a little muddled, but I enjoyed the blend of supernatural, crime, suspense, thriller, mystery, which helped to keep me reading. I found the ending a little disappointing. I would like to have known where Annie went, why did she come back so different - this wasn't really explained very well after such a good set up. CJ Tudor is almost certainly influenced by Stephen King's writing and in some ways this felt very similar to Pet Cemetery which clearly inspired this novel. I would like to see CJ Tudor develop more of her own unique style and the gang of kids, the past and present sections felt repetitive after her debut.
I read the chalk man and thoroughly enjoyed it, but for me this felt a little same.

Overall however, good read.

It was probably a terrible idea to start this book right in the middle of a really busy couple of weeks in university. I finished it in two days (which is impressive for me). Two days where I had so much else to do but I just couldn't drag myself away from it. I actually finished it at half 2 in the morning because I couldn't sleep until I knew how it ended.

I was hooked from the first page. This was a great story and a brilliant read, CJ Tudor deserves so much praise for this book. Addictive, creepy and chilling. Like The Chalk Man, the story jumps between past and present, which is actually something I really like in a book.

I really enjoyed The Chalk Man and personally I think The Taking Of Annie Thorne is even better. I enjoyed it so much more. Definitely one you'll want to put at the top of your TBR list when it's released next year.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy or this ebook in exchange for my honest review.

I devoured The Taking of Annie Thorne in one sitting, it had me totally hooked from page one and did not let up, this is the 2nd book I have read from CJ Tudor and I'm thirsty for the next!!!

Basically, Joe's sister Annie goes missing when she is 8 years old, to return 24hrs later completely different person and won't say where or who she has been with, strange to say the least,

When Joe is much older a good 10yr later he gets an email saying that the same thing has happened again and against his better judgment gets a job at his old high school to enable him to look into what is going on in the town, he's running from bad debts and bad people and so sees his as an opportunity to solve what happened t his sister and get away!

You got to read this book, its scary and a few times I was hiding behind my hands lol not daring to read another line but obviously carried on anyway haha, seriously good book, it's thrilling and scary and also funny in parts. Has all you would want from a good read!!

5 stars again CJ Tudor!

A great read.
This book is very dark and creepy with lots of twists and turns. I enjoyed the way it went from then and now to tell the story. The characters were interesting and all had a less than flowery past really.
The book kept me wanting to turn the pages to find out what happened next.
I don’t think I’ve read a book that is like this for a long time.
Loved it.
A must read

Very Creepy and dark, what a brilliant read, I haven't read anything so good since James Herbert. It is totally spine chilling I loved the story line and the writing style. I just didn't want to put it down.