Pubblicato in Italia con il titolo L’uomo di gesso. Quando aveva dodici anni, Eddie e i suoi amici si mandavano messaggi segreti usando disegni fatti con il gesso. Ma un giorno i loro disegni portano Eddie e i suoi amici a fare una scoperta macabra. Trenta anni più tardi, Eddie vive una vita tranquilla vivendo ancora nella casa dei suoi genitori e facendo l’insegnante, finché un giorno riappaiono gli uomini di gesso.
When Eddie was twelve years old a series of events unsettled his life and the life of his friends. It all started with an accidents at the town fair followed by one of them receiving a box of chalks for his birthday. Eddie and his friends decide to communicate through secret codes drawn by the chalks. But, one day, the chalk figures appear on their own and lead the boys to a terrible discovery.
Thirty years later, Eddie is still living in his family home and he is a teacher. He doesn’t have much of a social life and he mostly hangs out with his childhood friends. One day, he receives a letter containing a piece of chalk, and when the chalk figures appear again, Eddie knows that his past is catching up with him.
Told from Eddie’s perspective and the story alternates between the past and the present, which is always a good thing in a thriller as it build suspense. The author created a fantastic cast of well-developed characters, some of which I liked more than the others, and I liked how she switched between a younger and innocent Eddie who, along with his friends, is a child just entering adolescence (he has his first crush and he has to deal with bullies) who tries to behave as an adult, and an older Eddie, more mature, and more conscious of what is going on around him.
The story is very dark and complex, the setting is very atmospheric, the author’s writing is addictive, although there are a few descriptions that may be a little too graphic. There is never a dull moment in the narration and I was on edge all the time, eager to find out what would happen next. This is a brilliant coming-of-age novel, a must-read not to miss!
