Black Chalk, Christopher J. Yates
Black Chalk, Christopher J. Yates
4 Rating(s)
List: $26.99 | Sale: $18.89
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Black Chalk

Author: Christopher J. Yates

Narrator: Peter Brooke

Unabridged: 13 hr 54 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 11/21/2017

Synopsis

"This is the smart summer thriller you've been waiting for."--NPR's All Things Considered

Named a Best Book of the Year by NPR, Black Chalk finally makes its American audiobook debut.

A breathless psychological thriller set in New York and at Oxford University in which a group of six students play an elaborate game of dares and consequences with tragic results.

It was only ever meant to be a game played by six best friends in their first year at Oxford University; a game of consequences, silly forfeits, and childish dares. But then the game changed: The stakes grew higher and the dares more personal and more humiliating, finally evolving into a vicious struggle with unpredictable and tragic results. Now, fourteen years later, the remaining players must meet again for the final round. Who knows better than your best friends what would break you?

A gripping psychological thriller partly inspired by the author's own time at Oxford University, Black Chalk is perfect for fans of the high tension and expert pacing. Christopher J. Yates' background in puzzle writing and setting is clearly felt in the plotting of this clever, tricky audiobook that will keep listeners guessing till the very last track.

*This program includes a bonus chapter from Christopher J. Yates' upcoming book, Grist Mill Road, set to publish in 2018*

About Christopher J. Yates

CHRISTOPHER J. YATES was born and raised in Kent and studied law at Oxford University before working as a puzzle editor in London. He now lives in New York City with his wife and dog. 'Black Chalk' is his debut novel.

Reviews

Goodreads review by jessica

dark academia will forever be the aesthetic of my soul buuuuut this book just doesnt quite pass the vibe check. sure, the idea is great. not exactly original, but it has all the classic characteristics of the genre. however, an interesting idea is usually never enough. i want world building - im sti......more

Goodreads review by karen

He would force himself to make friends with one British student at Pitt. Because any friendship was a path and paths always led elsewhere. To more paths and new places. Maybe even a better kind of life. And then, if he could only find a new world, Chad would skip down its lanes. Wherever they took h......more

Goodreads review by Sean

There’s an inherently difficult challenge in writing a taut thriller by simple virtue of the fact that, in the vast majority of cases, the revelation of a thing is always less scary/creepy/horrifying than the imagining of the thing prior to its revelation (insert joke here re: except in the case of......more

Goodreads review by Delee

Anyone who doesn't see the danger in an "innocent" board-game played between loved ones- has never played Risk with my father and I. It wasn't pretty, and friends who occasionally joined in- would usually get to see a whoooooooooole new side to my family. Alliances were formed...there was sometimes......more

Goodreads review by Bren fall in love with the sea.

“The true gambler plays for the thrill, the sheer ecstasy of taking part. And the purest thrill comes not from the idea of winning but from the fear of defeat, from there being something real and valuable on the line. If there’s nothing to lose, then where’s the thrill? The true gambler does the opp......more

Quotes

“This is the smart summer thriller you've been waiting for. The black and harmful little book you want in your carry-on.The novel you should be reading tonight.” —NPR's "All Things Considered

“One of the greatest surprise reveals I've witnessed. A twist that's like screwing your head on backwards. And when you see the tricky switch Yates has pulled, you just want to kiss him, because dammit if there isn't something sweet and satisfying about a plot twist pulled off with aplomb.” —NPR.org

“A circle of bright college friends who feed on one another's cleverness and trump one another's insults until the steady diet of cynicism ends in tragedy-this is the stuff of two fine first novels: Donna Tartt's The Secret History (1992) and, now, Christopher J. Yates's Black Chalk. Yates's characters are even wittier than Tartt's....Yates is a master of college-student psychology....[He] has achieved something new and impressive. Pick up Black Chalk.” —The Washington Post

“[A] riveting psychological thriller...Terrifying...Read it fast.” —Entertainment Weekly

“A new Stephen King, albeit with a British accent.”—New York Post

“Christopher J. Yates' debut novel is a psychological thriller about the consequences of friendship gone awry.... The result is a story littered with twists that will keep you guessing until the final page.” —Paste Magazine

“[A] sardonic psychological thriller... Yates, a crossword puzzle maker himself, sets clues firmly in place, moves back and forth in time and throws in surprises at every turn. Black Chalk is an engrossing literary guessing game.” —BBC.com

“Dark, twisty fun.” —New York Daily News

“Dark deeds among school cliques is a milieu that's attracted top-tier authors from Donna Tartt to Tana French, and this debut thriller is a worthy addition, with its chess-like psychological showdown.” —Booklist

“An inventive and intricate psychological puzzle thriller that mystifies, torments, disturbs, beguiles . . . A powerfully intelligent debut.” —The Times (London)

“A compulsive page-turner that will hold your attention until the very last word.” —The Sun (London)

Awards

  • NPR Best Book of the Year
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