Yates, a crossword puzzle maker himself, sets clues firmly in place, moves back and forth in time and throws in surprises at every turn. The result is a story littered with twists that will keep you guessing until the final page." - Paste Magazine Yates' debut novel is a psychological thriller about the consequences of friendship gone awry. "A new Stephen King, albeit with a British accent."- New York Post " riveting psychological it fast." - Entertainment Weekly Pick up Black Chalk." - The Washington Post has achieved something new and impressive. Yates's characters are even wittier than Tartt's.Yates is a master of college-student psychology. "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. 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." A twist that's like screwing your head on backwards. "One of the greatest surprise reveals I've witnessed. The black and harmful little book you want in your carry-on.The novel you should be reading tonight." -NPR's "All Things Considered "This is the smart summer thriller you've been waiting for. Yates' background in puzzle writing and setting can clearly be seen in the plotting of this clever, tricky book that will keep you guessing to the very end. Who knows better than your best friends what would break you?Ī 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 of The Secret History and The Bellwether Revivals. Now, fourteen years later, the remaining players must meet again for the final round. 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. 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.
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NAMED A MUST READ BY THE BOSTON GLOBE, BBC.COM, AND NEW YORK POSTĪ compulsively readable 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 result This is the smart summer thriller you've been waiting for.-NPR's All Things Considered