[BLOG TOUR: BOOK REVIEW] The Taking of Annie Thorne by C.J. Tudor @MichaelJBooks

I haven’t read C.J. Tudor’s first book The Chalk Man but I have seen her book around so when an invitation to join the blog tour for her newest book arrived in my inbox I immediately said yes because that synopsis was so damn good!

The Taking of Annie Thorne follows our main character Joe Thorne, who is a strange one! Joe comes back to Arnhill which is a town he grew up in for a teaching position. Joe has had a rough past – he’s been a part of a school gang that did awful things and his sister went missing for 48 hours then came back. There’s a lot of mystery around his sister’s disappearance and only he knows what happened. The past events are happening again where a child went missing and came back and a horrible crime happened afterwards. Joe’s return isn’t welcomed by the townspeople nor his former friends but he’s on a mission to find out what happened.

The Taking of Annie Thorne is a book I found thoroughly enjoyable and so interesting that I couldn’t take my eyes away from the pages. Our main character, Joe Thorne, is so fascinating because of the choices he makes and how he lies to get to the school. In the beginning his character was so unlikable but towards the end I was more warmed up to him. The whole premise of the book is something I loved – a small town, a once local coming back and being viewed as an outsider – and something that made me so interested in finding out more about what exactly took/takes place in Arnhill. Tudor’s writing is brilliant and fits so perfectly with the whole mystery/crime genre. She has a talent for sure when it comes to story-telling. The events that were taking place towards the end were a bit confusing to me and I couldn’t wrap my mind around some things but the few pages at the end blew my mind [especially the epilogue]! I have to compliment the book cover designer because even though I read a proof copy I couldn’t take my eyes of the cover and the details on it. Well done! I love how Tudor didn’t force things when it comes to the relationships between Joe and the female teacher at the school. I found some scenes to be very gory e.g. the opening of the book but that made for such a promising start!

If you’re a crime/mystery/suspense book lover you will absolutely devour The Taking of Annie Thorne – it has everything : from interesting characters to a mysterious plot which will keep you turning pages until you’ve reached the end.

I would like to thank the publisher Michael Joseph (Penguin UK) for providing me with a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions written here are my own and weren’t influenced by anything.

My rating: 

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C. J. Tudor was born in Salisbury and grew up in Nottingham, where she still lives with her partner and young daughter. She left school at sixteen and has had a variety of jobs over the years, including trainee reporter, radio scriptwriter, shop assistant, ad agency copywriter and voiceover. In the early nineties, she fell into a job as a television presenter for a show on Channel 4 called Moviewatch. Although a terrible presenter, she got to interview acting legends such as Sigourney Weaver, Michael Douglas, Emma Thompson and Robin Williams. She also annoyed Tim Robbins by asking a question about Susan Sarandon’s breasts and was extremely flattered when Robert Downey Junior showed her his chest….more.

Find her on: Facebook, Goodreads and Twitter.