I just finished reading The Chalk Man. It's framed as a thriller about a group of kids, but honestly, there are a couple of heavy, genuinely intense situations in here that caught me completely off guard. I really wasn't expecting it to go that dark.
The plot jumps constantly between their childhood past and their adult present. Sometimes that kind of structure kills the momentum for me, but here it works perfectly. It keeps you on your toes, waiting for the next piece of the puzzle to drop.
More than the suspense, though, I keep coming back to how well the book nails those early childhood memories. If you grew up outside of a big city, just wandering around your neighborhood with friends all afternoon, making up your own rules, you'll immediately relate to the atmosphere. It perfectly captures that strange mix of innocence and lingering dread.
You can find the book on Amazon here.