One game. Six students. Five survivors.

It was only ever meant to be a game.

A game of consequences, of silly forfeits, childish dares. A game to be played by six best friends in their first year at Oxford University. But then the game changed: the stakes grew higher and the dares more personal, 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.

A 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 results

About the Author
Christopher J. Yates studied law at Wadham College, Oxford from 1990-93 and initially pursued a career in law before he began working in puzzles, representing the UK at the World Puzzle Championships. Since then he has worked as a freelance journalist, sub-editor and puzzles editor/compiler. In 2007 he moved to New York City with his wife, and currently lives in the East Village.

Reviews
An inventive and intricate psychological puzzle thriller that mystifies, torments, disturbs, beguiles... a powerfully intelligent debut -- Marcel Berlins * The Times *
A compulsive page-turner that will hold your attention until the very last word -- Natasha Harding * Sun *
Sinister, addictive and unpredictable - this is a novel to be devoured greedily, at speed, but one that will leave its footprint on your memory for far longer -- Natasha Lunn * Red *
Yates's take on the collegiate thriller lives up to early comparisons to Donna Tartt's The Secret History... filled with gleeful malevolence * Grazia *
[A] chilling debut...this is a thriller, a cautionary tale and a sobering exploration of unintended consequences rolled into one * Daily Mail *
Black Chalk grabs from the get-go... Yates plots with tantalizing skill -- Ellen Shapiro * People *
This addictive psychological thriller will have you hooked from start to game over * Stylist *
Compelling -- John O'Connell * Guardian *
A truly chilling thriller, with campus-fun-gone-wrong echoes of Donna Tartt's The Secret History * Psychologies *
A very exciting debut - like The Secret History, but so much creepier... This is intellectually challenging psychological thriller writing at a high level * Shots Mag *


Awards
Long-listed for CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger for First Novels 2014 (UK).



Book Information
ISBN 9780099581628
Author Christopher J. Yates
Format Paperback
Page Count 352
Imprint Vintage
Publisher Vintage Publishing
Weight(grams) 249g
Dimensions(mm) 196mm * 130mm * 20mm