Christopher J. Yates

{{short description|American novelist}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

Christopher J. Yates is a British-American fiction writer and the author of three novels, Black Chalk (2013), Grist Mill Road (2018), and [https://www.amazon.com/Rabbit-Club-Christopher-J-Yates/dp/1335550976 The Rabbit Club] (2025). Black Chalk was first published in the UK by Harvill Secker in September 2013 and in the US by Picador in August 2015. In December 2015, NPR named Black Chalk one of the best books of the year.{{Cite news|url=https://apps.npr.org/best-books-2015/|title=NPR's Book Concierge|work=NPR.org|access-date=2018-06-11|language=en}} Grist Mill Road received a Kirkus Star{{Cite book|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/christopher-j-yates/grist-mill-road/|title=GRIST MILL ROAD by Christopher J. Yates {{!}} Kirkus Reviews|language=en-us}} and praise from The New York Times{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/16/books/review-grist-mill-road-christopher-yates.html|title=In This Thriller, a Cold Case Turns Hot 26 Years Later|date=2018-01-16|work=The New York Times|access-date=2018-06-11|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}} for a narrative "full of pleasantly unpleasant surprises."

On December 8, 2023, Publishers Weekly [https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/book-deals/article/93914-book-deals-week-of-december-11-2023.html announced] that Hanover Square Press had acquired Yates’ third novel in a preempt. Set in the same "Black Chalk" Oxford universe with overlapping characters and Easter eggs, The Rabbit Club—out July 8, 2025—has been called "[https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781335550972 tantalizing]" for "dark academia fans" who "ought to snatch this up."

Yates was born in Bromley in London, England on February 4, 1972,[https://www.bookseriesinorder.com/christopher-j-yates/ CHRISTOPHER J. YATES BOOKS IN ORDER] Retrieved 20/4/21. and graduated from Wadham College at Oxford University with a law degree in 1993.{{Cite news|url=https://www.interviewmagazine.com/culture/christopher-yates-black-chalk|title=Game Theory with Christopher Yates - Interview Magazine|date=2014-04-01|work=Interview Magazine|access-date=2018-06-11|language=en-US}}[https://www.shelf-awareness.com/readers-issue.html?issue=679#m11934 Christopher J. Yates: Solving a Puzzle] Retrieved 7/12/2021. He currently resides with his wife in New Paltz, NY, and also wrote restaurant reviews for the Hudson Valley edition of the [https://www.timesunion.com/author/christopher-j-yates/ Times Union].

On November 19, 2024, Yates released a puzzle book, called "[https://www.amazon.com/Minute-Murder-addictive-mystery-puzzles/dp/1529440890/ 5 Minute Murder: 100 addictive crime mystery puzzles for logical sleuths]."