This is a fictional book written like a documentary movie- a slow paced boring documentary that you regret watching. Despite the blurb comparing this story to Stephen King and Michelle McNamara, I failed to see a resemblance. He sets the book in his hometown during the late 1980s, where a number of young girls are abducted and murdered. His hometown of Edgewood, MD was in a state of panic after four young girls were murdered, the work of a serial murderer nicknamed The Boogeyman. Richard Chizmar takes a long chapter to invoke that sense of place with some history of Edgewood, and I probably would have lost patience if Lindsay hadn’t warned and told me it picks up.

this book is a whole new thing; a gripping metafictional mélange of true crime and crime fiction, memoir and horror, and chizmar pulls off this ambitious undertaking seamlessly. Law enforcement, as well as members of the FBI, are certain that the killer is a living, breathing madman—and he’s playing games with them.The lines between Chizmar the author and Chizmar the character are blurry and that added to the story's sense of realism. He takes up the gauntlet and of course becomes involved with the murders and its abhorrent mutilations while the town gossips and lives in fear. Chizmar’s work has been translated into more than fifteen languages throughout the world, and he has appeared at numerous conferences as a writing instructor, speaker, panelist, and guest of honor. He mixes his own fond memories of his childhood and his home town with the made up story about a serial killer hunting young girls. It was a clever story, reminding me of the author Anthony Horowitz inserting himself into his stories.

A clever, terrifying, and heartrending work of metafiction, ‘ Chasing the Boogeyman does what true crime so often cannot: it offers both chills and a satisfying conclusion’ (Stephen King). I’m also proud to say that upon finishing this book, it was my 10/10 book for my 2021 Reading Challenge on Goodreads! I was fascinated by the premise of this novel – with Richard Chizmar as the narrator and central character of the story.Chasing The Boogeyman is an engaging and cleverly told suspenseful mystery, and I look forward to reading more of Chizmar’s work.

Fat jack-o'-lanterns flashed jagged grins from porch railings and windows, flickering orange eyes tracking your every move. the creepy parts’ll get under your readerskin, but equally praiseworthy are chizmar’s recollections of the carefree americana childhood spent knocking around this small town. I see a lot of other reviewers saying this is a 5 star idea and a 2 star plot and I’d have to agree. Again, this felt like a memoir, and even though he was totally obsessed with the murders they still seemed to take a back seat to his reminiscing about his youth. It's a harrowing tale, one that has people wondering with various supposed sightings if this boogeyman is truly something not of this earth.

Law enforcement, as well as members of the FBI are certain that the killer is a living, breathing madman-and he’s playing games with them.

To be fair, they were underneath the title in a much, much smaller font (yes, I am only trying to make myself feel better for my foolishness). The small criticisms I had of the book are that 1) there is no resolution to the issue of what certain evidence left at the crime scene and on memorials mean, and 2) the long windedness of Chizmar on some of his personal reflections (especially at the beginning of the book) that have nothing to do with the main storyline of the book. Could it be to pull the wool over our eyes so completely that we forget we are reading something made up and totally false? We don’t think anything of it, until a moment later where we put two and two together and realise it was the boogeyman—he was right there, we literally just missed him—it makes the heart plummet through the bottom of one’s stomach. Then Richard receives a message that a man has been charged, although a very unlikely suspect, he confesses all.In this clever but overstuffed sequel to Chizmar’s 2021 bestseller Chasing the Boogeyman, the author again brings a metafictional approach to the serial killer thriller. Chasing the Boogeyman is a fictional account of the brutal killings that took place in the author's hometown of Edgewood during the late 1980s. Chasing the Boogeyman is an unflinching look at a real-life monster and the ordinary heroes obsessed with stopping him. He has won two World Fantasy awards, four International Horror Guild awards, and the HWA's Board of Trustee's award. For your own safety, you should… The Boogeyman will soon enter the pantheon of suburban legends that fill our backyards like summer fireflies, his name whispered into ears all over.