Chasing the Boogeyman
Ratings62
Average rating3.8
Rating: 3.82 leaves out of 5-Characters: 4/5 -Cover: 4/5-Story: 3.85/5-Writing: 4/5Genre: Horror, Crime, Mystery, Thriller, True Crime-Horror: 1.5/5-Crime: 5/5-Mystery: 4/5-Thriller: 3/5-True Crime: 5/5Type: AudiobookWorth?: YeahHated Disliked Meh It Was Okay Liked Really Liked LovedThis book had me saying one more chapter but even then it had some flaws. 1. Richard took a Stephen King turn in talking about a 9 year old thinking sexually things. Ew. 2. The mystery and thrill were dulled down. There were times where I was really into it and creeped but other than that I listened to a man talk about his life like it meant something? Sorry Richard but the spot light doesn't always need to be on you. Eh, kinda narcissistic, no? I get using where you grew up at but even naming the character after you? Big OOF. The whole story gave me The Boogeyman and Gerald Games vibes. I have a feeling the second book will go more into a GG vibe since he might be talking about the guy who was touching people in their sleep? I don't know but kind of hoping book 2 is a bit better.
Chasing the Boogeyman by Richard Chizmar is one of the best books I've read this year. Composed in moving yet highly readable prose, this novel combines fact and imagination from the author's life to form a fictional “true” crime book following a serial killer. Unlike many real true crime books, a genre I have dabbled in but do not count among my favorites, the reader does not know who the criminal is from the outset. This allows Chizmar's masterful narrative to combine elements of mystery along with the journalistic and procedural thriller to weave his tale as the reader, along with Chizmar, seeks to discover the responsible party behind the Edgewood murders. Chizmar's inclusion of photos following each chapter really helped to sell the true crime book genre and really enhanced the reading experience. Although the audiobook narrator did a great job, I'd highly recommend checking out Audible's included PDF or getting a print/ebook copy to check out the pictures. In addition to being a suspenseful and creepy story, where Chasing the Boogeyman really shines is in making sections of the book feel so warm, personal, and nostalgic. By using elements of his own lived experience in the book, author Chizmar has endowed the character Chizmar and his setting with both verisimilitude and personality that draws the reader in and tugs at the heart. Few authors, Chizmar's sometimes collaborator Stephen King among them, manage to write dark fiction that is both scary and heartwarming. This is one area where Richard Chizmar has truly succeeded in Chasing the Boogeyman. Although the story is not historical, it nevertheless felt true, and the character of Richard Chizmar felt relatable. Part “true” crime armature detective thriller, part new adult, part book about books, and part love letter to small towns...Chasing the Boogeyman is not to be missed. I've already pre-ordered Becoming the Boogeyman, and can't wait to read it!
The writing is so easy to read. Very interesting and kept my attention but finding out the Boogeyman's identity was anticlimactic. I'll definitely read more and can't wait for the sequel.
While I enjoyed this one 100% It wasn't exactly what I thought it would be. I think I saw someone on BookTok talking about it and I was expecting something creepy and scary. This was basically a fictional, true crime story. A really well written and engaging one, just not the ‘horror' type story i was expecting.
I spent a lot of this book with my mind in two places - in the story, and wondering where the story and reality meet. As it turns out, the only thing that's real in the story is the author and his memories of his childhood and his town. Which made me feel like I wasted a bunch of mental energy on a book that was overall fine.
Inspired by events in his hometown, Richard Chizmar weaves an interesting blend of memoir and novel creating a faux true-crime piece of fiction. It's an...interesting experiment. Most writers would take his inspiration (a serial “fondler” that was breaking into women's homes in his hometown) and then turn it into pure fiction - but Chizmar wanted to do something very different. The main character is not someone based off him, it is him. The town isn't based off his hometown, it is his hometown. But the events at the center of the story, and the people they pertain to, are entirely fictional.
I think what mostly didn't click with me is the writing style. I don't read a lot of true crime, but it's my understanding there is still plenty of art and style to writing non-fiction. Chizmar's prose is pretty bland - I'm pretty sure this is intentional, but I don't think he needed to go that far with it. His recollections of his hometown and his life border on hokey with their sentimentality, and while its sweet that something like this is written with so much love, I wasn't really looking for something sweet. The mystery at the center - a serial killer attacking and killing teenage girls - feels fairly generic. A decent but forgettable episode of Criminal Minds, basically.
As such, I don't really have much to say about this. The primary appeal of this book is the novelty of what it is, and that it is a fairly easy read. Otherwise, I didn't really get much out of it.
one of my favorite things is when books leave a few parts open ended or dont explain some things... but at the same time i feel like tearing my hair out over the last 20 pages
I enjoy this book. The photographs and the author's point of view was fasinating and made me want to keep reading. The ending also surprised me. I really did not see it coming!
The idea of this book was interesting. The story certainly seemed real, and I kept wanting to google the “murders” to find out more. That's the problem though.... The whole time you want more story. I did not need to know the first and last name of every single person the author knew in the town both past and present, or how every single street led to the author's childhood home. The author's involvement in the murders or with the murderer made no sense. It finally gets good toward the end but not nearly enough to justify the slog, with so many important, more interesting parts lacking or missing altogether. I was so sure I knew who the killer was. I'm pleasantly surprised to be wrong without it being some idiotic plot twist.
Hometown Murder Mystery
This is an excellent story and I don't want to give away anything so I'll simply say if you enjoy true crime novels, you will find characters and plots aplenty in this very well written book that might keep you guessing as to who the murderer really is.
Kudos to Richard Chizmar for crafting such an intriguing book.
I loved every word. The tone, writing style, story, structure - it was unique and exciting and ultimately pitch perfect. It is rare for a book to grab me within the first few pages, but this one did. The beautiful, even literary, writing masquerading as a thriller/horror/faux true crime is every bit vintage Stephen King. The story itself and conclusion become almost secondary to the exploration of an author's heart, his motivations, his nostalgic tentpoles. Chizmar connected the dots that often remain publicly untethered. I was enthralled.
Took me a little while to get into this one, but once I did, I was hooked. I can see why Chizmar and Stephen King work so well together - both capture that small-town nostalgic feel very well. Gripping, with a satisfying conclusion. I especially liked the details of how the cold case was solved, and I found the interview between Chizmar and Gallagher was realistically chilling.
Overall, I'd give this 3.5 Cemetery Dances out of 5, rounded up for the uniqueness of the metafiction narrative.