When I realized that Chasing the Boogeyman was going to get a sequel I was a little confused. Where could the story possibly go? The bad guy was caught and the ending seemed to wrap up nicely. That being said, I'm very happy that Mr. Chizmar wrote another book and explored more into the Boogeyman and what it means to write a true crime story (even if it's fiction). The second book brings back the nostalgic atmosphere and adventure with a vengeance. What a ride. I can't say much else without spoilers. Just pick up this book and go for a ride!

Chizmar does it again, reprising his glorious faux-true crime story of small town murder.

In this genre Mashup (meta-, true crime, thriller, horror, police procedural, you name it...), Chiz finds a body on his own property. Thus restarts the spiral of Boogeyman-like killings, and we see how being thrust into this dark celebrity affects him, his town, and family and friends.

Told with stark, sometimes brutal honesty, I had to Google some facts to make sure this didn't actually happen... he was that compelling!

My thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This thrilling story grabs your attention right from the start and doesn’t let go until the very satisfying finish. This is the sequel to Chasing the Boogeyman and like the first book it’s amazing. There are so many positive things I could say about this book. The writing is stunning, the plot is fascinating, and topic of book is remarkable. It may seem like I am gushing, maybe a tad bit but, this book is great. A thrilling crime story that gives the reader some twists to keep the story interesting. In my honest opinion, this book is a must read for thriller lovers.

Disclaimer: Thank you NetGalley and Gallery Books for this review copy and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I adored Chasing the Boogeyman and was so excited to see that Richard Chizmar followed it up with a sequel. I was curious to how exactly he would continue the story and I thoroughly enjoyed the ride. I love the blending of fact and fiction, which leaves the reader in a haze wondering what is real and what isn't. It was spooky and entertaining and I'll probably read some of Chizmar's backlist!

Wow. Another great read from Richard Chizmar. Writing in the True Crime format really works. Can't wait for the continuing story of the Boogeyman.

Wow! I was totally invested in the first book, chasing The Boogeyman, so so excited for this book to come out. What a great sequel for the true crime fan. His writing style is great, informative, hard-hitting and interesting. I feel like sometimes he goes off on a tangent and it seems more memoir than true crime, but then he comes back and it's great again.

I loved the first book and was excited to learn a new book was coming out. I felt the character development for Chiz and fam/friends was deeper, and enjoyed that “inside” look. At each step I wasn’t sure what to expect or how it would end, but I was happy and satisfied with the ending!

Richard thought he was pretty much done with the Boogeyman. After all, (name) is sitting in jail serving a life sentence for the murders he committed over 20 years ago. While (name) still wishes to speak to Richard from time to time, Richard is free to enjoy his successes, successes that include a new movie based off his novel Chasing the Boogeyman.Some of his neighbors think he is exploiting the horrors that were visited on their community, especially because he is writing a new novel centered around the Boogeyman, but when people start to disappear again and the bodies begin to pile up, not to mention the other strange things being left at and near the Chizmar residence, people begin to wonder if Richard had more to do with (name) than they previously believed. Richard, meanwhile, knowing he has had nothing to do with the last string of murders, fears that his family may be in danger from an apparent copycat, and (name) might be the only person that holds the clues to who this copycat is.

Becoming the Boogeyman is the follow-up to Chasing the Boogeyman (sounds like it's going to be a trilogy!), but can be read as a standalone; I do recommend reading Chasing the Boogeyman first however, so one can better enjoy this novel. As with its predecessor, this book reads just like a true crime novel, and the inclusion of pictures and things like transcripts only adds to that illusion. This one didn’t grab me quite as much as Chasing the Boogeyman did, and I felt that all the name drops bordered on creepy and obsessive, but I still enjoyed the novel. I think that my favorite part of the entire novel was the end; while a majority of the storyline was wrapped up, Chizmar then dropped a wrench into things, opening the door for a third novel that, in my opinion, has the potential to be the best of the three.

Richard Chizmar has never made peace with his past involving serial killers even though his true crime book "Chasing The Boogeyman" had reached the pinnacle of success on the best seller charts and then a box office hit with a major motion picture based on his novel. So he is currently writing a book based on his hometown and coming of age drama including all the important people and times in his life that helped create the person he is today.

Life of course takes another turn when a gruesome murder takes place with all the signatures of the infamous "Boogeyman". Since Gallagher (aka Boogeyman) is in prison it can only be a copycat or has something else happened that the police missed in the past and they have the wrong murderer or was Gallagher working with someone else?

There will be many more murders unless the police with Chizmar's help solve this fearfest quickly since there are other crimes tied to this case that have Chizmar's name linked to whoever this copycat is. Richard knows his family and friends may not be safe and his marriage is showing cracks once again since it took time to recover from his involvement with the boogeyman the first time and now he is the only journalist of any media source who Gallagher will talk to and reveal more victims name from the past so Richard has no other choice than to help the wonderful detectives and police who need him now to help bring down another " Boogeyman".

I loved this novel and only have positive things to say about it as so many other readers before me. I'm a little embarrassed to say that I haven't read the first book yet so this can definitely be read as a stand-alone but now I can't wait to read "Chasing The Boogeyman". The storyline and writing of this book was so clever and unique. Several times in the first quarter of the book, I would have to backtrack to make sure this was a book of fiction and not a true crime story since it was so believably written and also included pictures of victims, crime scenes, detectives etc. I was just so impressed with this novel and hope this will be a series because with " Richard Chizmar's imagination being put down on paper I can only foresee other great thrillers to be written hopefully in the very near future!

I highly recommend this fantastic crime thriller to anyone who enjoys true crime stories or murder mystery/thrillers or just wants to read a true to life horror book that is really fiction and it will really mess with your head in the best way!

Don't miss out on this ONE Of A Kind crime specialty in the world of thrilling books!


I want to thank the publisher "Gallery Books" and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this novel and any thoughts or opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!

I have given a rating of 5 STELLAR AND MESMERIZING 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 STARS!!

What a fantastic follow up to Chasing the Boogeyman. It had all the things I loved about the first one, like the fact that I had to keep reminding myself this isn’t a true crime novel, but fiction written as true crime. Such a genius concept!

This one also included transcripts, photos and excerpts to really add on to the feeling of true crime. It was SO GOOD! And hello, there’s going to be a third?! Sign me up right now!

The ending of this one, all came together perfectly. I absolutely loved the reveal and the way my jaw dropped! The only thing as with the first one it is a bit slow out the gate, but once you get into it, there’s no putting it down!

Absolutely on part with what you might expect from Richard Chizmar. Strange and mysterious and tense. I highly recommend this book.

This is Book 2 in the Boogeyman series. This book takes our obsession with true crime and unflinching honesty sparing no one from the spotlight. Will anyone walk away, or will they all get caught in the trap of the killer?

This book is so incredibly unique and creepy. I had the opportunity to read Chasing the Boogeyman two years ago and so much of that book still lives in my head. I wondered if Becoming the Boogeyman would live up to my expectations and I am happy to say that it most certainly did, if not exceeded them.

Chizmar's blend of fiction and nonfiction is so well-written that I still found myself using Google to search events to determine what was actually real. This book played so many mind tricks on me.

The only minor complaint that I had while reading was that at times it felt slow. I never considered not reading but there were moments where the slow pace of the book made it too easy to put down and turn to other things. Thankfully, towards the end, the story picked up its pace and there were moments where I found I was holding my breath as the search for the Boogeyman intensified.

I will certainly recommend this book and look forward to future works by this author.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for the gifted digital advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

In Chasing the Boogeyman, author Richard Chizmar crafted a haunting tale of a serial killer’s reign of terror in a small Maryland town in the 1980s—and a young writer’s investigation into the murders. In the sequel, Becoming the Boogeyman, a copycat killer begins stalking the town more than 30 years later.

Full review published on NightsAndWeekends.com and aired on Shelf Discovery

I read Chasing and Becoming back to back. Still struggled believing it was fiction. The pictures. Sigh. They just add so much credibility. Honestly I liked the second one better - tones of author hiding secrets and wrong doing. Plus it just kicked off!

The Boogeyman is in prison, and author Richard Chizmar is still the only one he will talk to. The success of Chasing the Boogeyman has led to a movie and a lot of unwanted attention. Chizmar is working to get the Boogeyman to reveal his past, unknown crimes when he is forced to face new horrors again. Because the Boogeyman's crimes have not stopped, and it seems no one is safe.

Becoming the Boogeyman is an excellent follow-up to Chasing, replacing a lot of the small-town true-crime mystery elements with more direct serial killer horror sections. Chizmar does an excellent job again creating a fictional book that believably reads as a non-fiction crime book. he pictures and excerpts from a different book all create a neat veil of authenticity. He places a great fictional version of himself at the center of the story, blurring the line between fact and fiction at every turn. Chizmar also has a lot of great vignettes in the book that allow him to flex his horror short story skills. Chizmar explores the modern obsession with true crime stories through his own famous fictional serial killer, criticizing how we elevate and make famous these viscious murders. Becoming was a scary and thrilling read, one I enjoyed more than Chasing, and if that trend continues then the teased third book is going to be even more fun.

Thank you to Gallery Books and NetGalley for a copy of Becoming the Boogeyman in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and Gallery Books for the eArc in return for an honest review.
Becoming the Boogeyman is the second installment in what I'm sure will become a series or atleast a trilogy.

Richard Chizmar is back again with the follow up to his metafiction called Chasing the Boogeyman.
This time, a copycat killer is terrorizing his town. With the help of the police Chizmar must help find the killer and put an end to murders.

I love that this books reads like a true crime novel, complete with pictures and interviews. It's really cool that the author is the main character in the book.
Although I did enjoy the book, it dragged for me in some spots. The ending was really good. I look forward to the next installement.

There's just something about Richard Chizmar's writing that draws me in. I went along for this ride and enjoyed the journey.

It has mild gore, some mystery, some creepiness, and, of course, Chizmar's humor. Yes, I did still find it weird sometimes that he implanted himself into this fictional story. Especially when he has written a lot of true life mixed in. But, moving past the compilation of fiction and nonfiction, he still had me interested from the first paragraph onwards.

There is definitely room to make this a trilogy, and I'm here for it!

4⭐️

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to have an advanced ebook copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I cannot express how much I love Chizmar's writing style for this series. He is able to write a work of fiction that feels so much like true crime it's hard to believe that the story isn't based on real events. This second installment in The Boogeyman series is gritty and so compelling it is nearly impossible to put down.

This book was so unsettling that I did not want to stop turning pages. You must read the first book to know what is going on. It feels just like a true crime in a small town. There were a large amount of characters that are a bit hard to keep up with. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this e-arc. I can't wait for the next book. 4.5 stars