After reading Chasing The Boogeyman earlier this month, I was super excited to continue the story with Becoming The Boogeyman and it did not disappoint! Continuing the wholly original format of blending fact with fiction, this is a riveting novel kept me turning the pages as fast as I could. I can't wait to see what's next for the Boogeyman!

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books as well as Richard Chizmar for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. It’s been my pleasure!
#NetGalley #GalleryBooks #RichardChizmar #BecomingtheBoogeyman

Author: Richard Chizmar
Publisher: Gallery Books
Publication Date: October 10, 2023
Themes: Crime, serial murder, small town
Read more of my reviews at horrorcornerbooks.wordpress.com
Finally, we’re blessed with the sequel to “Chasing the Boogeyman”. Richard seems to be the target of a copycat Boogeyman. This installment of Mr. Chizmar’s not-so true crime books is even more authentic than the first one was. The first one had me constantly wondering if the book was a work of fiction or nonfiction. “Becoming the Boogeyman” was even more convincing, although now that I’m wise to the tricks, I was ready for them. I didn’t google much throughout this one. The author has really outdone himself with the meta fiction here. He has included lots of articles, interviews, pictures and other paraphernalia. These books are so very original and I’ve loved every minute of both books. The originality is my favorite part of these two books.
Due to the meta nature of this second book, it would be very difficult to read this book without first having read “Chasing the Boogeyman”. The contents of the original are recapped in the sequel so it’s possible to follow the story but much of the charm would be missing as well as a few key points.
This is a delightful couple of books and I really hope that there’s a third book in the works!

Initial Thoughts
I really liked this book! It took me a very long time to make my way through this story but that had everything to do with my life and nothing to do with the book. I was a bit surprised to learn that there would be a follow up to Chasing the Boogeyman but I was eager to get my hands on it. This book is told from the same style of fiction written like true crime as the first book. I loved that the story kept me guessing until the very end. I would definitely recommend this one to other readers.

Review copy provided by the publisher. Full review to be posted soon.

I received the arc copy of this book via NetGalley, so thank you Richard Chizmar and publisher.

Before reading this book I had no idea that it was a sequel. I wasn’t lost at any part of the story, but I’m sure when I go back to read the first book, I will catch some of the smaller details I may not have caught.

I thoroughly enjoyed every minute. I wish I would’ve been able to send in my review before the book actually went on sale.

This is also the first book of Richard Chizmar that I have read. I look forward to reading more from him.
Boogeyman 3?

A follow-up to Chizmar's 2021 title Chasing the Boogeyman, this metafiction novel again features the author and his family as the central characters. Taking place decades after the first book, the Boogeyman of the title is in prison but copycat crimes find Richard Chizmar again at the center of a mystery, pursuing whomever is killing women as well as threatening his family by leaving the remains of the only survivor of the 1980's Boogeyman, Annie Riggs, in pieces near the Chizmar family home. Media attention, amped up by social media, online sleuths, and serial killer groupies threatens Rich's marriage and draws him deeply into the case. The scenes with the Boogeyman in prison will appeal to fans of The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris. VERDICT: While it can work as a stand-alone title, fans of the first book, Chasing the Boogeyman, will most enjoy the sequel as will those drawn to true crime like I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara.

Richard Chizmar is back with his second edition in The Boogeyman series, Becoming the Boogeyman. As with his first book, Chasing the Boogeyman, this one reads as a fictional true crime, or what I jokingly call faux true crime. Chizmar has the undeniable power to create a fictional story that reads better than a lot of true crime books out there and I know I’m not the only one guilty of forgetting at times that this story is indeed fiction.

There are a lot of things I liked about this second Boogeyman. The first person narrative gives us an intimate relationship with our characters—especially Chizmar and his family—and I think that lends to the “true” feel of it and my investment in the outcome. I’m always up for scary serial killer story as well and we get to know Gallagher a bit better although the new focus is on a copycat killer terrorizing Chizmar, his family and surviving members of the Gallagher killings from the 80’s. This one is a little slow at times and there are a lot of moving parts bouncing between past and present, old and new characters. Note that it can be read as a standalone for anyone new to the series.

With that being said, I really loved Chasing the Boogeyman. I mean, really, really loved it. As a standalone, Becoming the Boogeyman is solid 3.5-4 star read. Problem is, I can’t view it on its own but as an extension of the story he created with his first Boogeyman. I missed the coming of age feel to the story (even though he tries to insert a bit of it into this new boogeyman it’s just not the same). I will also always prefer a setting in the 80’s as to present day, so I missed the nostalgia of one of my favorite decades. The first story is also a great deal scarier in my opinion and read as more of a horror where this new one is more thriller verging on crime thriller. Overall, I simply didn’t enjoy it as much this time around.

I imagine nothing may ever compare to the magic of the OG Boogeyman for me, but I will continue to read the series and very much enjoy Chizmar’s writing. Chizmar promises another edition and my fingers are crossed that after the copycat interlude, we will get back to a focus on the original serial killer and veer back towards the horror genre.

Before I requested the ARC of Becoming the Boogeyman, I had not read the first book in the series, Chasing the Bogeyman; if I had, I doubt that I would have requested Becoming the Boogeyman. Honestly most of Chasing the Boogeyman was very good. It’s fiction but is told as true crime. I admittedly Googled to find out which portions were fiction (most of it) and which were non-fiction (little beyond the author’s interjection of himself, the town of Edgewood, MD, and some family and friends). That particular novel ended with a huge gap in time that removed me from the world of that book and felt a bit slapped together like an afterthought. I do understand why he did it but personally thought the book was the worse for it. And, because of that ending (and my thought that I really didn’t need more like this book), I would not have taken on another book in the series. (I did give the book 4 stars; would have been much higher with a better ending.) So, now let’s talk about Becoming the Boogeyman.

In Richard Chizmar’s Becoming the Boogeyman, he once again invites the reader to the town of Edgewood, MD, which is northeast of Baltimore but most of the action occurs in his new town of Bel Air (an actual town near Edgewood). The Boogeyman who terrorized Edgewood in 1988 is now imprisoned in western Maryland, but Chizmar is still in conversation with him in order to determine the location of potential other victims. No information is forthcoming, but what is forthcoming is a reoccurrence of the terror that seized northeastern Maryland many years ago as new murders occur that seem to be a follow-up to the Boogeyman’s reign of terror.

In an effort to make this fictionalized true crime seem true, Chizmar adds too many tangents for my taste. Parts of the nostalgic account of his childhood in Edgewood that he is writing become passages in Becoming the Boogeyman. Also he incorporates a series of flashbacks. Now, admittedly, these probably add to the overall story but felt more like filler in the way they were presented. And, again, I understand that these were formatted to imitate a true crime novel. The net effect, however, (for me) was a novel that frequently felt all over the place and which was easy to put down but harder to pick up again. This accounts for the unheard of two weeks that it took me to finish reading my primary novel (this one). Ugh.

That said, when Chizmar focused on the main action, the mystery of who was copycatting the Boogeyman, the story was very good, keeping my attention. The ending, this time around, was also good with it excellent twists, but it opened up the possibility of a third book, which I’m not sure that anyone except aficionados really needs/wants. I felt like the first book was enough; the second was okay but with a definite lack of cohesiveness; and a third? Why? Obviously that’s just me. I definitely prefer more focus in my fiction, even when it’s trying to mimic non-fiction. And, frankly, I wanted to feel scary-thrilled more than I was. The tension when reached was never maintained.

Thanks to Gallery Books and Netgalley for sending me a copy.

“The Boogeyman” has re-emerged in the form of threats to Chizmar at his home. And the murders have begun again.

I was really only familiar with Chizmar from the first book in this series, which I picked up on a whim, and from his collaborations with Stephan King, but he really is quite a writer. There are no signs of a sophomore slump here, this is just as strong as the first “Boogeyman” book…..maybe fake true crime is Chizmar’s milieu? The verisimilitude is great, no false notes and the dialogue is inspired. The interviews that are interspersed are equally impressive. Excellent book. Highly recommended, but not for the squeamish!

I read this after remembering the ending of Chasing the Boogeyman so I was better prepared. You can read this as a stand alone but it's much better if you start with Chasing and then read this one. Chizmar is a talented writer but this book was too long and got to be tedious to read. I felt like there were far too many weird coincidental details to be realistic but the additional touches of the pictures like any good true crime book made the book feel believable.

I enjoyed it and would like to see where the third book leads but I felt like this book could have been 100 pages shorter and it would have been significantly better.

Many thanks to Gallery Books and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange an honest review.

Chasing the Boogeyman was a favorite of mine 2 years ago. A work of meta/true crime fiction, I was absolutely convinced it was nonfiction. His writing is reminiscent of Ray Bradbury and gave me all the nostalgic feels.
His follow up, Becoming the Boogeyman, continues the story some years after the first leaves off…the killer is locked up thanks to DNA evidence and a copycat killer is on a killing spree in the same town, with the community wondering if Richard is involved.

As with the first book, there are photos, newspaper clippings, interviews, message boards, social media posts and even excerpts from Richard’s memoir. All of this makes it difficult to separate fact from fiction! Chizmar is certainly creative and you can tell he had a lot of fun writing this book. I didn’t love it as much as the first one because I felt it was less about the childhood nostalgia, which I wanted more of. It still left me creeped out and the format lends itself to consuming it all in one sitting.

If you want to read this one, definitely start with the first book! From the way the second book ends, it feels like we can expect a third one in the near future!🤞🏻🤞🏻

Thank you @netgalley @richard_chizmar and @gallerybooks for the #gifted eARC and finished copy!

Obsession, murder, obsession with true crime, and murderers is the name of the game in Becoming the Boogeyman. This is the follow up sequel to Chasing the Boogeyman which I enjoyed. Like the first book, this reads like a true crime novel. The author relies on things from his own life while inserting a serial killer into the narrative.

The boogeyman is serving time, and a copycat killer is on the loose. Chizmar has enjoyed the success of his book and interactions/interviews with "The boogeyman" but finds that when gruesome murders are occurring, those in his town are no longer feeling the love for him. He finds himself once again thrown into an investigation to catch a killer.

I so wanted to love this one. For me this was good not great. For whatever reason, I found myself turning to other books to read and then coming back to this one. I was not as invested in or gripped by this book as I had been with the previous book. What I did enjoy was the pictures and the discussions/prison interviews Chizmar provided. This was a nice plus in the book. But unfortunately, was not enough to win me over completely.

I really enjoyed Chasing the Boogeyman, so I was excited for this.

But now that I am done I am just wondering why this book was even done? It wasn’t necessary and I found myself putting it down a lot to read something else.

Unfortunately, this was terrible. Had to stop reading 70% in because it was just so convoluted. This was a buddy read and my friend finished it first. She was so underwhelmed she told me to just stop where I was at so she could just save me the time. I’m really glad I stopped reading.

First of all, I really enjoyed Chasing the Boogeyman. It had a lot of extra info about his childhood, but it was worth it due to how it ultimately ended. The final reveals were shocking & even though it was kind of a slog to get through at times I thought the twists were awesome and I enjoyed his true crime storytelling skills.

This one, however, was an absolute drag to get through. So much filler info, minute details about people who aren’t important to the overall story, some gory moments (he described a dead animal in a sewer in GREAT detail), and the overall reveal wasn’t well thought out. It feels like the reveal was just meant to shock us because yes, we didn’t predict it, but it’s not because it was a good twist, it’s because he was just trying to come up with something shocking.

Then, the way he ended this is clearly setting up a third book and I’m just… majorly disappointed.

He name drops Stephen King sooo much (they are apparently friends in the book and Stephen King actually texts him at one point 🙄), literally tries to write and sound like him, still puts in massive details about the shenanigans him and his childhood friends got into (that still aren’t integral to the plot), and overall, this man is a narcissist. It’s hard to tell how much of this is real and how much is made up for the book, but this is definitely a huge let down.

This could have easily had 100 pages cut. Every other chapter was actually interesting, and to be clear, I picked up this book looking for true crime - not an autobiography. This story was not well thought out and it was a mess. An absolute mess.

I don’t recommend… which is unfortunate since this was gifted to me. Thank you Simon & Schuster & Gallery books for the ARC & finished copy in exchange for my honest review.

For a great bit of this one, I wasn’t sure what to think.

Questions that went through my head with answers:

Why does this need to be a series? I’m still not completely sure, but the system Chizmar has created here has made it easy for him to blend plot twisting mysteries with metafiction. I really appreciate that

Why should we care? I still don’t know; but beware people that suddenly pop up in your life.

Why is this so long? I still don’t know and I do think it could’ve been cut down a bit.

Oh, and did you know he’s friends with James Renner and Stephen King?

In all, an good read to settle into on the plane. I was able to zone in and ignore everything else.

Will I read the third installment? Maybe.

I am completely absorbed and terrified by this book at the same time. When k read the first ‘Boogeyman’ I was still living in Texas and the references within Maryland were lost on me; now living just 30 mins away from the setting and completely understanding all the references is putting this spook on a whole new level. But I love it. Run don’t walk for this series.

While I confess that I was predisposed to liking this book, Becoming the Boogeyman is a fantastic followup to Chasing the Boogeyman. Why do I say I was predisposed to liking it? Well I picked up Chasing the Boogeyman while I was undergoing medical treatments, and getting lost in the story helped distract me and get me through some of those long sessions. I won’t go too deep into the story of the first book, except to say it’s fiction written as if it’s a nonfiction true crime story, with Richard incorporating the memories of his childhood for the setting. It’s was expertly done, with the inclusion of ‘crime photos’, ‘news’ clippings and the like. Chizmar used himself as a character and it really was quite brilliant. Now this followup is done in a similar vain. You could easily get away with reading this one without any knowledge of the first book, though I’d recommend reading first book. I just feel you’ll get more out of it with knowing the events of that first story.

Becoming the Boogeyman sees us catching up with Richard and his family after Chasing the Boogeyman has become a massive success. But success and fame can come with a price. They’ve had to deal with some invasions of privacy and minor pranks, but when Richard comes across a gruesome discovery near his home while on walk, it’s clear someone is taking things up a notch. Has the Boogeyman returned? But they caught him, didn’t they? After all the evidence, including DNA and a confession says they have the right man behind bars. A man Richard knows well, not only from his childhood but because Richard is the only reporter he’ll talk to. So what is this? A copycat? And if so what is their endgame? How much danger is Richard and his family in?

Chizmar does a masterful job, once again including things like press clippings and photos to sell the whole nonfiction true crime vibe to this fiction thriller. And once again putting himself front and center, along with placing his family at ‘risk’. And he writes it so convincingly that at times you’re likely to forget it’s fiction. All I can say is keep them coming! I’d like to thank Gallery Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of Becoming the Boogeyman.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R1Z0EE3OZNYUB9/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

I read Chasing the Boogeyman about two years ago and absolutely loved it. Author Richard Chizmer has created a new genre — fictional true crime, an oxymoron, but it’s the only way I can describe it. I was taken in hook, line, and sinker by Chizmer’s story about how he returned to his hometown after college graduation in 1988 and became embroiled in an investigation into the murders of four girls in his neighborhood. Not to ruin anything, but in Chasing the Boogeyman, Chizmer successfully discovers the killer as someone with whom he grew up. That book also introduced us to Chizmer’s gal pal, Carly, a journalist, and his fiancée, Kara, a soon-to-be doctor.

In Becoming the Boogeyman, we encounter the same cast of characters, but nearly 40 years have passed. Chizmer is now a well-know author (thanks to writing Chasing the Boogeyman, which has now been made into a movie), is married to Kara with two sons, has a personal friendship with Stephen King, and is living back in his own hometown. Once again, bodies have started piling up in his small town, and they would appear to be a continuation of the original Boogeyman case, except that the person convicted of the earlier murders is safely locked up in a high-security prison. So is it a copycat or is more going on here?

Although the artistic deceit of fictional true crime continues in Becoming the Boogeyman, including the many photographs, it’s a little less successful than the first time around, I still thoroughly enjoyed this novel. Chizmer has a way of really bringing the reader into this small village in Maryland. He excels at both prose and dialogue. My only negative was that there was a seemingly minor character, whose backstory I thought was unnecessary. Otherwise, another great read.

I was thrilled to receive a copy of this for review. I absolutely loved Chasing the Boogeyman, so much that it was a five star read for me. I cannot say this about the sequel. I don’t know what it was, whether it was the way it was written this time around or just the fact that I had hyped myself up for it to be as good as the first book, but I found myself bored and struggling to get through this. I continue to enjoy the author’s nostalgic descriptions of his childhood and hometown. However, it got rather mundane in this book for me. I just felt like the book shifted back-and-forth in so many different directions describing so many different things, timelines and people, I just found myself wanting it to go back to the center of the story. I’m just disappointed to say that I only can give this a three star review.

This was a pretty good book overall. I liked the first one a bit more though. I thought the characters were well fleshed out, and the dialogue was good.

In this gripping sequel to Chasing the Boogeyman, Richard Chizmar once again blends fact and fiction to deliver a story that reads like a true crime podcast. Set in the present day, Becoming the Boogeyman picks up after the success of protagonist Richard's first book, which chronicled the real-life horror of a 1980s serial killer haunting his hometown. Now a celebrity of sorts, Richard finds that success has come with a cost as he is pulled back into the boogeyman's dangerous web.

This sequel faced the challenge of moving the story into the present day, but Chizmar rises to the occasion. He writes honestly about how Richard's life has evolved while still preserving the heart and nostalgia of the first book. Details about changes in technology and social media are seamlessly woven in and never distract from the tense plot.

Chizmar continues to walk the line between truth and fiction masterfully. I constantly found myself double-checking if any of the characters mentioned were real or not - the realism of his writing style and use of actual stories are incredibly effective. The photographs scattered throughout the book enhance the feeling of an unfolding real crime documentary.

Becoming the Boogeyman is a riveting page-turner with emotional depth, and the ending left me eager for more. I highly recommend giving it a read.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC. All opinions above are my own.