Chasing the Boogeyman
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-11-01 07:51:03
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Richard Chizmar
- ISBN：1529372372
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Instant New York Times and USA Today Best Seller
The New York Times best-selling coauthor of Gwendy’s Button Box brings his signature “thrilling， page-turning” （Michael Koryta， author of How It Happened） prose to this story of small-town evil that combines the storytelling of Stephen King with the true-crime suspense of Michelle McNamara。
In the summer of 1988， the mutilated bodies of several missing girls begin to turn up in a small Maryland town。 The grisly evidence leads police to the terrifying assumption that a serial killer is on the loose in the quiet suburb。 But soon a rumor begins to spread that the evil stalking local teens is not entirely human。 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。 For a once peaceful community trapped in the depths of paranoia and suspicion， it feels like a nightmare that will never end。
Recent college graduate Richard Chizmar returns to his hometown just as a curfew is enacted and a neighborhood watch is formed。 In the midst of preparing for his wedding and embarking on a writing career， he soon finds himself thrust into the real-life horror story。 Inspired by the terrifying events， Richard writes a personal account of the serial killer’s reign of terror， unaware that these events will continue to haunt him for years to come。
A clever， terrifying， and heartrending work of metafiction， Chasing the Boogeyman is the ultimate marriage between horror fiction and true crime。 Chizmar’s “brilliant。。。absolutely fascinating， totally compelling， and immediately poignant” （C。J。 Tudor， New York Times best-selling author） writing is on full display in this truly unique novel that will haunt you long after you hear the final moments。
The New York Times best-selling coauthor of Gwendy’s Button Box brings his signature “thrilling， page-turning” （Michael Koryta， author of How It Happened） prose to this story of small-town evil that combines the storytelling of Stephen King with the true-crime suspense of Michelle McNamara。
In the summer of 1988， the mutilated bodies of several missing girls begin to turn up in a small Maryland town。 The grisly evidence leads police to the terrifying assumption that a serial killer is on the loose in the quiet suburb。 But soon a rumor begins to spread that the evil stalking local teens is not entirely human。 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。 For a once peaceful community trapped in the depths of paranoia and suspicion， it feels like a nightmare that will never end。
Recent college graduate Richard Chizmar returns to his hometown just as a curfew is enacted and a neighborhood watch is formed。 In the midst of preparing for his wedding and embarking on a writing career， he soon finds himself thrust into the real-life horror story。 Inspired by the terrifying events， Richard writes a personal account of the serial killer’s reign of terror， unaware that these events will continue to haunt him for years to come。
A clever， terrifying， and heartrending work of metafiction， Chasing the Boogeyman is the ultimate marriage between horror fiction and true crime。 Chizmar’s “brilliant。。。absolutely fascinating， totally compelling， and immediately poignant” （C。J。 Tudor， New York Times best-selling author） writing is on full display in this truly unique novel that will haunt you long after you hear the final moments。
Reviews
John Prettyman
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Growing up in Maryland and knowing the towns described in this book may have skewed my opinion and made me bias， however， I loved this book and thought the idea of making this work of imagination seem like that of a true crime is brilliant。 Having the author put his own childhood into the story made this seem more realistic and even more terrifying to think that this could have happened。 Perfect read to finish on Halloween night。
Brice Williams
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Wow。 This one crackles。 So interested in the story。
Angela Pineda
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Eh I don’t get the love for this book。 It’s fiction， written like true crime/memoir， and parts were interesting， but parts were boring。 It took me a long time to read this one - especially for being on the shorter side。 I wanted to know how it ended， but by the end I was skimming。 The finale was a let down。 Overall - not one I recommend。
Ananda Subramani
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It took a while to read this book （mainly due to busy schedules）， nevertheless， it was a decent enough horror-thriller written in the true crime novel format。 The only issue with the narration was that it lacked the blatant urgency which is needed by such thriller novels。
LInda L
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I found this book wonderful and amazing， partly because I LIVE IN EDGEWOOD and was living here when these murders supposedly happened。 I know every street he mentioned and know some of the people who live there。 His house is in the next block from a friend。 I spend a lot of time at the library which was pictured， I used to go to Santoni's， and so many other familiar things。 I thought the book was just fantastic， and Chizmar is a great writer。 I found this book wonderful and amazing， partly because I LIVE IN EDGEWOOD and was living here when these murders supposedly happened。 I know every street he mentioned and know some of the people who live there。 His house is in the next block from a friend。 I spend a lot of time at the library which was pictured， I used to go to Santoni's， and so many other familiar things。 I thought the book was just fantastic， and Chizmar is a great writer。 。。。more
Sherwell Anil
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One of the best books of 2021。
Alexis （Lexi。84。02）
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I DEVOURED this book。 The description of the hometown the main character lived in ; gave me warmest， autumn vibes ever and it was comforting and nostalgic。 Then it got creepy。 The book explains the murders that occurred in 1988 and each one had similar traits。 I WAS GLUED。。。 Best murder mystery of 2021 in my opinion。 I reccomend reading the actual physical copy because of the photographs that go along with the story。
Josh Stevens
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“You have to understand this about living in a small town like Edgewood: boredom made for strange bedfellows， and there was often little rhyme or reason to the things we did。”。Wasn’t sure what to expect walking in but I wound up loving the hell out of it… Both creepy amd nostalgic， this was equal parts Ray Bradbury and Truman Capote。 Chizmar tells a fantastic story that is a fictional work in the style of a true crime novel， written in first person by Chizmar himself （so very #meta ）。 The book s “You have to understand this about living in a small town like Edgewood: boredom made for strange bedfellows， and there was often little rhyme or reason to the things we did。”。Wasn’t sure what to expect walking in but I wound up loving the hell out of it… Both creepy amd nostalgic， this was equal parts Ray Bradbury and Truman Capote。 Chizmar tells a fantastic story that is a fictional work in the style of a true crime novel， written in first person by Chizmar himself （so very #meta ）。 The book serves not only as a fantastic story but also as an homage to his hometown （which， by and large， sounded like he was describing Hebron， IL… I mean， minus the murder spree）。 。。。more
Summer Reads
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Review to come
Eric Mochnacz
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Wow。 Wow。 Wow。 I am not a true crime fan as a lot of people are， but this book kept coming recommended to me。 So， I downloaded it - and loved every second。 In fact， it creeped me out more than any actual “horror” novel I’ve read in recent history。 Chizmar tells the story of serial murders in his hometown - and his role in helping the police find the killer。 And what happens when the killer starts to engage with him through prank phone calls。This is written so well - like a true crime novel - wit Wow。 Wow。 Wow。 I am not a true crime fan as a lot of people are， but this book kept coming recommended to me。 So， I downloaded it - and loved every second。 In fact， it creeped me out more than any actual “horror” novel I’ve read in recent history。 Chizmar tells the story of serial murders in his hometown - and his role in helping the police find the killer。 And what happens when the killer starts to engage with him through prank phone calls。This is written so well - like a true crime novel - with pictures and everything - I almost Googled if it was a true story。 Chizmar answers these questions in his afterword…But， an utterly creepy book with well-paced scares that I had to check my doors and windows before I went to bed as I neared the conclusion。And Chizmar does such a good job of melding the fictitious murder plot with real， tangible， and nostalgic feelings and facts of his childhood。 A great scary story - with heart - that is so easy to read because of the suspense and story telling。 。。。more
Carola | adreamofpages
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Oh wow I loved this book！It was amazingly written and I really liked the addition of the photos throughout the book。
Lisa
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This is the slowest moving story。 I don’t know how anyone gave this more than one star。
Loretta
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Couldn't put this book down！ Great writing with a story about my hometown Edgewood MD。 Lots of remembering the locations that fit in with the mystery！ Couldn't put this book down！ Great writing with a story about my hometown Edgewood MD。 Lots of remembering the locations that fit in with the mystery！ 。。。more
kristin lund
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Best book I've read all year！ Written in the true crime style similar to Ann Rule， you soon forget that this is a work of fiction。 Best book I've read all year！ Written in the true crime style similar to Ann Rule， you soon forget that this is a work of fiction。 。。。more
Gerald
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I read over 100 books a year and have never read anything like this novel。 This is a perfectly executed adventure。 No spoilers， but highly recommended。
Jessica
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Incredibly well written。 His storytelling was so convincingly real I had to remind myself repeatedly that it was fiction。 It was terrifying at points but also such a loving tribute to small towns。 My favorite parts were the descriptions of every day things like the weather and family gatherings。 He included one of the best descriptions of fall I have ever read here is a snippet: "Clouds drifted by， peeking over their shoulders， reluctant to make way for winter’s footfalls。 Naked tree branches re Incredibly well written。 His storytelling was so convincingly real I had to remind myself repeatedly that it was fiction。 It was terrifying at points but also such a loving tribute to small towns。 My favorite parts were the descriptions of every day things like the weather and family gatherings。 He included one of the best descriptions of fall I have ever read here is a snippet: "Clouds drifted by， peeking over their shoulders， reluctant to make way for winter’s footfalls。 Naked tree branches reached out as you walked past， skeletal fingers hungering for your touch， and packs of fallen leaves crunched beneath your wandering feet， their boundless brethren skittering past you in the chill autumn breeze like miniature ghosts haunting the landscape。" 。。。more
Joseph Vinci
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Real LifeGreat depiction of the activities and investigation of multiple murders of young girls in a small town。 Details of the crimes， feeling be of the town and the dogged determination of a horror writer and a newspaper writer。
Rachael Heslam
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Absolutely loved reading this，kept me on my toes right till the end。😊
Libbye
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It’s harsh， but I felt like I was tricked into reading a memoir of some random sexist man about the glory days。 Add in some murdered girls for spice。 The uncommon aspects of this book that sell it for many readers were a big part of what fell flat for me。Genre-bending is cool， but is this actually just the blatant self-insert to rule all self-inserts？ It was the slowest beginning ever- nothing to do with mystery， everything to do with some idyllic and extended aw-shucks boyhood。 Even the photos It’s harsh， but I felt like I was tricked into reading a memoir of some random sexist man about the glory days。 Add in some murdered girls for spice。 The uncommon aspects of this book that sell it for many readers were a big part of what fell flat for me。Genre-bending is cool， but is this actually just the blatant self-insert to rule all self-inserts？ It was the slowest beginning ever- nothing to do with mystery， everything to do with some idyllic and extended aw-shucks boyhood。 Even the photos just seemed off somehow， I didn’t feel the added realism。 As someone from a small town too （much smaller）， a lot of the way he romanticized it didn’t ring true either， or especially the way silly young girls supposedly act in his world。 Completely unrealistic and detached from reality- they’re caricatures。 The gross comments / bodily descriptions about girls （even age 6-11） didn’t help， and that’s what bothered me the most。 。。。more
smalltownbookmom
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A fictional true crime story about a small town serial killer and the decades it took to track him down。 I heard some great reviews for this one but despite amazing narration the story overall was just ok for me。 Recommended for true crime podcast enthusiasts。
Jess
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3。5 ⭐️
Taryn
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I honestly can't decide what to rate this。 I didn't care for the 2nd half。 I think I'll go with a 2。5 and round it up here。 I honestly can't decide what to rate this。 I didn't care for the 2nd half。 I think I'll go with a 2。5 and round it up here。 。。。more
jamhands
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I’m sorry the cops didn’t realize sexual assault happened on 2 of the 3 victims。 Seems like a pretty big miss。 I had that in the back of my mind and I’m far from law enforcement。 This book is so dumb。 I held on because I thought it was going somewhere good。 Spoiler alert: it is going to a very bland and predictable place。
Stephanie
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This book was not at all what I expected。 Good concept， but honestly kind of boring and definitely not scary。
Shaun Shepard
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3。5 stars rounded up。 This was different than I expected。 The blurred lines between true crime and fictional thriller were interesting， and slightly confusing。 The storyline was intriguing， but I never felt particularly connected to the mystery - though the ending was satisfying。 For some reason， the author's voice didn't do it for me。 I know that I'm in the minority here！ 3。5 stars rounded up。 This was different than I expected。 The blurred lines between true crime and fictional thriller were interesting， and slightly confusing。 The storyline was intriguing， but I never felt particularly connected to the mystery - though the ending was satisfying。 For some reason， the author's voice didn't do it for me。 I know that I'm in the minority here！ 。。。more
Sharon
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Thank you to Netgalley， the publisher and the author， for an ARC of this book， in exchange for an honest review。I thought this was an intriguing & clever concept for a book。It caught my attention from the very beginning & had me racing to finish it so I could find out how it ended。I would definitely read another book by Richard Chizmar。
Kate Mackay
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This book is so boring。 So much potential， but too ego-centric。 So many avenues for good story telling， not taken。 The reveal of the murderer is a huge let-down。
Amanda Messier
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Best book I've read this year！ It's chilling。 It's creepy。 It's terrifying。 It could happen in your hometown。 The author really does such a stellar job with this book and I am proud to own it！ Best book I've read this year！ It's chilling。 It's creepy。 It's terrifying。 It could happen in your hometown。 The author really does such a stellar job with this book and I am proud to own it！ 。。。more
Ashley S。
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Meh。 The narrator was so wooden and I didn’t care for him。 The story seemed to lag and there was a huge build up that seemed to take forever to climax。 Not my favorite but kept me engaged enough。
Zeinab
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Well written， a captivating and enthralling read。 Reads like true crime， interspersed with beautifully reflective passages on memory， family， home， and time。Somehow， the ending was disappointing—too many threads left unfinished， questions left unanswered， and paths left unexplored that might have made for a less conventional explanation。 The resolution felt a little too neat。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Chasing the Boogeyman
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Chasing the Boogeyman&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Chasing the Boogeyman&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0