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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
I loved every second of reading this. I've always loved true crime, and while this book is fictional, it's written like a true crime book, complete with photographs of the townspeople, the crime scenes, and the victims. Maybe this is crass - but I had so much fun reading this, even though the subject matter is pretty dark. Four murdered teenage girls and a masked serial killer who is surprisingly elusive. Chizmar is a VERY talented storyteller, and I was so happy to find out that the sections of the book that focused on the town itself (his actual hometown) and his parents (who are super lovable) are actually factual, it's just the murder aspect that is fictional. This created a really unique and gripping story that kept me on my toes, made me laugh, made me cry, and made me want to give everybody a hug when all was said and done. Bravo!!!!!
Huge mistake on my part reading this after Penance looking for another taste of that true crime fiction sauce. Utterly sauceless.
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Every once in a while, a book builds such a rich sense of place and time that you swear you’ve been there, you swear you really know the people you’re reading about. And because of that, your investment in the story feels like it has real stakes.
Chasing the Boogeyman by Richard Chizmar is one of those books; the way Chizmar tells this story makes it feel true and terrifying.
It’s hard to explain this book without giving too much away, so read this at your discretion. Chasing the Boogeyman is the story of a small town in Maryland shaken by a series of murders in their close-knit community. Told from the perspective of Chizmar and taking place in his own hometown, he essentially takes on the role of independent investigator, using his knowledge of the community, and his curiosity and passion for true crime to propel him forward. Elements of memoir, true crime, thriller, and domestic drama are all beautifully incorporated into the story.
This book was brilliant. I can safely say that I have never read anything like Chasing the Boogeyman before. I know many authors are inspired by their past, but the way that Chizmar is able to use his real past (where he came from, his own experience) to build the setting to tell a story with new and fictional elements was really exciting to me. In his writing, you can feel the love Chizmar has for his community and by sharing that the reader also becomes invested.
Even though I knew that some details about the story were created for this story, the book is written in such a way that feels all real AND genuinely scary. Numerous times I had to remind myself that this was a work of fiction.
Just like Chizmar’s hunt for the killer though (leading to a shocking and well-earned reveal), part of the mystery of the book itself was not knowing what was real and what wasn’t.
Chasing the Boogeyman by Richard Chizmar is one of those books; the way Chizmar tells this story makes it feel true and terrifying.
It’s hard to explain this book without giving too much away, so read this at your discretion. Chasing the Boogeyman is the story of a small town in Maryland shaken by a series of murders in their close-knit community. Told from the perspective of Chizmar and taking place in his own hometown, he essentially takes on the role of independent investigator, using his knowledge of the community, and his curiosity and passion for true crime to propel him forward. Elements of memoir, true crime, thriller, and domestic drama are all beautifully incorporated into the story.
This book was brilliant. I can safely say that I have never read anything like Chasing the Boogeyman before. I know many authors are inspired by their past, but the way that Chizmar is able to use his real past (where he came from, his own experience) to build the setting to tell a story with new and fictional elements was really exciting to me. In his writing, you can feel the love Chizmar has for his community and by sharing that the reader also becomes invested.
Even though I knew that some details about the story were created for this story, the book is written in such a way that feels all real AND genuinely scary. Numerous times I had to remind myself that this was a work of fiction.
Just like Chizmar’s hunt for the killer though (leading to a shocking and well-earned reveal), part of the mystery of the book itself was not knowing what was real and what wasn’t.
Honestly, I didn’t love this. I felt like the writing style was flat as was the character development. I also didn’t feel like it was what it was portrayed to be in terms of possible supernatural undertones. It was more like a true crime, book written from the authors perspective like he was a main character, but it really wasn’t a true crime book. Just not my thing.
Couldn't put this book down. Super interesting format - the writer himself is the main character. And it's written so well that I am not going to lie, a few times I picked up the phone to confirm this was a work of fiction. I thought the mystery was really interesting - and I didn't see it coming (though I did pick up the major clue - just didn't identify the right person as the boogeyman!). I only gave this four stars instead of five because while I loved the detail that Chizmar put into building the world of Edgewood (the history of the towns, all of his memories, etc.) some of it (particularly the introduction) felt like it detracted from the story. It took me a bit to get into it - once I did I was hooked - but a lot of that introductory part dragged for me. Regardless - a great book and I will definitely be picking up the sequel!
*I read this as part of the 2024 Popsugar Reading Challenge - "A book about a writer/author"
*I read this as part of the 2024 Popsugar Reading Challenge - "A book about a writer/author"
Bitvis är den lite väl lik ”äkta” true crime (haha ja, "crime" då alltså - den äkta varan) i och med att utredningen många gånger står och stampar (som det ju ofta gör i verkligheten). Det här gör att boken också står och stampar... vilken periodvis är segt och långrandigt. Samtidigt är det ju precis det den utger sig för att vara - en skönlitterär historia som ska kännas äkta - så det är kanske en märklig grej att klaga på. Men ändå. I de skönlitterära thriller- och deckarhistorierna jag är van vid är ofta tempot uppskruvat till max på bekostnad av trovärdigheten. Här försöker Chizmar skapa något som ska kännas 100% verkligt - och då måste utredningen följa i de ”klassiska” seriemördarutredningarnas stil, till största delen. Vilket innebär: en stor del "stå och stampa".
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
All around good book with a satisfying conclusion. It started a little slow, and definitely could have been a little more exciting/shocking. Still, good.
