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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
(3.5/5) I've been chomping at the bit for this sequel! After the thoroughly compelling Chasing the Boogeyman, waiting for this novel to come in from the library was downright excruciating.
Richard Chizmar returns as both author and protagonist in this propulsive thriller. After his bestselling debut, the Chizmar family has been plagued by unwanted attention. There's the unhinged stalkers, true-crime fanatics, and online conspiracy theorists. On the other hand, there are long-time Edgewood residents who accuse him of being a sellout, capitalizing on the murders and reinforcing their town's bad reputation.
However, things take a sinister turn when human remains are found dumped on Rich's property precisely 34 years after the Boogeyman's first murder. The Boogeyman has unfinished business – and he's just getting started. Just like in 1988, the town is whipped into a frenzy – but in the era of social media, viral videos, and true crime celebrities, rumours are rampant and Rich quickly becomes an online target.
Tinged with nostalgia for small-town Americana, this was a love letter to home in all its forms, with a nod to the ugliness that lurks behind closed doors. Unfortunately, the characterization of Joshua Gallagher as a brilliant schemer in the sequel didn't work for me – what made him such a compelling and terrifying villain was his utter mundanity, the Everyman, the normal father and husband. Turning him into the "genius serial killer" trope made this novel less engaging and interesting for me.
We are left on a cliffhanger – I'm certainly looking forward to reading the next instalment in the series and seeing where the story takes us next.
Richard Chizmar returns as both author and protagonist in this propulsive thriller. After his bestselling debut, the Chizmar family has been plagued by unwanted attention. There's the unhinged stalkers, true-crime fanatics, and online conspiracy theorists. On the other hand, there are long-time Edgewood residents who accuse him of being a sellout, capitalizing on the murders and reinforcing their town's bad reputation.
However, things take a sinister turn when human remains are found dumped on Rich's property precisely 34 years after the Boogeyman's first murder. The Boogeyman has unfinished business – and he's just getting started. Just like in 1988, the town is whipped into a frenzy – but in the era of social media, viral videos, and true crime celebrities, rumours are rampant and Rich quickly becomes an online target.
Tinged with nostalgia for small-town Americana, this was a love letter to home in all its forms, with a nod to the ugliness that lurks behind closed doors. Unfortunately, the characterization of Joshua Gallagher as a brilliant schemer in the sequel didn't work for me – what made him such a compelling and terrifying villain was his utter mundanity, the Everyman, the normal father and husband. Turning him into the "genius serial killer" trope made this novel less engaging and interesting for me.
We are left on a cliffhanger – I'm certainly looking forward to reading the next instalment in the series and seeing where the story takes us next.
2.75/5: I found myself really disliking some of the characters as this developed, even annoyed at times. Still a decent overall story.
mysterious
slow-paced
Never disappointed
Chizmar does some really cool things. You know it's fiction but you keep having th remind yourself of that as you progress.
That damned Boogeyman is a sneaky monster!
Chizmar does some really cool things. You know it's fiction but you keep having th remind yourself of that as you progress.
That damned Boogeyman is a sneaky monster!
This was so damned good! What a great follow up. I love the whole true crime that is completely fictionalized version of the author’s life take. And the multi layered creepiness was so well done. I cannot wait for the next installment!
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I went between 3.75 and 4 stars for this book because there were things I really liked about this book and thought it did better than the first book and things I really didn't like about this book. Overall, I did like this book more than the first one, but ultimately, I went with 3.75 stars because I don't think it was equal to how much I liked the other books I've given 4 stars in the past.
In general, I found this book had a much more forward drive where I kept needing to turn the page and find out what happens next. The drama and stakes felt much more heightened, probably because the "author" was personally involved instead of just describing what happened. I ended up finishing this book on the same day that I started it, so clearly it was interesting and caught my attention. I also enjoyed getting some more of the author's life as he is an older adult, since the first book took place in his 20s. Even though this is a fiction book, a lot of the things that he talks about outside of the crime plot bits are taken from his real life. Finally, I really liked that we got some more character development in this novel. Whether this character development endeared me to the "author" (I'm going to put "author" in quotes when I'm talking about the character who he portrays in the novel as opposed to the actual author as a real person) is another thing...
I also really liked the focus on the public's obsession with true crime, the detrimental effect it has, and just the general ability for people to spread rumors and such with the way that communication is these days. I was super frustrated with the public in this book, and I definitely thought that things were probably a lot better for everyone in the first book when it was still the late 80s and people couldn't fear-monger and spread rumors so easily. (Yes, I also love true crime, but at least I'm not posting on forums and spreading lies everywhere to freak everyone out.) I was also mad on behalf of the "author" since people kept accusing him of profiting from the murders, but while that was a byproduct of his book, he never set out to write a book in order to profit. People are too fast to judge and assume the worst of people (not just in true crime) and then subsequently "cancel" them, and it remains a huge frustration of mine in the real world as well. Fuck cancel culture.
These are the main issues I had while reading this novel. It looks like a lot, but ultimately it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the story, which is why I gave it a higher rating than the first book:
1. I still enjoyed the "true crime" vibes of this book, although I feel like this one did feel more like fiction. To be fair, if I hadn't known that it wasn't fiction, I probably would have taken it at its face value as a "true crime" novel, but last time, despite knowing it was fiction, I completely got caught up in the "true crime" stuff, and this time, I was very much able to remember the whole time that the plot had been completely made up. I think just the fact that the "author" had two such close connections with serial killers in his life feels like a huge stretch (which, to his credit, he acknowledges in the book) as well as the fact that the police are so willing to let him participate in helping solve the crime, since he's not exactly in law enforcement or anything.
2. Joshua Gallagher felt like a completely different character in this book? Okay, we didn't get a lot of him in the first book, but in this book, he comes across as like a serial killer from a show like Criminal Minds or something, whereas in the first book, he felt a lot more...hesitant when talking to the "author." Yes, he talked about how he had always had this killer inside of him, but he never felt like one of those arrogant big bads that you see in cop shows. In this book, he's totally playing mind games and pulling strings behind the scenes, which felt like a big switch imo. I do actually love that trope, but it just seemed like a big and unexpected change from what we got in the first book.
3. The main character was actually so fucking annoying lol. I'm glad that this book is ultimately fiction because otherwise I would really hate the actual author. Instead, I can just hate the "author" within this book. He was ruining his life and his wife's life and he just wouldn't let things go, and he alsoliterally broke the law and stuff just because he wanted to "understand himself" and know why he had contact with multiple serial killers in his life . I was just like "omg you're so fucking dumb, shut up" when all that was revealed. His incessant need to go poking his nose into the crime scenes and things was also super frustrating. So many main characters do that and I hate it.
4. I wish the ending had been expanded. I wanted to know more about how the killers were linked with Gallagher beyond being his "groupies." How did they communicate with him? What did they get out of it? (The "author" speculates on this but we never hear about it from the killers' own words.) The connection with that other serial killer dude also felt like a huge coincidence that conveniently tied everything together. Was that guy also in touch with the killers? We know of at least four people who were involved, but were there more? Also,how was the guy who shot up that store involved exactly ? I have a lot of questions and I felt like they just completely skipped over all of that. I even reread the reveal in order to see if I missed anything, but I didn't see any answers.
All of that said, now that the author (the real one this time) ended this book on a cliffy, I have to read the sequel! Hopefully the "author" will be less annoying next time lol.
In general, I found this book had a much more forward drive where I kept needing to turn the page and find out what happens next. The drama and stakes felt much more heightened, probably because the "author" was personally involved instead of just describing what happened. I ended up finishing this book on the same day that I started it, so clearly it was interesting and caught my attention. I also enjoyed getting some more of the author's life as he is an older adult, since the first book took place in his 20s. Even though this is a fiction book, a lot of the things that he talks about outside of the crime plot bits are taken from his real life. Finally, I really liked that we got some more character development in this novel. Whether this character development endeared me to the "author" (I'm going to put "author" in quotes when I'm talking about the character who he portrays in the novel as opposed to the actual author as a real person) is another thing...
I also really liked the focus on the public's obsession with true crime, the detrimental effect it has, and just the general ability for people to spread rumors and such with the way that communication is these days. I was super frustrated with the public in this book, and I definitely thought that things were probably a lot better for everyone in the first book when it was still the late 80s and people couldn't fear-monger and spread rumors so easily. (Yes, I also love true crime, but at least I'm not posting on forums and spreading lies everywhere to freak everyone out.) I was also mad on behalf of the "author" since people kept accusing him of profiting from the murders, but while that was a byproduct of his book, he never set out to write a book in order to profit. People are too fast to judge and assume the worst of people (not just in true crime) and then subsequently "cancel" them, and it remains a huge frustration of mine in the real world as well. Fuck cancel culture.
These are the main issues I had while reading this novel. It looks like a lot, but ultimately it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the story, which is why I gave it a higher rating than the first book:
1. I still enjoyed the "true crime" vibes of this book, although I feel like this one did feel more like fiction. To be fair, if I hadn't known that it wasn't fiction, I probably would have taken it at its face value as a "true crime" novel, but last time, despite knowing it was fiction, I completely got caught up in the "true crime" stuff, and this time, I was very much able to remember the whole time that the plot had been completely made up. I think just the fact that the "author" had two such close connections with serial killers in his life feels like a huge stretch (which, to his credit, he acknowledges in the book) as well as the fact that the police are so willing to let him participate in helping solve the crime, since he's not exactly in law enforcement or anything.
2. Joshua Gallagher felt like a completely different character in this book? Okay, we didn't get a lot of him in the first book, but in this book, he comes across as like a serial killer from a show like Criminal Minds or something, whereas in the first book, he felt a lot more...hesitant when talking to the "author." Yes, he talked about how he had always had this killer inside of him, but he never felt like one of those arrogant big bads that you see in cop shows. In this book, he's totally playing mind games and pulling strings behind the scenes, which felt like a big switch imo. I do actually love that trope, but it just seemed like a big and unexpected change from what we got in the first book.
3. The main character was actually so fucking annoying lol. I'm glad that this book is ultimately fiction because otherwise I would really hate the actual author. Instead, I can just hate the "author" within this book. He was ruining his life and his wife's life and he just wouldn't let things go, and he also
4. I wish the ending had been expanded. I wanted to know more about how the killers were linked with Gallagher beyond being his "groupies." How did they communicate with him? What did they get out of it? (The "author" speculates on this but we never hear about it from the killers' own words.) The connection with that other serial killer dude also felt like a huge coincidence that conveniently tied everything together. Was that guy also in touch with the killers? We know of at least four people who were involved, but were there more? Also,
All of that said, now that the author (the real one this time) ended this book on a cliffy, I have to read the sequel! Hopefully the "author" will be less annoying next time lol.
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Becoming the Boogeyman by Richard Chizmar 3/5 ⭐⭐⭐
I probably would have rated this four stars had I had a physical copy to follow along with my audiobook, it is that kind of follow along 'true crime' mystery. However certain circumstances prevented me from doing so, mostly my inability to go to the library currently.
With this story followup, it had all the charm of book 1 but some things fell flat. The instances from his childhood Edgewood: Looking Back inserts felt a little like forceful nostalgia. But I did like the new mystery and the evolution of cat and mouse or if you'd like Hannibal and Clarice type moments.
I probably would have rated this four stars had I had a physical copy to follow along with my audiobook, it is that kind of follow along 'true crime' mystery. However certain circumstances prevented me from doing so, mostly my inability to go to the library currently.
With this story followup, it had all the charm of book 1 but some things fell flat. The instances from his childhood Edgewood: Looking Back inserts felt a little like forceful nostalgia. But I did like the new mystery and the evolution of cat and mouse or if you'd like Hannibal and Clarice type moments.
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced