“If I was shadows and moonbeams and tales of death and horror, she was sunshine and laughter and the yellow brick road from The Wizard of Oz. We balanced each other.”
“Genuinely chilling and something brand-new and exciting” – these words are what Stephen King used to describe Richard Chizmar’s 2021 novel Chasing the Boogeyman, and they were certainly a good fit for what was a really fun read. A tale of nostalgia, mystery, and of a sinister serial killer stalking a sleepy town, Chasing the Boogeyman has been one of the most acclaimed fiction books of the past couple of years, so why not check out our thoughts on Chizmar’s story here at What We Reading?
Date Published: 2021
Author: Richard Chizmar
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Pages: 336
GoodReads Rating: 4.0/5
Premise
Chasing The Boogeyman is set in a small corner of a sleepy Maryland town, and follows Chizmar as he returns home from college. Soon after arriving, however, the town begins to be engulfed by the discoveries of mutilated bodies. With Chizmar preparing for his wedding and attempting to string together a writing career, Chasing the Boogeyman documents his own terrifying run-ins with the killer, as well as the haunting the events of the story have on him in the years since.
Combining horror with gripping true crime, Chasing the Boogeyman is one of the finest pieces of metafiction we’ve read in some time. Chizmar’s unique style of writing is in full swing, and the influence of real-life true events gives this novel a level of immersion unlike most others in the genre.
What Worked
This was the first metafiction horror book I had ever read, and the whole premise worked so well. Chizmar weaves together some of the most emotive and descriptive languages to sell every nook and cranny of Edgewood, plonking readers right into the middle of the world he has created. Throw in the
The idea of having this autobiographical approach to a fictional thriller is so unique and so clever, Chasing the Boogeyman stands out as one of the most imaginative works going.
How Chizmar is able to sell the surroundings and story helps make us forget that this isn’t actually a real case we’re engrossed in.
So whilst the imaginative premise is undoubtedly the star of the show here, the case that makes up the storyline is in itself solid enough as a storyline. Chilling and delivered in a true crime style, the mystery of the killer lurking in the shadows taking an interest in the author is
A true crime thriller with a sprinkling of horror, and presented in a wonderfully emotive memoir style, Chasing the Boogeyman is both wonderfully conceived and superbly executed.
What Didn’t?
Honestly? Not a lot.
If there was perhaps one moment that I personally struggled with a little, it was in the opening chapter called ‘The Town’. Essentially, the chapter is filled with long sweeping paragraphs of every detail behind the Edgewood setting, which can be a little bit laborious to get through.
With that being said, I understand why Chizmar took the time to get the bulk of the descriptions done in the opening exchanges – not only does it allow him to take the brakes off for the remainder of the book, but also allows readers to feel properly immersed in the town and all of the lives of its inhabitants.
Without spoiling it, it’s easy to imagine a select few readers being put off by Chasing The Boogeyman’s dramatic final revelation, but I thought it was a thoroughly unique and well-executed twist to chuck in at the end.
Want another chilling read? Check out our Thirteen Storeys book review by Jonathan Sims!
Verdict
Chasing The Boogeyman is a bloody good book, isn’t it?
Through his detailed and personalised perspective, Chizmar is able to create one of the most vivid settings we’ve read all year, immersing the readers in a way that makes the novel’s metafiction format work so well. The emotions Chizmar’s writing conjures up make the descriptions of daily life in Edgewood pleasant enough, but then you throw in the suspense of a prolific serial killer being at large, and things are ramped up to another level.
The killings, the suspense, and the eventual revelations behind the crimes make this probably the most rewarding reading experience I’ve had this year. The metafiction format Chizmar successfully employs here is also a serious game-changer, and we wouldn’t be surprised if Chasing The Boogeyman goes on to open the door to a whole subgenre in the horror world.
Our Rating: 5/5
Views From Around The Reading World
“Wow. What a fantastic book!
The execution, pace, descriptions and characters all come together in the most unexpected and captivating way. Also, everything about this story was so creepy. The writing style was so intimate and revealed Richard’s personal life and the awful events he witnessed in such depth that I often felt like I was actually staying in his town while a serial killer stalked the shadows.”
Quote supplied by Yolanda Sfetsos
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
