Tell me a story… about the public’s fascination with murder
Becoming the Boogeyman (The Boogeyman #2) by Richard Chizmar
Expected publication date: October 10, 2023
Date read: September 18, 2023
A riveting, haunting sequel to the thriller Chasing the Boogeyman—a tale of obsession and the adulation of evil, exploring modern society’s true-crime obsession with unflinching honesty, sparing no one from the glare of the spotlight. Will those involved walk away from the story of a lifetime in order to keep their loved ones safe? Or will they once again be drawn into a killer’s web? As the story draws to its shattering conclusion, only one person holds all the answers—and he just may be the most terrifying monster of them all.
Chasing the Boogeyman was one of my favorite books of 2021. I loved the way that Chizmar chose to write it as if it was nonfiction, including himself as the protagonist of the story. It was one of the best uses of this format that I have come across. So when I saw that Chizmar was releasing a sequel, I jumped on it.
While there were a few unanswered questions in the original story, it didn’t necessarily need a sequel, and I wasn’t expecting there to be one. (Chizmar even states in the Author’s Note that he wasn’t planning a sequel when he finished Chasing the Boogeyman). Sometimes when a sequel is unplanned and not absolutely needed, it just seems like a cash grab and can’t hold up to the original. I’m happy to say that this book can stand on its own as an excellent psychological thriller and brings just as many thrills and chills as the original.
To avoid spoilers for the first book, I’m not going to mention who the “Boogeyman” actually is. But the fun of this book was not only trying to figure out whodunnit, but whether the original killer was somehow involved as well. I’m happy to say that I was not able to guess the ending.
In addition to the murder mystery, one of my favorite things about these books is how human the protagonist is. He’s not a mastermind, or even a detective. He’s an Everyman who makes believable mistakes along the way. He’s not always likable - he makes a few pretty stupid decisions - but he’s a great character.
As with the original, I loved the blurring of lines between fact and fiction in this story. While I knew from the start that this is a work of fiction, I often found myself reading the book as though it was nonfiction true crime. Chizmar’s ability to make the reader forget that they’re reading fiction is incredible.
Highly recommended to any horror/thriller fan, but I strongly suggest reading Chasing the Boogeyman first. You can follow this book without reading the first one, but the entire plot of that one will be spoiled if you read out of order. But pick up both books now (and the third to come), because this has been one of my favorite books of 2023.
Rating: 5/5 stars
Trigger warnings: murder, torture, sexual abuse (mentioned), gruesome death, cannibalism (mentioned), gore (some involving animals), child abuse
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.
