Great book! This author is becoming one of my favorites. I thought the idea behind this book was fascinating: a true-crime story, that wasn’t true. And he does a great job of it. It was extremely believable. He also did a great job of intertwining true history, events and memories. The pictures (fake and staged) were a bonus that helped the story seem more realistic. ( )

Not a bad read, but I did not really like the innovative, genre blending format. I felt Chizmar was at his best in the nostalgia washed depictions of family and friends and that the killings felt shoehorned in. Then there was the killers response when asked about the numerology/ clues?! Not sure if that was supposed to be funny? Will try others… this true crime format in novel form just did not work for me ( )

I'm not sure how this amazing Chizmar masterpiece slipped by me for years........but, I'm so glad I happened upon it. I really enjoyed this.

I believe this is my first foray into metafiction......I wasn't even sure what that was until I Google it lol!

Chizmar does such an amazing job of creating a realistic " true crime" story, I wasn't sure until the afterword what was true and what was totally fictional.

I totally disagree on ALL fronts with the last reviewer.......who posted a diatribe ......and didn't even give Chizmar the limelight in his own book review ....instead chose to bash other writers all in the same go lol! No, this is a wonderfully written and executed story!

I'm off to read part two.....Becoming the Boogeyman. ( )

Actual rating: 3.7 but rounded up for LibraryThing rating system.
I wanted to like this book a little bit more than I ended up liking. It has a plot and a premise that is right up my alley: a horror book about a serial killer set in a small town USA, written as a true crime book. But Chizmar is an average writer at best and he struggles to make this a compelling and believable story. He claims to have been an avid true crime reader for years, but so am I and the type of "crime" writing he presents mainly exists in low-end true crime publications that no self-respecting reader of such books would recommend to anyone. Or maybe he just likes trash literature wrapped up in real people misery? Heavy accusation to make but that's how the writing of this particular book came off to me from the "true crime reader" standpoint that he claims to have.
There's quite a few other issues I find with this ambitious project that doesn't hit all the marks: quite a few things in the book are not accurate or not even possible (the only FBI agent portrayed in the book is depicted as an asshole who doesn't choose his words while at the same breath author praises John Douglas of all people, absolute madness); the author is self obsessed between the pages and it highly reminds me of Michelle McNamara who was not a good true crime writer despite her book on EAR/ONS (GSK) having some merit by pure luck; there's a lot of homage paid to Stephen King but author tries and fails to create the same mood and atmosphere that King brilliantly helps his readers to capture and experience; the photos of supposed teenage victims (all girls) were sometimes questionable (do they really need to be shown in bikinis if they are portrayed as 15 year olds?); and the pictures themselves, despite Chizmar claiming that they were trying to be as accurate to the time period as possible, failed to do so more often than not. There's quite a few glaring issues with this book that I just listed, all of them breaking the pace or the story in one way or another. However the book wasn't all that bad, given I rated it 3.7.
I adored the book premise that I already mentioned, I haven't seen or read anything like this before and it was a lovely experience to try something brand new in the horror genre that combines my two favorite genres (true crime and horror). With all its flaws - it's still a pretty good book. I also like the reveal at the end, how it was handled was better than I expected and I am definitely giving Chizmar kudos for that. All of the characters (some based off real people in Chizmar's life) were neither likable or dislikable - they were just people and I liked that a lot as well. Lastly, I'd like to mention how after the reveal at the end of the book - everything seems to click right in place before you even read the explanation. Maybe it's just me, or maybe Richard handled that specific point of the story extremely well I cannot tell, but the gasp I gusped was real.
With all things said and done, this is not a brilliant, knock-your-socks-off King-esque story as it tries to be, but it still is a pretty decent book with a good plot, not that good writing, but still one helluva of a ride. But most importantly - I'll give Chizmar credit for not trying to make this book seem smarter than what it is, it would've ended up being worse if he attempted that. And the ultimate takeaway here is that after reading "Chasing the Boogeyman" I would definitely try out more of this type true crime and horror blend in book form. Hopefully someone else tries it in the future, I definitely am looking forward to it. ( )

I picked up Chasing the Boogeyman on impulse from the library shelf on my way to check out and I’m so glad that I did because I ended up devouring it!

Richard Chizmar gives readers a fictional account of brutal murders in his hometown during the 1980s but meshes together his own childhood memories to create a nostalgic atmosphere that made this book read like an actual true crime novel! In fact, there were times I forgot that this is fiction since the author has written himself into the story.

The format and the narrative make Chasing the Boogeyman a fictional crime story that readers can breeze through as they get to know the town of Edgewood and look for answers in these chilling crimes! ( )