Description

The acclaimed NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY bestselling novel of small-town evil that ‘is genuinely chilling and something brand-new and exciting’ (Stephen King) and ‘unforgettable’ (Harlan Coben).

Summer 1988: the mutilated bodies of several missing girls are discovered in a small Maryland town.

Rumour spreads that the evil stalking local teens is not entirely human. But law enforcement and members of the FBI are sure a serial killer is playing games with them.

Now recent college graduate Richard Chizmar returns to his hometown to write a personal account of the killer’s reign. And what he discovers will haunt him for years to come . . .

‘Chasing the Boogeyman does what true crime so often cannot: it offers both chills and a satisfying conclusion’ – Stephen King

‘Brilliant . . . absolutely fascinating, totally compelling and immensely poignant. I dare you not to finish it in one sitting. This one will stay with me!’ – C. J. Tudor

‘Unforgettable’ – Harlan Coben

Publisher Review

Chasing the Boogeyman is genuinely chilling and something brand new and exciting. Compulsive reading and scary... Chasing the Boogeyman does what true crime so often cannot: it offers both chills and a satisfying conclusion. * Stephen King * Brilliant. . . . Absolutely fascinating, totally compelling, and immensely poignant. I dare you not to finish it in one sitting. This one will stay with me! * C. J. Tudor, New York Times bestselling author * Riveting. Chilling. Chasing the Boogeyman is an unflinching look at a real-life monster and the ordinary heroes obsessed with stopping him * Riley Sager, New York Times bestselling author of Final Girls and Home Before Dark * Richard Chizmar, with Chasing the Boogeyman, presents himself as a print version of Norman Rockwell, if the artist had devoted himself to the creepy things that hide under the bed * Linwood Barclay, New York Times bestselling author of Find You First * Hammer in hand, Richard Chizmar's come to shatter the idea that everything's already been done. An absolutely chilling mash-up of styles, media, biography, and legend. Elastic, unsettling, brilliant. And here you thought you knew the names of every genre * Josh Malerman, New York Times bestselling author of Bird Box and Malorie * Creepy yet captivating . . . A metafictional masterpiece * The Times Crime Club * With Chasing the Boogeyman, Richard Chizmar demonstrates the full power of his impressive storytelling reach. A fascinating conceit paired with deeply human writing creates a thriller that conjures writers as disparate as Stephen King and Michelle McNamara. The result is a marvelous mind game of nuanced, layered storytelling * Michael Koryta, New York Times bestselling author of Never Far Away * Literature was invented around 3400 B.C. Approximately 5,419 years later, Richard Chizmar has invented an entirely new genre of literature with Chasing the Boogeyman. Compulsive, encompassing storytelling. Do not miss this one! * Brian Keene, bestselling author of The Rising * If Ray Bradbury had written In Cold Blood it would probably look a lot like Richard Chizmar's masterful Chasing the Boogeyman, a perfectly written and unnervingly suspenseful thriller about a series of murders that tear apart the fabric of a picturesque Maryland town and the writer who puts everything on the line to solve them. This is a mind-bendingly engaging book. Be prepared for the hairs on the back of your neck to be standing at attention as you devour every rich page * David Bell, bestselling author of The Request * Richard Chizmar spins dark magic with Chasing the Boogeyman. A true crime masterpiece with Chizmar himself as a key player in the grisly mystery. Highly recommended, but not for the faint of heart * Jonathan Mayberry, New York Times bestselling author of V-Wars and Patient Zero * Wonderful . . . a knotty mystery with an elegant resolution at its heart . . . It feels so original, dizzy-making in its expert layering of fact and fiction . . . A hymn to both innocence and to growing up * Catriona Ward, bestselling author of The Last House on Needless Street *