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Becoming the Boogeyman

by Richard Chizmar

A decades-old case returns to the spotlight

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Awards & Recognition

  • Critical praise

    Praised by Stephen King as a “worthy and frightening sequel”

    Stephen King calls it a “worthy and frightening sequel.”

AlbakiReads Editorial

A decades-old case returns to the spotlight

Set decades after the events of *Chasing the Boogeyman*, this sequel brings Richard Chizmar back into contact with imprisoned serial killer Joshua Gallagher. Their prison visits take on a troubling regularity as Chizmar hopes Gallagher might reveal information about other victims. Then a masked figure leaves a message at Chizmar’s home, echoing the killer’s earlier reign of terror and bringing the past into the present. The setup connects a crime thriller’s escalating threat with questions about obsession, the public’s fascination with true crime, and the attention given to perpetrators. The story centers on the risks of staying close to a killer—and the possibility that the case has not reached its final chapter.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers who enjoy crime thrillers involving serial killers and unresolved cases.
  • Those interested in stories about true-crime fascination and the attention surrounding notorious criminals.
  • Readers who have read *Chasing the Boogeyman* and want to continue its story.

Themes

ObsessionTrue-crime fascinationThe public attention given to perpetratorsUnresolved crimes

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

The "worthy and frightening sequel" (Stephen King) to the acclaimed and "unforgettable" (Harlan Coben) New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling novel Chasing the Boogeyman.Back in the summer of 1988, a young Richard Chizmar was catapulted into the center of a living nightmare as the serial killer Joshua Gallagher--dubbed by the media as "The Boogeyman"--stalked his tranquil Maryland town. A lot has changed in the intervening years. These days, Chizmar enjoys a certain level of celebrity and notoriety himself, being the only person that an incarcerated Josh Gallagher will speak to on or off the record. Chizmar likes to believe that he's doing the world a public service by visiting Gallagher in prison, as there are plenty of other nameless victims out there who Gallagher might finally admit to killing and bring closure to grieving loved ones, and a dark rhythm and routine begin to take hold. But Chizmar eventually finds there's a price to be paid for dancing with the devil, when a masked figure with all the hallmarks of Gallagher's reign of terror from thirty years ago now leaves a horrifying calling card in front of Chizmar's home, and it's clear there's a new player on the board in the ongoing game that the Boogeyman controls... A riveting, haunting sequel to the New York Times bestselling thriller Chasing the Boogeyman, this is a tale of obsession and the adulation of evil, exploring modern society's true crime infatuation 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.
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