Sequels have always been associated directly to the horror genre. They are a true testament of the passion and adoration the fans have poured into their favorite films. Though series have been popular throughout literary history, direct sequels have been few and far between. More recently, that trend has started to change. Adam Cesare followed up his hit YA novel, Clown In A Cornfield, with an exemplary sequel. Stephen Graham Jones released his second novel in the Indian Lake Trilogy with the highly acclaimed, Don’t Fear The Reaper. Even the King himself has ventured into sequel territory with a fantastic follow up to the iconic novel The Shining, with Doctor Sleep.
Richard Chizmar, a multiple New York Times bestseller, takes a swing at a sequel with his next novel, Becoming The Boogeyman, a follow up to the international sensation, Chasing The Boogeyman. Not since The Blair Witch Project has a work of fiction deceived fans into brilliantly buying into the plot as a real-life event. Chizmar’s first person perspective format set the standard and redefined the metafictional narrative. Readers became not only encompassed in the mind of a man trapped in a terror town but got transformed into a small community under siege from a serial killer. Chasing The Boogeyman had horror hounds and true crime cats barking and meowing for more. Can Chizmar recapture the foreboding darkness that cloaked the original novel, or has the talented author gone to the window well once too often?
Three decades after the Boogeyman slashed his way through the sleepy town of Edgewood, Maryland, and three years after the man behind the mask was apprehended, Richard Chizmar is enjoying life as a successful author. He now resides in the posh Bel Air area, about fifteen minutes from his hometown, with his loving wife and two sons. Chizmar’s novel, Chasing The Boogeyman, became an instant bestseller with a popular motion picture adaptation that has skyrocketed the author into fame. Not everyone is thrilled for the seemingly humble and quiet man. Legions of disapproving public accuse the author of cashing in on blood money. In an attempt to cleanse his conscience and assist law enforcement, Chizmar has been exclusively meeting with the detained Boogeyman, Joshua Gallagher, in hopes of finding more missing persons that Gallagher may have killed over his long reign of terror.
Meeting with a cold-blooded killer, getting lambasted on message boards daily, and consistently catching curious glares from strangers have taken their toll on Chizmar, but he believes to have it all in check. That is until bodies start to pile up in similar fashion to the slaughter in the summer of ‘88. With a target plastered to his ball cap and an endless list of suspects, Chizmar once again attempts to chase down the Boogeyman, except this time he must do it before he loses his sanity and family.
Becoming The Boogeyman is a sensational sequel with perfectly paced prose. While most sequels in any format attempt to take their audience on a superhighway at warp speed, Chizmar drives his reader along a narrow and intimate creepy country road. The younger Chizmar was wide-eyed and frightfully fascinated by the events in his youth. With a family, a successful career, and his very self-consciousness to protect, this version of the author is angry, frightened, and desperate throughout the saga. Chasing The Boogeyman gave readers a firsthand account of a town in hysteria, while Becoming The Boogeyman gives a more intimate recollection of a man dealing with the guilt of success from slaughter. Characters new and old are placed throughout the novel with perfection, breaking up any semblance of repetition. For horror fans, not only is the primary plot consistently compelling, but Chizmar throws in a few side stories that give a sneak peek into the psyche of serial killers. Becoming The Boogeyman works in two parts. On the surface, the novel is a diatribe on social infatuation with fame and death. Under the veil of suspense driven narrative, the eternal legend of the Boogeyman is catapulted into the modern age. It was an easy sell to believe a man in a mask could stalk a less dense nation in 1988. Richard Chizmar brilliantly shows the reader that the Boogeyman can outwit an overly technological, crowded, and desensitized modern public. In essence, the Boogeyman always finds a way. The Boogeyman books are a fantastic fright feast. Chasing The Boogeyman is a masterfully malevolent main course. Becoming The Boogeyman is a diabolically delightful dessert, one that not only compliments the entrée but leaves the reader starving for more.
Scream Score: 9/10
-BECOMING THE BOOGEYMAN IS UNLEASHED ON OCTOBER 10TH, 2023. EVERYWHERE BOOKS ARE SOLD
-Follow Richard Chizmar on Twitter @RichardChizmar or his website at RichardChizmar.com. The author is currently giving exclusive perks on pre-orders.