Following the success of CHASING THE BOOGEYMAN, author Richard Chizmar returns to the scene of the crime with BECOMING THE BOOGEYMAN. Potentially inspired by the outcome of Michelle McNamara’s I’LL BE GONE IN THE DARK, the novel opens with the now convicted killer Josh Gallagher caught years after the murders had taken place through DNA evidence linking him to the crimes he committed. Facing a lifetime behind bars, Josh wants to get his story out there and the only person he will speak to is the author of the first book, Richard Chizmar.

Meanwhile, The Boogeyman seems to have returned leaving a pile of bodies in his wake. But with Josh behind bars, how is this possible? Is it one person? A team? Is Richard taking the role of unreliable narrator and is he the one responsible?

This book was a bit of a surprise for me as I can’t say I expected nor was I clamouring for a sequel to CHASING THE BOOGEYMAN. That said, I’m glad Chizmar decided to give it a shot as it turned out better than I could have expected. I feel like there are several ways that writing a fictional “true crime” book could go sour, but like his first novel, Chizmar once again does an excellent job blending what feels like fact with fiction. I loved the idea of the town’s citizens as well as the true crime obsessives online accusing Chizmar of setting up the resurgence of the 80s serial killer as a way to sell books. This felt very believable as now more than ever, people are addicted to easy solutions and scapegoats to explain away anything that may be even the slightest bit complicated.

Chizmar once again employs various storytelling methods like interview transcripts, television transcripts, online message boards and social media posting as a way to both break up the story and build a richer world around the story. I really loved this. Without spoiling anything, there is a sequel coming to round out the trilogy, so I hope he continues with this trend.

On a side note, I definitely had a much more enjoyable experience this time around given that I was delirious with my first bout of COVID while reading the original novel back in July 2022. I will say that BECOMING THE BOOGEYMAN is just as tense and exciting as the original, even if it did feel a little on the longer side.