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The New York Times bestselling coauthor of Gwendy's Button Box brings his signature 'thrilling, page-turning' (Michael Koryta, author of How It Happened) prose to this story of small-town evil that combines the storytelling of Stephen King with the true-crime suspense of Michelle McNamara.In the summer of 1988, the mutilated bodies of several missing girls begin to turn up in a small Maryland town. The grisly evidence leads police to the terrifying assumption that a serial killer is on the loose in the quiet suburb. But soon a rumor begins to spread that the evil stalking local teens is not entirely human. Law enforcement, as well as members of the FBI are certain that the killer is a living, breathing madman-and he's playing games with them. For a once peaceful community trapped in the depths of paranoia and suspicion, it feels like a nightmare that will never end.
Recent college graduate Richard Chizmar returns to his hometown just as a curfew is enacted and a neighborhood watch is formed. In the midst of preparing for his wedding and embarking on a writing career, he soon finds himself thrust into the real-life horror story. Inspired by the terrifying events, Richard writes a personal account of the serial killer's reign of terror, unaware that these events will continue to haunt him for years to come.
A clever, terrifying, and heartrending work of metafiction,
'Chasing the Boogeyman does what true crime so often cannot: it offers both chills and a satisfying conclusion' (Stephen King). Chizmar's 'brilliant . . . absolutely fascinating, totally compelling, and immediately poignant' (C.J. Tudor,
New York Times bestselling author) writing is on full display in this truly unique novel that will haunt you long after you turn the final page.
About the author
RICHARD CHIZMAR is the co-author (with Stephen King) of the
New York Times bestsellers
Gwendy's Button Box and
Gwendy's Final Task, and the author of the solo work
Gwendy's Magic Feather.
His novel
Chasing the Boogeyman was published to terrific acclaim - as Stephen King says: 'Genuinely chilling and something brand new and exciting.'
Chizmar's short fiction has appeared in dozens of publications including
Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. He has won two World Fantasy Awards, four international Horror Guild Awards, and the HWA's Board of Trustee's Award.
Foreword
From the co-author of Gwendy's Button Box, comes a thrilling story of small-town evil that combines the storytelling of Stephen King with the true-crime suspense of Michelle McNamara.
Additional text
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
