Chizmar rounds off his Boogeyman trilogy in style with all the tension and horror of the previous two entries but also the sense that we are building to a definitive conclusion.
The relationship between Chizmar (the book character) and Joshua Gallagher only gets weirder and more uncomfortable, almost to the point you can compare it to Hannibal and Will Graham.
This is set in the aftermath of Gallagher’s unexplained disappearance from prison, but when bodies start turning up again, Chizmar has to go one on one with his nemesis and try to stop him for good.
Chizmar also still manages to create real tension and paranoia, as Gallagher’s escape holds his hometown in Maryland in a grip of fear. While you could argue this is part rehash of the first novel, the fact that Gallagher’s crime are known now plus his disappearance from jail, only elevate his boogeyman status. Think Halloween Kills, but with better dialogue.
If you need a read for October as the nights draw in, Killing the Boogeyman is the one.
Killing the Boogeyman by Richard Chizmar is out now in various formats.
