Books / As Writer

Killing the Boogeyman

The terrifying horror trilogy finale to the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling series that includes Chasing the Boogeyman and Becoming the Boogeyman from “one of horror’s indispensable writers” (Paste).

Notorious serial killer Joshua Gallagher—dubbed “the Boogeyman” by the media—has vanished from prison. One moment, he was locked inside a maximum-security cell; the next, he was gone, leaving behind on the wall a crude hangman puzzle and two chilling words: IT’S TIME.

Now, days later, the world is coming apart again. Bodies are turning up near writer and Gallagher confidante Richard Chizmar’s home, echoing the Boogeyman’s signature horrors. The news frenzy reignites while the police chase shadows…even as Gallagher’s twisted true crime fanbase celebrates online, acknowledging that he’s something more than human now.

To everyone else, it’s a desperate hunt for answers. To Chizmar, it’s more like destiny closing in. The evidence, the sightings, the voices in the dark all point to one unthinkable conclusion: the Boogeyman never left. And very soon, Chizmar must come face-to-face with the thing wearing Gallagher’s skin, and learns all too quickly that some nightmares don’t return—they evolve.

Published by: Simon & Schuster/Gallery Books
Publication Date: October 6, 2026

Praise & Reviews

“A small-town nightmare straight out of Ray Bradbury country…with a dark dash of Thomas Harris’s The Silence of the Lambs.” —Stephen King

“Can’t-put-down scary!” —Harlan Coben

“An absolute triumph! A perfect blend of nostalgia and horror, terror and hope, fact and fiction, The Boogeyman series will have readers racing to its thrilling conclusion and still demanding more. Richard Chizmar is a literary force to be reckoned with!” —Erin A. Craig, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“Killing the Boogeyman is candy for Gen-X and so much more. I thought I wouldn’t need Xanax because I’ve read the first two novels in this unique, breathtaking series. Ha—joke’s on me. Chizmar now hits it even farther out of the very dark park.” —Caroline Kepnes, New York Times bestselling author of You

“A fantastic, blood-soaked, intimate psychological journey into the mind of madmen, both hero and villain…[The] non-linear style keeps a pulse-pounding pace, setting the series apart from the saturated market of fictional masked marauders. Scream score: 9/10.” —Horror Nation

“Richard Chizmar delves deep into our worst fears and touches the darkness that lives there.” —S. A. Cosby