The Boogeyman

Erin

Aug 31, 2017
Creepy in a fantastic way

The Boogeyman reads like the premise of a film noir. I could almost hear the ominous violins' warning crescendo in the background. Murray, the main character, is a young man plagued by nightmares. They have overtaken his life to the point where he is dependent on daily sessions with his psychiatrist just to keep from falling to pieces. The themes of repressed memories, murder and dangerous, almost experimental psychotherapy are not new but they are so enjoyable all the same. The Boogeyman employs a writing style that is superficial in quality, showing the reader scenes and characters that are familiar such as the loving mother that cooks gourmet feasts for all, the strong but silent father, and the good doctor. In my opinion, this was the perfect choice for this story because it allowed the feeling of paranoia to really seep through the cracks of the familiar backdrop. There were a few inconsistencies that could be my error for missing, for example, what did Murray end up getting his doting mother for Christmas? And how long had he lived in Boston? These, I must stress, could be my mistake and they did not at all distract from the enjoyment of the story. Grammar errors were few and it is overall very cleanly written. The Boogeyman is well paced, intriguing and delivers a fantastic story climax that is well worth the read.

(*) (*) (*) (*) ( )
Overall Rating
(*) (*) (*) (*) ( )
Plot
(*) (*) (*) (*) ( )
Writing Style
(*) (*) (*) (*) (*)
Grammar & Punctuation

THE BOOGEYMAN

I came across the opportunity to read and review The Boogeyman by PA Cadaver from a group in Facebook. I was told that this book is in several schools and libraries and I was grateful my review was wanted after offering it.
This book held my attention from page one and it was packed full of thrills, terror, and spine tingling suspense for a short read. I was a little disappointed when it ended. I do have to confess but I thought I had it figured out from Chapter One and I am very seldom wrong because I have a talent in predicting the ending to movies and books with little knowledge of them, usually just from the first chapter in a book to the first 30 mins of a movie. So, I was very pleased when I discovered I was in fact wrong about the ending.
This book although in schools, I don't think it would be for small children. The author showed brilliance in describing the inside of the mind of his character when allowed to be altered by medications. The wonderful imagination of PA Cadaver set the stage for the reader to be pulled into the story therefore feeling the sheer terror of madness. I was able to feel what characters were feeling and going through, and sometimes it was a bit frightening. I loved it!!!
I highly recommend this book and give it five stars *****
Reviewed by
Nora Chipley Barteau

Rosser's Relaxed Reviews

I have seven kids. That's right, count'em--one, two, three, four, five, six, seven. Do you know what that means? It means I've read just about every book written for people who haven't reached the age of majority. There's a weird dynamic. We start out reading books to them, like Andrew Lang's Fairy books and The Little Prince and Water Babies. Those are pretty fun. Then, they learn to read, so we're bored as heck watching and listening to them haltingly fight their ways through basic sentences. When they can read, most of what's available is complete junk. It isn't until Junior High or so that the kids reach an age where anyone is writing something they might actually enjoy.

And let's face it...ninety-nine percent of what's written for young adults is just crap. There, I said it. I'm serious, though. Most YA fiction isn't about the kids. It's written to a conglomerate vision of what we think the kids are. That's why every kid has the exact same challenges, hopes, and fears. That's why every kid falls in love the exact same way. That's why there's always one "goody two-shoes" character and one "bad" character. Really, the genre is so darn formulaic that you almost want to keep your kids illiterate until they can appreciate Hemingway Steinbeck, and Poe.

I'm happy to report that PA Cadaver's book, The Boogeyman, doesn't fall into the trap. I liked it enough that it ended up a present for my twelve-year old to read. The book doesn't treat kids like feeble-minded idiots ready for emotional and intellectual manipulation. I really like that. It not only excites, but it provokes thought. Maybe I'm an old fashioned kind of parent, but I find it important that a book make my daughter think.

The characterization is excellent. I quite like the interactions between Murray and Doctor Rosen. I also like the psychological horror element of the book. It's a far cry from most YA horror which, if anything, pays only lip service to the psyche side of horror. I think it's remarkable that a young adult book focuses so much on older characters as well. You never see that.

The pacing is great. It starts slowly and builds with each chapter. The beginning could have been a little quicker, but there's no harm done. The twists are unexpected but they don't cheat the reader, and I was left wanting more, so I better see some more in the series, and I know my daughter will go on a PA Cadaver hunt if she doesn't.

Pick the book up. it's a good one.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

 

 

 

A rather good light novel. The characters were all distinguishable and introduced in a manner that was quick but gave a good grasp of who they were. Better yet a number of the characters go through notable stages of growth and development, presented in a rather realistic manner for a supernatural based story.

The pacing was pretty good, though it gets a little hard to tell how much time passes in the story. At first I thought every 4 perspective shifts (because the story follows 4 different groups) represented a single night, but then it started to seem as if periods of multiple days pass without any indication to the reader.

It had an interesting take on the concept of supernatural entities living and existing alongside people in the modern age, or at least one that is fairly distinct from what I have seen before.

However I do have one negative, and that is how the ending of the story felt like it should have been more. For me it was missing something that I thought the story would lead up to. It is not a bad ending, I still like it. I just felt like there should have been more to it.