This is a chilling supernatural horror novel and had I not needed to get up early when I was in the middle of reading I would have stayed up all night to read it! So good!

A truly eerie and nostalgic take on grief and a beautiful addition to my list of favorite grief horror.

Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC! I have loved Chizmar since his first novel. This one does not disappoint. I actually like it better than “Chasing the Boogeyman”. You can never go wrong with Chizmar knowing that he is so close with Stephen King and has his support.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the opportunity to read and review Memorials from Richard Chizmar.

First off, I am a Richard Chizmar fan. Loved both of the Bogeyman books and hope to read others by him in the future. This go around I was approved to read Memorials and was very thrilled to do it. Memorials is about a group of college students that go out in rural areas to create a documentary about roadside memorials in the 1980s. I was a teenager in the 80s and appreciated all the nostalgia that took place in the book. This road trip starts out as group of friends that have similar backgrounds of grief and interests because of a popular lecturer in a shared college class. As the trip continues, odd, creepy situations arise. Think Appalachian folklore and ancient magic.

I did enjoy this book, but felt coming in at 480 pages it didn't need to be this long. Spookiness and supernatural circumstances didn't start till 40 - 50 percent into the book. I was bored at times where it felt long winded looking back at Billy's life and things he did or saw or learned while growing up in Sudbury. I enjoyed the second half of the book more than the first and once the plot really got rolling and couldn't put the book down until I knew all. The way the book ended made me curious about a sequel. I would definitely recommend this to readers that are okay with a slow burn, folklore enthusiasts, and for Chizmar fans. Memorials is now available at all major book retailers. Happy Reading!

I am so thankful to Gallery Books, Simon Audio, Richard Chizmar, and Netgalley for granting me advanced access to this galley before publication day. I really enjoyed the dialogue and plot of this book and can’t wait to chat this one up with my friends!

In 1983, 3 college students, Billy, Troy, and Melody, set out on a road trip to make a film documentary about roadside memorials. All 3 have been touched by death in some way, having lost immediate family members, though this project is directly inspired by the loss of Billy's parents in a car accident not too long ago. The group will be visiting his parents' memorial in Pennsylvania to kick off their project. As they travel the back roads of Appalachia the trio begin to suspect they're being followed and note odd symbols incorporated into the roadside memorials. As they begin digging strange occurrences happen: their vehicle is tampered with, they experience shared nightmares, and locals don't want to answer their questions. Is it some sort of collective paranoia, or is something more sinister afoot?

Memorials reminds me of Stephen King meets The Blair Witch Project in the best way. The 80s vibes are on, the backwoods Appalachian setting is *chef's kiss*, and the real life tie-in involving roadside memorials, which happen to be everywhere ::side-eye:: is brilliant. Though this book tends to run a little long in my opinion (part of the aforementioned Stephen King effect) it doesn't dull the enjoyment of the slow, creepy burn with big payoff.

What an interesting plot. Three college students set out to visit as many roadside memorials they can find in a week. The route they chose is through the Appalachian backwoods. It will also take them to one of the student’s hometown where there’s a memorial for his parents, who were killed in a car accident. Along the way they plan to document the memorials and also interview people who have knowledge of the deceased. As it turns out, it will be much more of an adventure than any of them anticipated.

Memorials by Richard Chizmar has great character development. The characters are described so well that I think I would recognize them if they walked through my front door. The three students are good friends, even though they haven’t known each other very long, and their interactions are realistic and entertaining.

The plot is well-written and, even though it’s a long book (nearly 500 pages), it maintains a good pace. The ending was unexpected with a couple of twists. I’m not a huge fan of horror stories, so I was happy it wasn’t as terrifying as I had anticipated.

I like the premise of this book – imaginative and different – and I enjoyed it. I will definitely read more books by this author. NetGalley provided an advance reader copy.

I became a Chizmar fan through his Boogeyman books, which are very creepy and have a really unique hook. I was excited to read this latest novel, Memorials, in which 3 young college students embark on a trip to different roadside memorials for a documentary project.

Memorials took awhile to get going for me. It was good to have time to get to know the three main characters, but I did feel the suspense would have worked better with sharper editing. That being said, there are some truly chilling scenes that will stay with me for a long time. 3/5 stars. Thank you to Netgalley and Gallery Books for the review copy.

This was the fourth book I read by this author and I'm really sad to say that this is now my least favourite. :(
I loved the plot and the setting (I would definitely loooove to watch a movie based on this book) but even though I empathised with the group of characters, I never truly related or connected with any of them. Because I've read Chizmar's previous novels (the Boogeyman duo novels) I'm already used to his writing style and how slow burn his books usually are, but MEMORIALS go to another level, in my opinion. This one ended up being way slower than I expected (or wanted to be), and this book is not short at all. I felt the weight of a slow-pacing. And I struggled with it.
The ending was satisfactory to me, I have absolutely no regrets reading this book, but I wished this book was more fast-paced.
My favourite Richard Chizmar book still is Chasing the Boogeyman, but I can recommend Memorials to readers who have read from this author before and enjoyed it.

Thank you, NetGalley and Gallery Books, for providing me with a free eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Memorials by Richard Chizmar’s retro horror/thriller hooked me from the beginning. This is the first novel I’ve read by this author., and I’ll definitely be reading more, in the future. I’m looking forward to reading the Boogeyman novels in the future.

Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the poor to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Richard Chizmar really never misses, but this is one of his best. This scared me because it felt SO REAL. He is the next Stephen King, no doubt.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the Advanced Reader Copy, in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed Chasing the Boogeyman and the Gwendy series (a collaboration with Stephen King) by this author, so I was excited to read a new book by him. Unfortunately, this was not a favorite. The premise sounded so interesting, but the book itself was a bit (unnecessarily) long and the ending fell flat.

The story of three students who set out to film a project featuring the roadside memorials set up after fatal accidents. But there is something more going on as they venture deeper into the Appalachian mountains. The books is a bit horror and a bit psychological slow burn.

The story is interesting; the writing is good; there are some subtle but poignant themes in the story, but it just did not grab me, like I had hoped. That being said, I would definitely read other books by Chizmar

3 stars.

I was eagerly anticipating Memorials after thoroughly enjoying Chizmar’s Chasing the Boogeyman. Set in the eighties, this novel follows three university students, brought together by their dark or traumatic pasts, as they collaborate on a documentary about roadside memorials in Appalachia for their American Studies class. As their journey unfolds, they begin to notice a strange symbol appearing at many of the sites, along with the peculiar behavior of local residents. They soon feel as though they are being followed. What ensues is a classic confrontation with the occult—predictable yet enjoyable, evoking a sense of nostalgia.

Memorials has a distinct King/Straub flavor in its writing style, striking a balance between heartwarming friendships and the darker underbelly of small-town life in America. This interplay weaves a rich tapestry that highlights both the warmth of human connection and the unsettling realities lurking just beneath the surface. The novel is pacey and well-written, and I particularly appreciated the concept of roadside memorials and the incorporation of documentary footage into the narrative. The three friends are well-developed and genuinely likable.

The downside is that the story felt somewhat… safe. It relied on familiar tropes regarding the developing threat and the final confrontation, making it less gripping and fresh than Chasing the Boogeyman. Memorials offers a fun experience if you’re in the mood for a classic occult tale featuring well-developed, sympathetic teen characters. However, it may not satisfy readers seeking something a bit more unconventional.

In Richard Chizmar's novel "Memorials," three college students go on a road trip through Appalachia, and it turns into a thrilling story about fear and the unknown. The story is set in 1983 and starts off pretty innocently as the students set out for a week-long adventure to make a documentary about roadside memorials for their American Studies class. At first, it’s all about fun and friendship as they drive along empty roads and gather around campfires, sharing stories and getting closer to each other. This happy beginning sets up the scary stuff that comes next.

As they travel deeper into the Appalachian wilderness, things start to feel creepier. They find more and more roadside memorials that have strange symbols on them, suggesting there’s something dark hiding behind their journey. Chizmar does a great job of creating tension, mixing supernatural horror with psychological suspense. The students start to feel paranoid, sensing that someone might be following them. Their car gets messed with overnight, and some locals they meet seem unfriendly, which just makes everything feel more tense.

The way the novel explores fear is really intense. The students start questioning whether the roadside deaths they see are just accidents or if there’s something much scarier going on. Chizmar’s writing creates a spooky atmosphere that keeps readers on their toes, making them wonder about the dangers the students face. However, while the story is intriguing and suspenseful, it sometimes feels a bit predictable. The ending might leave readers wanting more character development and a stronger conclusion.

Overall, I would give "Memorials" a solid 3.5 out of 5 stars. It has a cool setting and an interesting premise, but it doesn't completely deliver as a horror story. Chizmar's talent for creating fear and suspense is impressive, but the book could use more depth in its characters and themes to make it a truly unforgettable horror novel.

As it follows these likable young characters on a bittersweet journey that turns unexpectedly horrifying, Memorials is a long and winding adventure that takes age-old legends and some of your worst fears and mixes them together into something that will haunt your dreams.

Full review published on NightsAndWeekends.com and aired on Shelf Discovery.

Richard Chizmar has solidified himself as the horror author I'll recommend for the folks who like true crime books and are looking to move into horror. His books read like true crime novels that push the bounds of truth, and the truly terrifying thing about his stories is how real they could be. As always, I enjoyed the book thoroughly, and highly recommend it.

Within the horror community Chizmar seems to have a fair number of fans, and while I've read and enjoyed two of his novels (including this one) I don't seem to fall in love with them like others do. That's not to say they're bad, because they're not. They have interesting premises and unique formats, and I certainly find them amusing to read, I just feel like there's something lacking there. When I heard that this was a "found footage" style novel I was thrilled, because I love found footage movies, and I tend to enjoy the format when it comes to books, but I feel like this one just missed the mark a little. I think my issue is that there just wasn't enough of the found footage element. Every now and then we would get an interview in found footage style but for the most part everything was just in exposition. And even stranger the exposition was being told as what seemed like an after the fact journal or the like. I think since that's the direction it went it would have made more sense to include other documents interviews and the like, along with a journal-like element and the "found footage" to bring more to the story. As it was it just fell a little flat for me, because it didn't seem like the footage was really necessary at all, it very well all could have been exposition. The other big issue I had one was that's not new, especially in the horror genre; random sexually explicit scenes popping up for no reason. In this case it was what basically amounted to a random porn scene, and it was completely unnecessary. Something gory or disgusting could have been added in its place, and the effect would have been exactly the same. That's not to say it was all bad, because it wasn't. The idea was top notch, hitting that Appalachian horror vibe, and the whole story had this overarching sense of dread to it that was great. All three of our main characters were also wonderful, and the dynamic between them all really just made me smile. Overall I wasn't blown away like so many other people seem to be with this one, but it was a fast, fun, spooky read and I'll probably find myself reading Chizmar's next novel too, whatever it might be, because he does have talent.

Three college students go on a road trip in 1983 to make a documentary about road side memorials. It's starts out a fun time with campfires and the three friends becoming even closer, but they venture in the the Appalachian backwoods and that's when things turn bad. And dark. Very, very dark.

Per usual I believe the less you know about a horror book before going in, the better. So that's my summary and I'm sticking to it! But also horror novels generally have triggers and this one is not different. There's descriptions of animal and child mutilation, blood, gore and some graphic depictions of sex in a ritualistic setting.

First, this book actually creeped me out. That's really how I mainly judge my enjoyment of a horror novel. The story telling was done in a way that while our characters were being watched, I also felt I was being watched. That was the biggest chill factor, just this dark, dreadful feeling someone or something was watching these kids. And man oh man, was there. I'd say this falls in the eldritch horror category, think Stephen King's 'Revival' or Adam Nevill's 'The Ritual'. Even writing style and overall feel is similar to those two novels.

The characters weren't anything new and revolutionary but they also were fleshed out enough to feel like real people. They have formed a bond because they've all lost someone close to them in a tragic way and it's easy to care about them. I was especially taken with Troy. An anxious, most likely on the spectrum young man who is just making friends for the first time in his life. The other two core characters, Billy and Melody, balanced out the trio; with Billy the goofball and Mel an older sister type. There were a couple of side characters that popped in and out and I wasn't as taken with them. They were there to move the main three along in the plot but it wasn't as subtle or cohesive as it could have been.

I want to avoid spoilers because horror books aren't as enjoyable then (imo anyway)

I just finished reading Memorials by Richard Chizmar. I received a free eARC curtesy of NetGalley.

Three college students in the 1980s take off in a VW bus to do a documentary project for school on roadside memorials scattered throughout the Appalachian region of the US. Billy, Troy, and Melody have bonded in their American Studies class at York College. All of them share trauma bonds from the losses that they have suffered in their lives. Billy, the narrator, was orphaned by a freak car accident that claimed both his parent's lives right outside of his hometown of Sudbury, PA. Drawn together by bonds of friendships, they set off to honor the losses that scatter the side roads that wind through Appalachia. But what they aren't counting on is finding a mystery symbol, upsetting the locals, and how this all seems to trace back to Billy's hometown.

This book is a bit of a slow burn. Chizmar really invests in our main characters, establishing their friendship, and the trauma that bonds them together. As they travel around exploring what is a slightly-morbid topic, they find themselves often on the receiving end of hostilities from the locals. Chizmar goes further by exploring race relations at the time and in the region, in a way that feels a little too modern, but at the same time would have made a world of difference if it was explored at the time. As the pressure ramps up, the stakes get overwhelmingly high and the back quarter or so of the book runs at FULL SPEED. Once it hits, it HITS. There's a lot of mysterious symbolism, a growing sense of unease, and Chizmar ties it all up in a super neat and tidy bow. It has a little Deliverance, a little Wrong Turn, but it explores generational trauma and friendship in a really interesting way.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

We have all seen roadside memorials that commemorate some tragedy, but how often do we know the background story? Three students in an American Studies class decide to film the stories behind roadside memorials. They are driven to this project because the parents of one of the students were killed in a car accident. Their memorial is one of the highlights of the project. The students take a one-week trip into the Appalachians to find other material for their project.

What begins as a pleasant trip becomes more mysterious and horrifying as strange events begin to threaten them. Will they be able to finish their project while retaining their sanity and their lives?

While I was captivated by much of this book, I was very disappointed in the ending. It could have been much stronger.