Richard Chizmar crafts a small-town Appalachian horror in Memorials. With relatable characters and a compelling story, Chizmar explores loss and grief in a way that resonates long after the final page.
1983: Three students from a small college embark on a weeklong road trip to film a documentary on roadside memorials for their American Studies class. The project starts out as a fun adventure, with long stretches of empty road and nightly campfires where they begin to open up with one another.
But as they venture deeper into the Appalachian backwoods, the atmosphere begins to darken. They notice more and more of the memorials feature a strange, unsettling symbol hinting at a sinister secret. Paranoia sets in when it appears they are being followed. Their vehicle is tampered with overnight, and some of the locals appear to be anything but welcoming. Before long, the students can’t help but wonder if these roadside deaths were really random accidents…or is something terrifying at work here?
From the beginning, Memorials establishes itself as more than just a horror novel; it’s an exploration of human nature mixed with a bit of supernatural horror. The story unfolds slowly to start–which has a deliberate felling–but once it hits its stride the last quarter of the book really catapulted us towards the epic finally. Richard Chizmar crafts an intricate story where the characters are not merely players but have deeply unique and interesting personal histories that bleed into the overall tale.
The atmospheric setting plays a big role in creating an intense and suspenseful novel that is almost palpable. The small-town Appalachian backdrop serves almost as another character int the story–a living breathing entity that embodies mystery and foreboding. As I journeyed alongside this group of characters in along the roads of Pennsylvania I could almost feel the suspense alongside visions of dark forests and winding roads. Chizmar describes each scene and setting with great detail, immersing us entirely into the world he has created where danger lurks in the dark.
I felt connected to the group of students as they discover memorials and those who have information about said memorials. The way that Chizmar crafts these characters to be reflections of what a typical and atypical students might be like allows us to connect on a personal levels. Each of our protagonists standout on their own but as a group are even more fun to follow along.
Admittedly, there are moments when Memorials could benefit from brisker pacing; however, these instances are overshadowed by tension-filled scenes that really gripped me. While I have read a number of books similar in length to this tale, I felt those other books I enjoyed a tad more due to the slightly faster pace with a similar end result. This is not to say the final quarter of the book didn’t move at breakneck speeds.
Memorials is a great exploration of suspenseful storytelling with an emotional connection. Richard Chizmar creates a thrilling, suspense, dark and creepy horror story resonates long after turning the final page. Memorials is perfect for those looking for a small-town horror with truly fantastic adventurous and atmospheric vibes.
The hardcover of Memorials is available at bookstores everywhere with a paperback edition coming August 25, 2025 from Gallery Books. The audiobook, narrated by Michael Crouch & Jonathan Todd Ross, is available at Libro.fm!
