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A Face in the Crowd / The Longest December
'A Face in the Crowd' by Stephen King and Stewart O'Nan (first time in hardcover.) Dean Evers, an elderly widower, sits in front of the television with nothing better to do than waste his leftover evenings watching baseball. It's Rays/Mariners, and David Price is breezing through the line-up. Suddenly, in a seat a few rows up beyond the batter, Evers sees the face of someone from decades past, someone who shouldn't be at the ballgame, shouldn't be on the planet. And so begins a parade of people from Evers's past, all of them occupying that seat behind home plate. Until one day Dean Evers sees someone even eerier. (58 pages)
'The Longest December' by Richard Chizmar (expanded version.) Bob and Katy Howard are a typical middle-aged couple living the good life in the suburbs. They're happily married, have successful careers, and a grown son starting college. Their recently widowed next-door neighbor, James Wilkinson, is practically a member of the Howard family. When police show up at the Howard's doorstep one snowy December morning with the news that they have been investigating Wilkinson for a series of violent crimes, Bob and Katy are left in shock and disbelief. The elderly James Wilkinson they know and love is kind and gentle. He shared their Thanksgiving table just a couple weeks earlier. He couldn't possibly be responsible for the gruesome deeds of which he's being accused. Or could he?
'The Longest December' (a revised and expanded version of Chizmar's acclaimed novella, 'A Long December') is a cat-and-mouse, Hitchcockian thriller that will shock you with its brutal twists and turns while also breaking your heart. Stephen King calls it "...a really terrific piece of work. I couldn't put it down. Chizmar played his cards with great craft. I'm an old hand at this, but I kept chasing the red herrings." (86 pages)
This will be another World's First Edition from Cemetery Dance Publications: a unique new book published in hardcover in the style of the old Ace Doubles. Two novellas in one book! Read one story and when you're done, just flip the book over and read the other. There are two "front covers" and a unique design, so it's a really fun concept.
Trade Hardcover Edition.
• Printed on acid-free paper.
• Bound in cloth with colored head and tail bands.
• Featuring hot foil stamping on the front boards and spine.
• Wrapped in a full-color dust jacket.
'The Longest December' by Richard Chizmar (expanded version.) Bob and Katy Howard are a typical middle-aged couple living the good life in the suburbs. They're happily married, have successful careers, and a grown son starting college. Their recently widowed next-door neighbor, James Wilkinson, is practically a member of the Howard family. When police show up at the Howard's doorstep one snowy December morning with the news that they have been investigating Wilkinson for a series of violent crimes, Bob and Katy are left in shock and disbelief. The elderly James Wilkinson they know and love is kind and gentle. He shared their Thanksgiving table just a couple weeks earlier. He couldn't possibly be responsible for the gruesome deeds of which he's being accused. Or could he?
'The Longest December' (a revised and expanded version of Chizmar's acclaimed novella, 'A Long December') is a cat-and-mouse, Hitchcockian thriller that will shock you with its brutal twists and turns while also breaking your heart. Stephen King calls it "...a really terrific piece of work. I couldn't put it down. Chizmar played his cards with great craft. I'm an old hand at this, but I kept chasing the red herrings." (86 pages)
This will be another World's First Edition from Cemetery Dance Publications: a unique new book published in hardcover in the style of the old Ace Doubles. Two novellas in one book! Read one story and when you're done, just flip the book over and read the other. There are two "front covers" and a unique design, so it's a really fun concept.
Trade Hardcover Edition.
• Printed on acid-free paper.
• Bound in cloth with colored head and tail bands.
• Featuring hot foil stamping on the front boards and spine.
• Wrapped in a full-color dust jacket.
144 pages, Hardcover
First published March 21, 2023
16 people are currently reading
2068 people want to read
About the author
Stephen King
2,648 books883k followersStephen Edwin King was born the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. After his father left them when Stephen was two, he and his older brother, David, were raised by his mother. Parts of his childhood were spent in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where his father's family was at the time, and in Stratford, Connecticut. When Stephen was eleven, his mother brought her children back to Durham, Maine, for good. Her parents, Guy and Nellie Pillsbury, had become incapacitated with old age, and Ruth King was persuaded by her sisters to take over the physical care of them. Other family members provided a small house in Durham and financial support. After Stephen's grandparents passed away, Mrs. King found work in the kitchens of Pineland, a nearby residential facility for the mentally challenged.
Stephen attended the grammar school in Durham and Lisbon Falls High School, graduating in 1966. From his sophomore year at the University of Maine at Orono, he wrote a weekly column for the school newspaper, THE MAINE CAMPUS. He was also active in student politics, serving as a member of the Student Senate. He came to support the anti-war movement on the Orono campus, arriving at his stance from a conservative view that the war in Vietnam was unconstitutional. He graduated in 1970, with a B.A. in English and qualified to teach on the high school level. A draft board examination immediately post-graduation found him 4-F on grounds of high blood pressure, limited vision, flat feet, and punctured eardrums.
He met Tabitha Spruce in the stacks of the Fogler Library at the University, where they both worked as students; they married in January of 1971. As Stephen was unable to find placement as a teacher immediately, the Kings lived on his earnings as a laborer at an industrial laundry, and her student loan and savings, with an occasional boost from a short story sale to men's magazines.
Stephen made his first professional short story sale ("The Glass Floor") to Startling Mystery Stories in 1967. Throughout the early years of his marriage, he continued to sell stories to men's magazines. Many were gathered into the Night Shift collection or appeared in other anthologies.
In the fall of 1971, Stephen began teaching English at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels.
Stephen attended the grammar school in Durham and Lisbon Falls High School, graduating in 1966. From his sophomore year at the University of Maine at Orono, he wrote a weekly column for the school newspaper, THE MAINE CAMPUS. He was also active in student politics, serving as a member of the Student Senate. He came to support the anti-war movement on the Orono campus, arriving at his stance from a conservative view that the war in Vietnam was unconstitutional. He graduated in 1970, with a B.A. in English and qualified to teach on the high school level. A draft board examination immediately post-graduation found him 4-F on grounds of high blood pressure, limited vision, flat feet, and punctured eardrums.
He met Tabitha Spruce in the stacks of the Fogler Library at the University, where they both worked as students; they married in January of 1971. As Stephen was unable to find placement as a teacher immediately, the Kings lived on his earnings as a laborer at an industrial laundry, and her student loan and savings, with an occasional boost from a short story sale to men's magazines.
Stephen made his first professional short story sale ("The Glass Floor") to Startling Mystery Stories in 1967. Throughout the early years of his marriage, he continued to sell stories to men's magazines. Many were gathered into the Night Shift collection or appeared in other anthologies.
In the fall of 1971, Stephen began teaching English at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 168 reviews
July 5, 2023
What a great little King/Chizmar snack I found in the New Release section at the library. I love a little taste of creepy. It left me wanting more.
October 29, 2023
A Face in the Crowd is a solid work of magical realism where a widower starts seeing dead people in the stands of baseball games he views on TV. A very fast and great read. The Longest December is novella with a brilliant ending - four pages from the end I proclaimed out loud "No S---!" Despite not clicking with Chizmar's writing style (his word choices and often odd choice of metaphors and analogies constantly take me out of the story), it was a worthy companion to King's story. 3.5/5
July 20, 2023
To review this book properly, one must start with the most interesting piece of information about it.
Drum roll, please…
It is a double sided book!!! The existence of this kind of thing was not on my radar, and I didn’t read up enough on this book prior to its purchase to be clued in. So, imagine my surprise when I opened it to have my sniff appreciation moment and found the back pages of it were upside down. A double huh moment for me occurred after I closed it, flipped it over, and saw it had two different covers. No worries though because it all quickly made sense once I actually did a few seconds of research.
On to the review of the stories, done in the order that they were read.
The Longest December - A married couple is shocked to discover their best friend neighbor is being investigated for criminal activity of the violent kind.
I picked this one first because I wanted to save the best (King) for last. The writing was average, and the characters were generic. The story was basic and predictable. The predictable part of it was made worse by the extra effort put in to make it not be predictable. All of this together made for a lackluster reading experience, which earned it a three star rating.
A Face in the Crowd - An older man passing the time watching televised baseball notices fans at the game that should not be there.
This story was interesting but not great. The writing was decent, and the characters were nothing special. I would not have remembered it at all if it had been part of a larger short story collection. Sharing space with the other (slightly lesser) story did help it out some, but not enough to budge it over the three star rating I gave it. Especially considering I got hung up on a thing involving one of the secondary characters. I won’t go into any details here because it would be a spoiler, and I hate having those in reviews.
Three stars overall to a fast read that left me feeling very accomplished after knocking it out in one afternoon.
Drum roll, please…
It is a double sided book!!! The existence of this kind of thing was not on my radar, and I didn’t read up enough on this book prior to its purchase to be clued in. So, imagine my surprise when I opened it to have my sniff appreciation moment and found the back pages of it were upside down. A double huh moment for me occurred after I closed it, flipped it over, and saw it had two different covers. No worries though because it all quickly made sense once I actually did a few seconds of research.
On to the review of the stories, done in the order that they were read.
The Longest December - A married couple is shocked to discover their best friend neighbor is being investigated for criminal activity of the violent kind.
I picked this one first because I wanted to save the best (King) for last. The writing was average, and the characters were generic. The story was basic and predictable. The predictable part of it was made worse by the extra effort put in to make it not be predictable. All of this together made for a lackluster reading experience, which earned it a three star rating.
A Face in the Crowd - An older man passing the time watching televised baseball notices fans at the game that should not be there.
This story was interesting but not great. The writing was decent, and the characters were nothing special. I would not have remembered it at all if it had been part of a larger short story collection. Sharing space with the other (slightly lesser) story did help it out some, but not enough to budge it over the three star rating I gave it. Especially considering I got hung up on a thing involving one of the secondary characters. I won’t go into any details here because it would be a spoiler, and I hate having those in reviews.
Three stars overall to a fast read that left me feeling very accomplished after knocking it out in one afternoon.
November 15, 2022
I wanted more but pure King magic.
December 18, 2022
The longest December/ A face in the crowd
In this innovative double feature we have The Longest December by Richard Chizmar a newly expanded edition of A Long December and, for the first time in hardcover A Face in The Crowd by Stephen King and Stewart O’Nan - double the chills, double the thrills 😁
In A Face in The Crowd we have a short and succinct look at how our lives are a collection of people and experiences, the rights and, in the case of Dean Evers, the wrongs.
Dean is a recent widower who has taken to watching baseball when one day, during a game, he sees someone he recognises in the crowd, but that can’t possibly be right as the guy he sees must be dead by now, right? Over the coming days Dean continues to see people he has come across throughout his life, right there on TV in HD, but why…
The Longest December
Robert Howard has been friends with his neighbour, James Wilkinson for years. They fish, play golf, and go to games together. In fact James is the Godfather to James’ young son. When one December morning the police descend upon James’ house, Robert and his family are thrown into a month of turmoil as they realise their dear friend is in fact a brutal murderer.
In this innovative double feature we have The Longest December by Richard Chizmar a newly expanded edition of A Long December and, for the first time in hardcover A Face in The Crowd by Stephen King and Stewart O’Nan - double the chills, double the thrills 😁
In A Face in The Crowd we have a short and succinct look at how our lives are a collection of people and experiences, the rights and, in the case of Dean Evers, the wrongs.
Dean is a recent widower who has taken to watching baseball when one day, during a game, he sees someone he recognises in the crowd, but that can’t possibly be right as the guy he sees must be dead by now, right? Over the coming days Dean continues to see people he has come across throughout his life, right there on TV in HD, but why…
The Longest December
Robert Howard has been friends with his neighbour, James Wilkinson for years. They fish, play golf, and go to games together. In fact James is the Godfather to James’ young son. When one December morning the police descend upon James’ house, Robert and his family are thrown into a month of turmoil as they realise their dear friend is in fact a brutal murderer.
February 14, 2024
Longest December - guess I’m not as good as I thought guessing the end. Good short story
August 20, 2023
This is a review of The Longest December. It was ok for a short story. Predictable, but still a good yarn. Not at the level of King’s usual story telling ability. Again, just ok.
August 21, 2024
I had a great time reading this. I've seen it so many times at the library...finally picked it up a couple months ago...and it's due TODAY so of course I left it to the last minute....and I ended up really loving it.
There's 2 stories...one from Stephen King and Stewart O'Nan called A Face in the Crowd and one from Richard Chizmar called The Longest December (apparently an expanded version of A Long December). I liked Chizmar's story better...5 stars for that and 4 stars for A Face in the Crowd.
A Face in the Crowd was a unique premise for a story and I enjoyed reading it...but I wouldn't call it a new favorite. I do really like books where someone is looking back and reflecting on their life and I thought this was an interesting spin on that. I do think it was a bit predictable in terms of what was going on and I wish the self reflection had a more interesting conclusion...but I still really enjoyed it overall.
But The Longest December? That story I could not put down. I was immediately sucked into the story and it just came alive for me. I felt like this could have been my family and it made me question what I would do or how I would feel...especially knowing there are people who HAVE been in this position. It was so compelling and even though I guessed the ending pretty early on...it was still a great read that I didn't want to put down. This story was 5 stars and a new favorite for me.
Irony of using the library to save money on books...only to end up finding a favorite and wanting to spend the money to buy a copy to keep.
Also...I think the design of this book is really cool...it's double sided so you flip it over to read the other story. I don't think I've read anything in this format before and it's really fun.
There's 2 stories...one from Stephen King and Stewart O'Nan called A Face in the Crowd and one from Richard Chizmar called The Longest December (apparently an expanded version of A Long December). I liked Chizmar's story better...5 stars for that and 4 stars for A Face in the Crowd.
A Face in the Crowd was a unique premise for a story and I enjoyed reading it...but I wouldn't call it a new favorite. I do really like books where someone is looking back and reflecting on their life and I thought this was an interesting spin on that. I do think it was a bit predictable in terms of what was going on and I wish the self reflection had a more interesting conclusion...but I still really enjoyed it overall.
But The Longest December? That story I could not put down. I was immediately sucked into the story and it just came alive for me. I felt like this could have been my family and it made me question what I would do or how I would feel...especially knowing there are people who HAVE been in this position. It was so compelling and even though I guessed the ending pretty early on...it was still a great read that I didn't want to put down. This story was 5 stars and a new favorite for me.
Irony of using the library to save money on books...only to end up finding a favorite and wanting to spend the money to buy a copy to keep.
Also...I think the design of this book is really cool...it's double sided so you flip it over to read the other story. I don't think I've read anything in this format before and it's really fun.
April 12, 2024
Overall Score: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
It’s pretty bad to package two mid short stories together in a hardcover for $28…but I read this quickly and all in good fun. Are the stories that good? No. But I enjoyed them a good deal, so the book is successful.
A FACE IN THE CROWD
Critical Score: C
Personal Score: B-
Predictable. Very unlikeable protagonist. And I don’t like baseball. But otherwise engaging. Sorta creepy. Pretty depressing.
THE LONGEST DECEMBER
Critical Score: C+
Personal Score: B
This reeks of problematic straight man ego, so that distracted me a bit. But I was still invested in the mystery. The ending is a little implausible, and the whole story feels like a metaphor for sympathizing with friends of abusers…maybe I’m reading into it too much, but basically the subtext here is icky. Despite all of this, the writing style and pacing made this novella go down smooth.
Surprisingly, Chizmar’s is the stronger of the two because it’s more gripping and faster paced. Sorry, King (and O’Nan, I guess).
It’s pretty bad to package two mid short stories together in a hardcover for $28…but I read this quickly and all in good fun. Are the stories that good? No. But I enjoyed them a good deal, so the book is successful.
A FACE IN THE CROWD
Critical Score: C
Personal Score: B-
Predictable. Very unlikeable protagonist. And I don’t like baseball. But otherwise engaging. Sorta creepy. Pretty depressing.
THE LONGEST DECEMBER
Critical Score: C+
Personal Score: B
This reeks of problematic straight man ego, so that distracted me a bit. But I was still invested in the mystery. The ending is a little implausible, and the whole story feels like a metaphor for sympathizing with friends of abusers…maybe I’m reading into it too much, but basically the subtext here is icky. Despite all of this, the writing style and pacing made this novella go down smooth.
Surprisingly, Chizmar’s is the stronger of the two because it’s more gripping and faster paced. Sorry, King (and O’Nan, I guess).
Read
September 1, 2023Flip books are annoying. Just saying.
On Stephen King and Stewart O'Nan's side, we have "A Face in the Crowd," wherein we find that not only is hell other people, but hell is watching baseball. An old man who should have more regrets about his shitty life gets a series of Dickensian visitations while viewing a few games one week. He and his equally shitty buddy get off way too easy for my tastes. Not satisfying at all.
Richard Chizmar's side has a pedestrian serial killer story, "The Longest December," that was expanded from an earlier story called, "A Long December." (That naming scheme sort of sets one up for a boring slog, don't you think?) December would have to be much shorter to give this thriller-wannabe any gas. Regardless, that weak Se7en-ripoff ending would suck no matter the story's length.
On Stephen King and Stewart O'Nan's side, we have "A Face in the Crowd," wherein we find that not only is hell other people, but hell is watching baseball. An old man who should have more regrets about his shitty life gets a series of Dickensian visitations while viewing a few games one week. He and his equally shitty buddy get off way too easy for my tastes. Not satisfying at all.
Richard Chizmar's side has a pedestrian serial killer story, "The Longest December," that was expanded from an earlier story called, "A Long December." (That naming scheme sort of sets one up for a boring slog, don't you think?) December would have to be much shorter to give this thriller-wannabe any gas. Regardless, that weak Se7en-ripoff ending would suck no matter the story's length.
December 30, 2024
Great little story featuring a lonely widower, his friends and family (both dead and alive) and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
September 15, 2023
quick quick quick!!! :) Read it in one day - there are actually two books or novellas - A Face in The Crowd by Stephen King/Stewart O'Nan AND The Longest December by Richard Chizmar. After many years of NOT reading Stephen King; I have started reading his books and stories again. Some of his books are extremely scary and graphic (I'm a scaredy pants :)) until I discovered some of his 'crime' books (The Colorado Kid and Later). These are more my style - crime with a twist. haha
Both of the novella's are quick to read:
A Face In the Crowd is about Dean Evers; a retired widower living in Florida who loves watching baseball - he is lonely after all at this point in his life. While watching his baseball games on TV; he discovers he can see "dead people" in the bleachers - people from his past. It happens over and over and over again until he decides to confront his past. After all, he wasn't really the nice and caring person I thought he was in the beginning. A fun story with a quick twist. You might see it coming.
The Longest December by Richard Chizmar is my favorite of the two. Bob and Katy Howard are unknowingly living next door to a serial killer!! When some of the crimes are discovered (early on in the story); Bob and Katy are stunned because James Wilkinson (the killer) was their really good friend. Of course James disappears and the police are quick to discover the friendship between him and Bob and Katy. The interesting part of the story is the middle when the police are trying to find James and all of the clues start coming together and form a neat twist at the end. Entertaining and not graphic.
Both of the novella's are quick to read:
A Face In the Crowd is about Dean Evers; a retired widower living in Florida who loves watching baseball - he is lonely after all at this point in his life. While watching his baseball games on TV; he discovers he can see "dead people" in the bleachers - people from his past. It happens over and over and over again until he decides to confront his past. After all, he wasn't really the nice and caring person I thought he was in the beginning. A fun story with a quick twist. You might see it coming.
The Longest December by Richard Chizmar is my favorite of the two. Bob and Katy Howard are unknowingly living next door to a serial killer!! When some of the crimes are discovered (early on in the story); Bob and Katy are stunned because James Wilkinson (the killer) was their really good friend. Of course James disappears and the police are quick to discover the friendship between him and Bob and Katy. The interesting part of the story is the middle when the police are trying to find James and all of the clues start coming together and form a neat twist at the end. Entertaining and not graphic.
August 30, 2023
This is an old concept, I’m not sure when I first became aware that such things existed, but I’ve always felt that these books, what I’ve always erroneously called, a flip book, a book with two covers, a book with two beginnings, were kind of a cheat. I know these kind of things, at least as paperbacks, were published at least in the 1970s, but it’s likely older than that. Even comic books have had a stab at these kinds of things, I even know one conman of a newsstand owner who tried to double the price of them, claiming you had to pay the cost listed on both covers. What a sleaze. He never actually charged me that way, but I could see him try to work his con on unsuspecting kids (he’s long out of business now, thankfully). A quick internet search informs me that they’re more properly called tête-bêche, and they date back easily into the 19th century. Although the paperbacks I’m familiar with started in the 1950s. And calling them flip-books is completely inaccurate, as a true flip-book is one of those illustrated things you flip through quickly and the image seems to move. Anyway, as I said, my first reaction was that this was a gimmicky trick. But now, I’m finding myself drawn to the genius of it from a marketing standpoint. Like with this one, you have a well-known author like Stephen King being the big draw to get the people pulled in and then you introduce them to someone else they might like, but not have yet tried. In this case I have already read some of Richard Chizmar’s stuff, The Gwendy Collection: Gwendy's Button Box / Gwendy's Magic Feather / Gwendy's Final Task, so this was an easy sell for me.
A Face in the Crowd - I first read this story as an ebook in 2014, although it was originally released sometime before that. It was good, but as I’m not a baseball fan it didn’t quite grab me on that level. (3/5)
The Longest December - I have to admit that Chizmar’s prose style doesn’t grab ahold of my jugular like King’s, but this was quite a good story. And actually I enjoyed it more than the King tale in this volume. (4/5)
A Face in the Crowd - I first read this story as an ebook in 2014, although it was originally released sometime before that. It was good, but as I’m not a baseball fan it didn’t quite grab me on that level. (3/5)
The Longest December - I have to admit that Chizmar’s prose style doesn’t grab ahold of my jugular like King’s, but this was quite a good story. And actually I enjoyed it more than the King tale in this volume. (4/5)
August 21, 2024
Didn’t know these types of books still existed!
A Face in the Crowd:
I wish this had been a little bit longer of a read! It reminds me so much of “The View from Halfway Down” episode of Bojack. I loved the premise of this but wish it was expanded upon a little bit more.
The Longest December:
😐😐😐😐 The “twist” at the end didn’t do it for me. I liked the writing style up until that point. The potential was there!!!!
A Face in the Crowd:
I wish this had been a little bit longer of a read! It reminds me so much of “The View from Halfway Down” episode of Bojack. I loved the premise of this but wish it was expanded upon a little bit more.
The Longest December:
😐😐😐😐 The “twist” at the end didn’t do it for me. I liked the writing style up until that point. The potential was there!!!!
September 25, 2023
A Face in the Crowd was ok. Kind of anticlimactic and the scariest thing about it was an eternity of baseball.
The Longest December wasn't really scary, but is an interesting take on the remorse of a serial killer.
The Longest December wasn't really scary, but is an interesting take on the remorse of a serial killer.
August 22, 2023
I really enjoyed these two novellas. 4.5⭐️. Both spin interesting tales with endings you may suspect albeit with a twist.
September 2, 2023
Didn't love the Stephen King story, but loved the Richard Chizmar one!
October 15, 2023
My review of this book can be found on my YouTube Vlog at:
https://youtu.be/Mp-DN6X_wVc
Enjoy!
https://youtu.be/Mp-DN6X_wVc
Enjoy!
November 10, 2023
These are two short stories packaged in a thin hardcover book. Average stories. Straight-up money grab.
September 21, 2025
had to read some Steve to celebrate his 78th birthday.
March 6, 2024
I preferred the Stephen King story (A Face in the Crowd). I did not like the writing style in The Longest December and found it boring.
September 21, 2023
Obviously this was a short one -- two novellas packaged together in, as far as I can tell, this format for the first time ever.
Of the authors, Stephen King is of course the best known. He's been putting out bestsellers since the '70s, and this one, which from what I understand has roots stretching back to the nonfiction book that King wrote with Stewart O'Nan about the Boston Red Sox's long-awaited championship season. I guess King got the nugget of an idea, shared it around, and "A Face in the Crowd" was the result. However, it was initially released only in digital format (I believe in both ebook and downloadable audiobook), and since I tend to avoid both of those platforms I had missed it on first publication. It's a decent story, well-constructed, and while it has a small bit of a baseball basis, your knowledge of that sport is not a requirement to enjoy it. It's probably not the BEST of King's short-form works, but it's definitely not among the worst.
Richard Chizmar is less well known, though thanks to books like this and the "Gwendy" trilogy (two of which he cowrote with King and one of which he wrote on his own) he is making a name for himself. In addition to his writing, he also edits a periodical called Cemetery Dance, which features a variety of horror authors and would be of interest to anyone who enjoys that genre. "The Longest December" is kind of new also -- it appears that it originally appeared in an anthology about seven years ago as "A Long December," but this time around it's been fleshed out and updated. It's a pretty good read, too, and it's actually longer than "A Face in the Crowd."
The doubled nature of the book itself (the two stories get their own "front covers" and once you finish the first one, whichever that one is, you physically flip the book over to start the other story) could be a little confusing but instead is just a curiosity. If you like horror fiction, this is worth picking up. Even slow readers will finish it in a day or two; faster ones can probably bulldoze through in an hour or so.
Of the authors, Stephen King is of course the best known. He's been putting out bestsellers since the '70s, and this one, which from what I understand has roots stretching back to the nonfiction book that King wrote with Stewart O'Nan about the Boston Red Sox's long-awaited championship season. I guess King got the nugget of an idea, shared it around, and "A Face in the Crowd" was the result. However, it was initially released only in digital format (I believe in both ebook and downloadable audiobook), and since I tend to avoid both of those platforms I had missed it on first publication. It's a decent story, well-constructed, and while it has a small bit of a baseball basis, your knowledge of that sport is not a requirement to enjoy it. It's probably not the BEST of King's short-form works, but it's definitely not among the worst.
Richard Chizmar is less well known, though thanks to books like this and the "Gwendy" trilogy (two of which he cowrote with King and one of which he wrote on his own) he is making a name for himself. In addition to his writing, he also edits a periodical called Cemetery Dance, which features a variety of horror authors and would be of interest to anyone who enjoys that genre. "The Longest December" is kind of new also -- it appears that it originally appeared in an anthology about seven years ago as "A Long December," but this time around it's been fleshed out and updated. It's a pretty good read, too, and it's actually longer than "A Face in the Crowd."
The doubled nature of the book itself (the two stories get their own "front covers" and once you finish the first one, whichever that one is, you physically flip the book over to start the other story) could be a little confusing but instead is just a curiosity. If you like horror fiction, this is worth picking up. Even slow readers will finish it in a day or two; faster ones can probably bulldoze through in an hour or so.
April 10, 2024
The Longest December caused intense anxiety throughout the whole book. The ending should have had a warning label! Richard Chizmar really has a special gift in creating believable horror and terror.
July 24, 2025
This book is formatted in what is now a fairly rare style, but one that I used to see a lot in paperbacks when I was a kid. Two stories, starting at opposite ends of the book. So one cover is upside down to the other one, depending on which story you are reading. What I don't like about that (didn't care about when I was a kid) is that I track my reading by total number of pages, and this one starts over at both ends of the book.
So I read the Stephen King story first, which is 58 pages, and then the other story, which is 88 pages, so I had to do math to track my reading on the day that I stopped about 2/3 of the way through the second story. I don't like it when reading makes me do math.
All that aside, this was a fun little book and an easy two-day read for me. For some, it would be a quick one-sitting read, I'm sure.
The Chizmar story, I'm sorry to say, was actually better than the Stephen King story. No, I'm not sorry to say that. I'm not sure why I said that. The King/O'Nan (they have teamed up before, most notably in Faithful, the book they started writing together at the beginning of the 2004 baseball season, having no idea that their beloved Boston Red Sox would break the 84-year-old "Curse of the Bambino" that season) story, is actually about baseball. Sort of. Dean Evers is a baseball fan who used to live in New England and was a Red Sox fan. But he moved to Florida and adopted the Rays (right there makes the book a horror story . . .) as his home team. So he watches them every night, but he's alone, because his wife passed away, not too long ago. The horror aspect comes into play when he starts seeing people behind home plate . . . people he shouldn't be seeing. Dead people, in fact, and they are telling him things. It's a quick read, and pretty well-written, but far from my favorite King work. The ending is somewhat predictable, as well, I thought.
Chizmar's story (I thought I had not read him, before, but he co-wrote Gwendy's Button Box with King) involves a couple finding out that their next door neighbor isn't who they believed him to be. There's nothing supernaturally horrific about this story, but as the tale unfolds, it gets more and more horrible, with a not totally predictable ending. As I said, I liked it better than the King/O'Nan story.
I do wish that the editors had made both stories in the same font. That was a little off-putting.
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick, easy read in the genre in which Stephen King generally writes.
So I read the Stephen King story first, which is 58 pages, and then the other story, which is 88 pages, so I had to do math to track my reading on the day that I stopped about 2/3 of the way through the second story. I don't like it when reading makes me do math.
All that aside, this was a fun little book and an easy two-day read for me. For some, it would be a quick one-sitting read, I'm sure.
The Chizmar story, I'm sorry to say, was actually better than the Stephen King story. No, I'm not sorry to say that. I'm not sure why I said that. The King/O'Nan (they have teamed up before, most notably in Faithful, the book they started writing together at the beginning of the 2004 baseball season, having no idea that their beloved Boston Red Sox would break the 84-year-old "Curse of the Bambino" that season) story, is actually about baseball. Sort of. Dean Evers is a baseball fan who used to live in New England and was a Red Sox fan. But he moved to Florida and adopted the Rays (right there makes the book a horror story . . .) as his home team. So he watches them every night, but he's alone, because his wife passed away, not too long ago. The horror aspect comes into play when he starts seeing people behind home plate . . . people he shouldn't be seeing. Dead people, in fact, and they are telling him things. It's a quick read, and pretty well-written, but far from my favorite King work. The ending is somewhat predictable, as well, I thought.
Chizmar's story (I thought I had not read him, before, but he co-wrote Gwendy's Button Box with King) involves a couple finding out that their next door neighbor isn't who they believed him to be. There's nothing supernaturally horrific about this story, but as the tale unfolds, it gets more and more horrible, with a not totally predictable ending. As I said, I liked it better than the King/O'Nan story.
I do wish that the editors had made both stories in the same font. That was a little off-putting.
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick, easy read in the genre in which Stephen King generally writes.
September 17, 2025
Richard Chizmar and Stephen King provide two different horror offering in their shared doubleheader. King starts things off either A Face in the Crowd, featuring baseball fan Dean Evers. A former Bostonian who emigrated to Florida, the solitary Evers spends his nights catching the Rays game at home. During a particularly ordinary evening, Evers notices his childhood dentist amongst the crowd. Each night following brings up another departed person on the big screen behind home plate - from his former business partner to a childhood acquaintance to his own wife. The spectral visions seem to be looking to make contact with Evers, even as the elderly man tries to ignore their appearances. When a vision of himself pops up, Evers heads to the stadium to get to the bottom of the haunting for good. Chizmar takes over for his novella on the reverse side, The Longest December. Bobby Howard finds his life upended when police search his neighbor’s home and discover a trove of body parts. The owner, one James Wilkinson, has been a beloved part of the Howard household for decades; the grisly discovery shatters Bobby’s view of the man. As the police search for Wilkinson, Bobby tries to get through the holiday season without incident. Yet when Wilkinson continues to make contact with him - urging Bobby to meet one last time - Bobby must decide how much it means to him to know the truth. King’s brief story is one that offers little by way of his standard fare, preferring instead to focus on the nagging regrets one piles up during their lifetime. This creates a somewhat tamer tale than fans are used to, and it shows in the delivery. King enjoys showing off his baseball knowledge more than presenting his protagonist, leaving it a letdown at home plate. Chizmar draws out his tale across the calendar days, leaving enough crumbs to generate an engaging if not inspired mystery. His choice to build up the relationships between Howard and Wilkinson forges true gravitas, leaving the final pages to race towards an icy conclusion. Overall, the split format of the two novellas offers two very different eerie realities to escape into for a good time.
June 19, 2024
The Longest December Richard Chizmar
I think I liked this one out of the two the most. It's about a family who's nextdoor neighbour is like family to them, one night cops show up at the neigbour's house and they find out it's because he's being investigsted for a series of murders. It follows them through December, them navigating the informatioin they learned about him. They can't believe it at first, as he never struck them as that kind of person. It was a fairly quick read, though I think I'd've liked a bit more before the cops came. Like 'show' us more of the neigbour and how he was around them before they learned everything.
A Face in the Crowd Stephen King/Stewart O'Nan
I just finished this one in one reading session and it was just okay. It starts out with Dean Evers watching a game of baseball and seeing someone in the crowd from his past who he didn't think could still be alive, and from there he becomes kind of obsessed with watching every night. I'd say the 'twist' was not something I expected but it does work for the story. I don't really like some of the words used, particularly the f slur, but it was written in the 40's and it was used in the context of when the now old main character was a child, so it was more common for them to say it but it still didn't feel right to me. Overall though it was a decent story.
I think I liked this one out of the two the most. It's about a family who's nextdoor neighbour is like family to them, one night cops show up at the neigbour's house and they find out it's because he's being investigsted for a series of murders. It follows them through December, them navigating the informatioin they learned about him. They can't believe it at first, as he never struck them as that kind of person. It was a fairly quick read, though I think I'd've liked a bit more before the cops came. Like 'show' us more of the neigbour and how he was around them before they learned everything.
A Face in the Crowd Stephen King/Stewart O'Nan
I just finished this one in one reading session and it was just okay. It starts out with Dean Evers watching a game of baseball and seeing someone in the crowd from his past who he didn't think could still be alive, and from there he becomes kind of obsessed with watching every night. I'd say the 'twist' was not something I expected but it does work for the story. I don't really like some of the words used, particularly the f slur, but it was written in the 40's and it was used in the context of when the now old main character was a child, so it was more common for them to say it but it still didn't feel right to me. Overall though it was a decent story.
September 4, 2024
The thing I like about the "A Face in the Crowd" is that "Dean Evers" is not the man you think he is once we start getting clues about this past.
He might seem like a good man who had done nothing wrong in his life, had a beautiful wife that he loved for 46 years, but below everything he is a coward and egocentric person.
What's more is his 46 years of happy married life is in reality a ruse. As he had been doing his ex-partner's assistant and feels no regret of any kind.
His life in the end doesn't have any meaning, we read the book from his point of view and it is this flawed pov that makes you feel that "Evers" might not really be a douchebag...in the start that is.
He and his friend bullied a classmate and never felt bad about it, until he saw that boy in the bleachers and that time too he ran away instead of confronting it claiming "diminished capacities" as children. Not only this, he even confessed to assaulting his date in high school, well that cemented it why this man has a stadium full of people who hate him. Although I do agree children are stupid and sometimes inherently malevolent.
He feels entitled to respect just because he earned the money and put bread butter and wine on the table. Deep down he is as insecure as his friend that he hated.
Although the book is winding and boring at times it does make up for a quick and entertaining read.
He might seem like a good man who had done nothing wrong in his life, had a beautiful wife that he loved for 46 years, but below everything he is a coward and egocentric person.
What's more is his 46 years of happy married life is in reality a ruse. As he had been doing his ex-partner's assistant and feels no regret of any kind.
His life in the end doesn't have any meaning, we read the book from his point of view and it is this flawed pov that makes you feel that "Evers" might not really be a douchebag...in the start that is.
He and his friend bullied a classmate and never felt bad about it, until he saw that boy in the bleachers and that time too he ran away instead of confronting it claiming "diminished capacities" as children. Not only this, he even confessed to assaulting his date in high school, well that cemented it why this man has a stadium full of people who hate him. Although I do agree children are stupid and sometimes inherently malevolent.
He feels entitled to respect just because he earned the money and put bread butter and wine on the table. Deep down he is as insecure as his friend that he hated.
Although the book is winding and boring at times it does make up for a quick and entertaining read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 20, 2025
The longest december was such a good story. Richard Chizmar is quickly becoming one of my favorites.
Man named Bob and his wife Katy live next door to a neighbor a bit older then they are. They wake up one early morning to cops swarming the house next door. Naturally they turn to Bob and Katy to ask them questions on how well they know their next door neighbor.
Days later they learn he is wanted and on the run for killing over 5 people. The neighbors start avoiding Bob and Katy, and they keep getting hang up phone calls and wonder if they are safe and if their son in college is safe. Bob can't shake the feeling that Jimmy (the neighbor) is the one calling him and may even be watching him. After all they golfed together and fished together but Bob can't believe Jim did any of what they are accusing him of.
SPOILERS
Jimmy is behind the phone calls and sadly Bob meets him in the woods before he goes on the run and Jimmy hands him the necklace of Bob's missing brother from ages ago when he went missing. Jimmy confesses to killing Bob's brother also named Jim when he was 20 and he was his second victim when he was on R&R leave from the Army.
Years later he felt so guilty he moved in near Bob and Katy and befriended him to be a positive presence in his life...ironically and sickly like an older brother figure
Man named Bob and his wife Katy live next door to a neighbor a bit older then they are. They wake up one early morning to cops swarming the house next door. Naturally they turn to Bob and Katy to ask them questions on how well they know their next door neighbor.
Days later they learn he is wanted and on the run for killing over 5 people. The neighbors start avoiding Bob and Katy, and they keep getting hang up phone calls and wonder if they are safe and if their son in college is safe. Bob can't shake the feeling that Jimmy (the neighbor) is the one calling him and may even be watching him. After all they golfed together and fished together but Bob can't believe Jim did any of what they are accusing him of.
SPOILERS
Jimmy is behind the phone calls and sadly Bob meets him in the woods before he goes on the run and Jimmy hands him the necklace of Bob's missing brother from ages ago when he went missing. Jimmy confesses to killing Bob's brother also named Jim when he was 20 and he was his second victim when he was on R&R leave from the Army.
Years later he felt so guilty he moved in near Bob and Katy and befriended him to be a positive presence in his life...ironically and sickly like an older brother figure
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 1, 2023
A Face in the Crowd, Stephen King and Stewart O’Nan & The Longest December, Richard Chizmar [Cemetery Dance Publications, 2023].
A Face in the Crowd—a Twilight Zone-esque tale about an elderly widower who sees specters from his past in the crowd of televised baseball games. Fun, if insubstantial.
The Longest December—an ordinary suburban couple discover that their neighbor—a mild mannered college professor and the husband’s best friend—is a suspected serial killer on the run from the law.
***
Stephen King is one of the world’s most popular authors. His most recent novel, Fairy Tale, was a national bestseller. His forthcoming novel Holly, featuring recurring character Holly Gibbey is expected from Scribner in Fall 2023.
***
Stewart O’Nan is an author whose work includes Faithful, co-written with Stephen King, about the Boston Red Sox winning 2004 season.
***
Richard Chizmar is the founder of the horror periodical Cemetery Dance and it’s affiliated small press publishing house. His book Chasing the Boogeyman was a national bestseller, and the sequel Becoming the Boogeyman is due to be published in fall 2023.
A Face in the Crowd—a Twilight Zone-esque tale about an elderly widower who sees specters from his past in the crowd of televised baseball games. Fun, if insubstantial.
The Longest December—an ordinary suburban couple discover that their neighbor—a mild mannered college professor and the husband’s best friend—is a suspected serial killer on the run from the law.
***
Stephen King is one of the world’s most popular authors. His most recent novel, Fairy Tale, was a national bestseller. His forthcoming novel Holly, featuring recurring character Holly Gibbey is expected from Scribner in Fall 2023.
***
Stewart O’Nan is an author whose work includes Faithful, co-written with Stephen King, about the Boston Red Sox winning 2004 season.
***
Richard Chizmar is the founder of the horror periodical Cemetery Dance and it’s affiliated small press publishing house. His book Chasing the Boogeyman was a national bestseller, and the sequel Becoming the Boogeyman is due to be published in fall 2023.
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