Do I need to do the whole "I'm a big Stephen King fan" thing again here? Probably not but sure look, I love his books. He's a mighty fine horror writer but not many people know how well he also writes thrillers, crime novels and just plain old drama.
I've been meaning to read his recent trilogy that begins just after Detective Bill Hodges has retired from the police force. This takes place in Mr Mercedes after the frankly shocking introduction where a car-wielding maniac kills his first victims. I was honestly completely hooked on the first book after only a few pages in. Prepare to give up your valuable conversing time with others, you will be reading this book instead (sorry to Himself).
Bill has had to retire with the knowledge that the "Mercedes Killer", as he's been branded, is still on the loose with absolutely no leads. Bill is struggling with his retirement- at home on his own, watching daytime TV and contemplating taking his own life with his old service revolver, he feels completely at a loss now that he's a "det ret"(retired detective). That is until he receives a communication from the killer himself, luring him into a dangerous game of cat and mouse. There are some really brilliant characters in this; warm, funny, smart, unusual, evil, disturbed and dangerous. The chapters are alternately written from the viewpoint of Bill and the killer (Brady Hartsfield), so I felt like we got a really well rounded feel for the story. I thought Brady was a brilliant bad guy- he's a high functioning sociopath and also a horrific person so it really adds to the tension and I loved the friendship between Bill and his friends and helpers, Jerome and Holly who become his partners in attempting to stop Mr Mercedes, before it's too late.
Finders Keepers picks up some months after the ending of the fist novel. We now find Bill working away as a private detective of sorts, with Holly acting as his side-kick and in-house computer genius. Again, in this book the chapters are narrated in turn between the baddie (now an ex-con trying to track down the manuscript of a famous author he murdered years before in order to get his last known, unpublished work for himself) and the victim (a teenage boy, who unwittingly finds the manuscript in the house his family have moved to) and then, later on, Bill, once he and Holly are on the case. I struggled a bit with this one if I'm honest. Firstly, there are several instances where the killer recalls times he was raped in prison that I could really have done without listening to (I got this one on audio). We get it Steve, he was brutalised and now has nothing left other then the determination to get back to the manuscript. I also missed that relationship between Bill, Holly and Jerome. Jerome has moved away at this stage and although he pops back a few times, it's not really the same. I couldn't really warm to any of the characters in this bar Bill and Holly and they weren't really in it enough for my liking.
Lastly then, is End of Watch and I was so excited for this one because guess who's back you guys? Brady Hartsfield! He's now in a practically catatonic state following the ending of the first book and although he's deemed to be incapable of virtually the slightest activity, Bill is keeping a close eye on him. Especially as victims of the car attack in Mr Mercedes start taking their own lives in very similar circumstances. This book takes a turn for the supernatural, which although not unusual for King, is unexpected in this particular series. Having said that, it did work in the context of this book but I guess the series was good enough on it's own to not need that added element. That aside, I definitely enjoyed this one more than Finders Keepers and there is a definite ending to this so it won't leave you frustrated but I feel like King takes away with one hand and gives with the other sometimes. There's both a happy and a sad ending to this one.
Overall, I enjoyed the series and I think it shows more than ever that King can write thrillers and crime novels equally as well as he does horror so it's worth picking these up. You could also happily just read the first in the series though and not need to carry on with the other two- Mr Mercedes is pretty perfect on its own!
Have you read any of the Bill Hodges trilogy?
What are you reading right now?
To the comments!
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Finders Keepers picks up some months after the ending of the fist novel. We now find Bill working away as a private detective of sorts, with Holly acting as his side-kick and in-house computer genius. Again, in this book the chapters are narrated in turn between the baddie (now an ex-con trying to track down the manuscript of a famous author he murdered years before in order to get his last known, unpublished work for himself) and the victim (a teenage boy, who unwittingly finds the manuscript in the house his family have moved to) and then, later on, Bill, once he and Holly are on the case. I struggled a bit with this one if I'm honest. Firstly, there are several instances where the killer recalls times he was raped in prison that I could really have done without listening to (I got this one on audio). We get it Steve, he was brutalised and now has nothing left other then the determination to get back to the manuscript. I also missed that relationship between Bill, Holly and Jerome. Jerome has moved away at this stage and although he pops back a few times, it's not really the same. I couldn't really warm to any of the characters in this bar Bill and Holly and they weren't really in it enough for my liking.
Lastly then, is End of Watch and I was so excited for this one because guess who's back you guys? Brady Hartsfield! He's now in a practically catatonic state following the ending of the first book and although he's deemed to be incapable of virtually the slightest activity, Bill is keeping a close eye on him. Especially as victims of the car attack in Mr Mercedes start taking their own lives in very similar circumstances. This book takes a turn for the supernatural, which although not unusual for King, is unexpected in this particular series. Having said that, it did work in the context of this book but I guess the series was good enough on it's own to not need that added element. That aside, I definitely enjoyed this one more than Finders Keepers and there is a definite ending to this so it won't leave you frustrated but I feel like King takes away with one hand and gives with the other sometimes. There's both a happy and a sad ending to this one.
Overall, I enjoyed the series and I think it shows more than ever that King can write thrillers and crime novels equally as well as he does horror so it's worth picking these up. You could also happily just read the first in the series though and not need to carry on with the other two- Mr Mercedes is pretty perfect on its own!
Have you read any of the Bill Hodges trilogy?
What are you reading right now?
To the comments!
XX
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