I am loving this book and think it's right up there with any book that King has written. Also, the narrator is excellent and really is bringing this story to life.
If you're a King fan, then don't hesitate to order!
If you're a King fan, then don't hesitate to order!
I've had MR. MERCEDES along with its two sequels on my shelf for a couple of years now and finally got motivated to read them after seeing the first two seasons of the Mr. Mercedes miniseries on the streaming service Peacock. There is a third season of the series but it is not yet available on Peacock. This series was originally made for the AT&T network, Audience, and was only available for DirectTV viewers.
Anyway, I really enjoyed the TV series and of course King's source material was even better! This isn't one of King's supernatural or horror stories but is a more straight forward thriller. The novel opens with a psycho running a Mercedes into a group of people waiting for a job fair to open. The horrendous act kills eight people including a young mother and her baby. Bill Hodges is now and ex-cop and this crime was one that went unsolved before he retired. But the killer is still out there and starts to taunt Hodges with a letter and then ominous chats via a chat room called "Under the Blue Umbrella." Hodges is set on capturing the killer who he feels is out to do more damage. He uses the help of his young friend and yard boy, Jerome, who is adept at computers to help him and later a woman with some psychological problems, Holly Gibney, also helps in his pursuit of the killer. Holly is also skilled using computers and turns out to be a big asset to Hodges. But can they stop the killer before he strikes again?
This was really an engrossing story from King. His character development was as usual top-notch. I especially liked the character Holly Gibney who also appeared in King's novel THE OUTSIDER which I read a few months ago. The novel and the first season of the miniseries follow a pretty close storyline although the miniseries does expand somewhat on the story and gives some of the minor characters in the novel a larger role. But overall, I give both the novel and the TV series high marks and I look forward to reading the remaining two books in King's trilogy, FINDERS KEEPERS and END OF WATCH.
Anyway, I really enjoyed the TV series and of course King's source material was even better! This isn't one of King's supernatural or horror stories but is a more straight forward thriller. The novel opens with a psycho running a Mercedes into a group of people waiting for a job fair to open. The horrendous act kills eight people including a young mother and her baby. Bill Hodges is now and ex-cop and this crime was one that went unsolved before he retired. But the killer is still out there and starts to taunt Hodges with a letter and then ominous chats via a chat room called "Under the Blue Umbrella." Hodges is set on capturing the killer who he feels is out to do more damage. He uses the help of his young friend and yard boy, Jerome, who is adept at computers to help him and later a woman with some psychological problems, Holly Gibney, also helps in his pursuit of the killer. Holly is also skilled using computers and turns out to be a big asset to Hodges. But can they stop the killer before he strikes again?
This was really an engrossing story from King. His character development was as usual top-notch. I especially liked the character Holly Gibney who also appeared in King's novel THE OUTSIDER which I read a few months ago. The novel and the first season of the miniseries follow a pretty close storyline although the miniseries does expand somewhat on the story and gives some of the minor characters in the novel a larger role. But overall, I give both the novel and the TV series high marks and I look forward to reading the remaining two books in King's trilogy, FINDERS KEEPERS and END OF WATCH.
Wow -- that was one great whodunit, even though we knew who did it almost from the outset. Mr. King is a master of characterization, and this one had me from the first page. Most of the characters were pretty likable (and certainly understandable), except, of course, the serial killer. Didn't care much for him, but King has written about much nastier characters.
