What can I say? Stephen King is still at the top of his game and has not lost his great story-telling ability. I started reading King way back in the 70s not long after CARRIE was published. I enjoyed his early novels immensely including 'SALEM'S LOT, THE SHINING, THE STAND, THE DEAD ZONE, etc. More recently, I finally got around to reading IT which I consider one of his best. A few years ago, I kind of gave up on King after reading LISEY'S STORY and some of the Dark Tower books but then came 11/22/63 and DOCTOR SLEEP which I thought were both great. Well THE OUTSIDER is another hit. It reminded me a little of IT with an unknown entity that can't be explained.
The story is about a brutal murder of a young boy committed supposedly by a well-respected coach who left his fingerprints and DNA at the murder scene. He was also identified by several witnesses before and after the murder. But then it turns out he was miles away when the murder was committed at a conference in another city. He was surrounded by colleagues who vouched for him being there plus he was actually shown on a TV clip talking to the author, Harlan Coben, who was a speaker at the conference. So how could he be in two places at the same time?
Well King brings in a lot of speculation including an old Mexican legend about El Cuco or cucuy, a monster who kills young children and drinks their blood. (My wife is originally from Mexico and she remembers the stories of cucuy told to her by her mother!) King, as usual, also includes some great characters in the telling of this tale. Probably the most memorable is Holly Gibney, who is instrumental in getting to the bottom of what was happening. Apparently, Gibney is a character from King's Bill Hodges trilogy which I have not yet read but will be on my short list of TBRs to read soon. Overall, a home run for King!
The story is about a brutal murder of a young boy committed supposedly by a well-respected coach who left his fingerprints and DNA at the murder scene. He was also identified by several witnesses before and after the murder. But then it turns out he was miles away when the murder was committed at a conference in another city. He was surrounded by colleagues who vouched for him being there plus he was actually shown on a TV clip talking to the author, Harlan Coben, who was a speaker at the conference. So how could he be in two places at the same time?
Well King brings in a lot of speculation including an old Mexican legend about El Cuco or cucuy, a monster who kills young children and drinks their blood. (My wife is originally from Mexico and she remembers the stories of cucuy told to her by her mother!) King, as usual, also includes some great characters in the telling of this tale. Probably the most memorable is Holly Gibney, who is instrumental in getting to the bottom of what was happening. Apparently, Gibney is a character from King's Bill Hodges trilogy which I have not yet read but will be on my short list of TBRs to read soon. Overall, a home run for King!
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