For all you haters out there, I’m going to get this first part out of the way. Stephen King, deserves literary recognition of the highest order. Maybe not for his prose, but for pace and story – he is the master. Not to mention the wide range of genres he writes across.

 

For me,  it’s all about the test of time. And so far so good.

 

Mr Mercedes

tumblr_n1f260GpMe1rtynt1o3_1280.jpg 51bn5LZ3gcL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_Anyway, on to Mr Mercedes.  This novel is based around the retired cop, Bill Hodges. I thought that it started off at a slow pace – perhaps that was just my mind frame at the time – and quickly introduced some likable characters.

Bill Hodges has nothing much to do, except sit at home in his la-Z-Boy and watch daytime TV. Until his only unsolved case comes back to haunt him; this enters Hodges into a game of cat and mouse with Brady Hartsfield.

The main villain in this novel, Brady Hartsfield is as sick and twisted as you’d expect from a King novel.  I really felt for King’s villain, while being repulsed at the same time.

Before I knew it, I was struggling to put this novel down and just like that – it was finished.

 

Pages: 405 (paperback version)

Rating: 7/10

 

Finders Keepers

Finders Keepers, is the second novel to this trilogy. After finishing Mr Mercedes on paperback, I rushed out 9781473698994_1to by the hardback of this novel.

I think that this second book was better than the first. Brady Hartsfield who was an integral part of Mr Mercedes takes a back seat for most of this book.

It was a great story that went back and forth from 1978 to 2014; which made for an interesting insight into the characters lives and gave the novel great depth.

It centers around a reclusive author – John Rothstein – and his private notebooks that are kept in his safe. These notebooks represent the power of obsession and the tragic consequences it can bring.

Finders Keepers was fast paced, and you get a brilliant surprise in the last few pages; which is going to make for a eerie third novel – I cannot wait to read this.

Unfortunately, I can’t rush out and buy the hardback as it isn’t released yet.

Hurry up Stephen!

Pages: 370 (Hardback version)

Rating: 8/10