Mr. Mercedes

Mr. Mercedes

By Stephen King

Scribner 2014

Book 1 of the Bill Hodges Trilogy

Genre: Crime, Mystery, Adventure, Thriller

I hope you all had a fabulous Hallowe’en. In the spirit of this fantastic holiday (hallmark Holiday – or whatever you want to call it you Grinch!) we are going to delve into some of the newest releases of the horror master himself. One of my favorite writers of all time Stephen King. These books I think, will be a trilogy surrounding Bill Hodges a retired detective. These are standalone books you don’t have to read them in order. I hope you are tantalized and want to read them too.

Mr. Mercedes is set during the recent recession, when people were hit hardest and were lining up jobless at a local job fair. They were waiting all night hoping to get in, and find some work to help support their families. Brady Hartsfield, a lunatic, brutally runs down these poor people with a Mercedes he stole. Flash forward months later to newly retired detective Bill Hodges. One of his last cases was the Mercedes killer. It still haunts him, as he sits in his lay-z-boy pondering suicide. This is when Bill receives a letter from Mr. Mercedes taunting him and attempting to push the retired detective into suicide. Hodges finds this letter makes him get back into this case rather than kill himself. He is wondering if he worked all the angles the first time around. We follow these two men in a cat and mouse chase. We are introduced to Holly and Jerome who complete the unlikely trio of detectives. We watch them in a gripping race against time to stop Mr. Mercedes before he strikes again.

I read Finders Keepers first, and I kept telling myself towards the end that I knew what happens. It didn’t matter, I was still enthralled while reading this. In the end, I was racing to find out if everything was going to be ok. BUT I ALREADY KNEW!!!! Isn’t that sad?

I loved the character development. I feel like I understand Hodges better now. Some of his reactions in Finders Keepers I questioned and now they make more sense. Once again we have a villain that I HATE! I kept thinking NO ONE can be that messed up. Alas we live in a world with many a Brady Hartsfield. I loved watching Hodges “wind him up” and then have Brady lose his mind over it. It was very satisfying watching him get so angry. I was my vindictive self “YES DIG THE KNIFE IN DEEPER HODGES! MAKE HIM SQUIRM!”

I love that King’s writing is deliberate. He writes in a way that we all do. His style is very informal and has many pop culture references that we all get (Ok fine, I get them and it makes me happy!). I think that his is a style we all understand and he does it to make his readers feel connected. I consider myself one his devoted readers, and I feel like if you’ve read his books you are in on it with him. Perhaps I am the crazy reader? – Thoughts?

I think that if you are looking for a bit of King, nothing too gory you’re looking in the right place for this one. It was very exciting, and I enjoyed every minute.

My verdict: Read it!

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Are you reading these ones? Did you like Mr. Mercedes? Did you like it more than Finders Keepers?

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If you liked this try:

Finders Keepers

Cuckoos calling

The Silkworm

Doctor Sleep