End of Watch by Stephen King

First Line: It's always darkest before the dawn.

For nearly six years, the "Mercedes Killer," Brady Hartsfield has been in a persistent vegetative state in the Lakes Region Traumatic Brain Injury Clinic. Checked on periodically to see if he's fit for trial, Hartsfield has pretty much been written off as a permanent vegetable. However, he's been filled with experimental drugs for quite a while now. The lights may appear to be off, but someone is most definitely home, and he's been spending his time planning. Yes, indeed-- Brady Hartsfield is about to embark on a brand-new reign of terror. Not only does he intend to bring death to thousands of innocents, Hartsfield is also wanting revenge, and retired police detective Bill Hodges is right at the top of that particular list.

End of Watch is a very fitting conclusion to Stephen King's masterful Bill Hodges trilogy. I enjoyed every single page of all three books. Super villain Brady Hartsfield is pumped full of pills, he's pumped full of hate, and he's pumped full of powers that he's never had before. If someone doesn't catch on quick, the damage he could do is well beyond all imagining. Who can possibly fight him? One rundown, old ex-cop named Bill Hodges who's just about reached the end of his trail. 

I don't think anyone can write about the fight between extraordinary evil and ordinary good better than King. For decades, this man has made us believe in the unbelievable. He's scared us spitless. He's made us cheer on his ordinary heroes. He's made us laugh. He's made us cry. He's made us want to join in the fight. End of Watch-- and the entire Hodges trilogy-- had me hook, line, and sinker. If you haven't read them, pick up Mr. Mercedes and board the Stephen King Rollercoaster. You'll be in for the ride of your life.

End of Watch by Stephen King

ISBN: 9781501134135

Pocket Books © 2017

Mass Market Paperback, 496 pages

Thriller, #3 Bill Hodges trilogy

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from The Poisoned Pen.

Finders Keepers by Stephen King

First Line: "Wake up, genius."

In prison for murder, the only thing that keeps Morris Bellamy going is thinking of the stash of his favorite author's notebooks he has squirreled away. You see, Bellamy committed one more murder than the authorities know about. He killed his favorite author, John Rothstein, because Bellamy believes the main character in Rothstein's famed trilogy sold out. The money in Rothstein's safe meant little to Bellamy; those piles of notebooks were the true mother lode because-- although he stopped being published-- Rothstein kept writing, and Bellamy knows that there's at least one more book featuring his favorite character in those handwritten pages.

Thirty-five years later, Bellamy is back on the streets and can't wait to get his hands on those notebooks. What he doesn't know is that young Pete Saubers has already found Bellamy's treasure. The only thing standing between Pete and Bellamy's rage is Bill Hodges' detective agency, Finders Keepers. 

Mr. Mercedes made it to my Best Reads list, so I was eager to reacquaint myself with Bill Hodges, Holly Gibney, and Jerome Robinson in Finders Keepers. At first I kept waiting for those three to make their appearance, but I quickly fell into the story and stopped missing them. By the time they were ready for some real action (roughly halfway through), I welcomed them with open arms because Morris Bellamy was giving me the creeps.

For some reason, certain characters kept reminding me of other things in this book. John Rothstein reminded me of J.D. Salinger, and not only did Morris Bellamy remind me of another of King's literary fans named Annie Wilkes, his physical appearance made me think of Pennywise... the character from It that put a face on my loathing of clowns. 

It was good to see that Bill Hodges is doing better than he was at the end of Mr. Mercedes, and I really liked the dynamic between him and his two younger cohorts, Holly and Jerome. They're good for each other. King has always had a knack for creating marvelous young characters, and Pete and Tina Saubers continue this tradition. Everything Pete does in order to salvage his parents' marriage is heart-breaking, especially when you know that it is bound to come crashing down around his ears. Pete is a sharp kid, but there's no way he has the experience to deal with someone like Morris Bellamy. And... lurking in the background... is the psychopath from Mr. Mercedes, Brady Hartsfield. He's come out of his coma but is still in a vegetative state... or so everyone in the hospital thinks. (Any Stephen King fan worth his salt knows better.)

Once again-- good storytelling, some marvelous characters, and a feeling of growing dread that sets us up nicely for the last book in the trilogy: End of Watch. It will be interesting to read that third book. Mr. Mercedes was a murder mystery. Finders Keepers is more of a literary thriller. Where will we be taken next?

Stephen King may show us the crazy side of life, but it's not all that far-fetched when compared to what's really going on in the world today. He's more than capable of scaring the living daylights out of us, but he also reminds us of something important: how good humans can be. 

Finders Keepers by Stephen King

ISBN: 9781501100123

Pocket Books © 2016

Mass Market Paperback, 544 pages

Thriller, #2 Bill Hodges trilogy

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from Amazon.


 

Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King

First Line: Augie Odenkirk had a 1997 Datsun that still ran well in spite of high mileage, but gas was expensive, especially for a man with no job, and City Center was on the far side of town, so he decided to take the last bus of the night.

The one regret Bill Hodges had when he retired from the police force was that he hadn't thrown the Mercedes Killer behind bars. Now he's anesthetizing himself with a barrage of junk food and daytime television... until he gets a letter from the lunatic who plowed a Mercedes sedan into a crowd of innocent people lining up for a job fair. 

Brady Hartsfield loved the feel of death under the wheels of the Mercedes, and he wants that rush again. He has plans, but he just can't resist rubbing Hodges' nose in his failure before carrying those new plans out. What Brady can't anticipate is that his letter will halt the ex-cop's slide into oblivion, teaming Hodges up with two very unlikely allies. This time Brady is intent on killing thousands, and Bill Hodges is hell-bent on stopping him.

Even though Stephen King has given me hours of enjoyment with so many of his novels, I have to admit that I was a bit peeved when Mr. Mercedes won the 2015 Edgar Award for Best Novel. (I'd been rooting for one or two of the other nominees.) Then I read the book, and I understood why it won. This is the first straight-up mystery thriller of his career-- with no supernatural bits at all-- and it's fantastic. Once I started Mr. Mercedes, i wanted to sink down into the story and not reappear until I finished it. I didn't allow myself to-- but it was difficult.

To me, Stephen King's writing voice has always felt like snuggling my toes down into a pair of comfy slippers. I'm at home listening to that voice of his, and I refuse to stop and wonder if I should be concerned about what that says about my own mind. Once again King brings readers right into the heart and soul of the marginalized, reminding us of what it feels like to have no job, to be hungry, to have no real roof over our heads... and what it feels like to have Death come roaring out of nowhere to plow us into the asphalt.

The killer, Brady Hartsfield, is a Norman Bates-like psychopath whose two jobs will give readers pause, but as well-drawn as he is, it's Bill Hodges and his crew that hog the spotlight and deservedly so. With one crazed letter, Hodges comes out of retirement raring for a rematch, and this time he's determined to win no matter the cost. His two sidekicks-- a young black man named Jerome and Holly, a fortysomething woman with Asperger's and a horrid beast of a mother-- are perfect for helping him find clues, for providing laughs, and creating poignant moments that can bring tears to the eye.

This tightly plotted mystery will have you anxious to reach the end, and when you reach it, you will find a tense, teary, bone-chilling climax that will have
you clamoring for the next book in King's trilogy. 
 

Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King

ISBN: 9781501125607
Pocket Books © 2015
Mass Market Paperback, 560 pages

Thriller, #1 Bill Hodges trilogy
Rating: A+
Source: Purchased from The Poisoned Pen.