Mr. Mercedes: A Novel

Like just about every Stephen King book I've read, this book is brilliant. It kept me on toes the whole time.

To write this review in a way that gives this book (and its competitors) a fair reading, I need to ignore the fact that Mr King has already published close to 60 world wide best selling novels and that he is one of the biggest selling novelists the world has ever seen. I also need to ignore the fact that he has penned some of the finest supernatural and alternative fantasy stories ever published and that some of his works are at times close to beautiful, moving, pure, literature. So now I can treat this new release as a single, standalone novel and I will pretend that I have never heard of Stephen King. So I sit down, turn on my glorious Kindle DX and I commence reading. The story starts like this... Augie Odenkirk is unemployed, single, with no dependants, but also no short term career prospects. He meets a single mom desperate for work at a small town exposition promoting local employment. Within a scattering of pages and a few hundred words, the reader finds themselves compelled to learn more of these two innocents, struggling daily against the economic forces - and that of fate itself - which have taken such a cruel toll on their lives. And to wish them well. Of course, some of us may want them to find happiness and ride off together into their own sunset. Waiting in line in the pre-dawn darkness, however, they are met and destroyed by the modern day face of evil. The reader is already attached to the characters in question - the trilogy of victims we are introduced to are all so beautifully drawn and created by Mr King that within a handful of pages you are shocked and almost moved to tears by the drama that unfolds before your eyes. We subsequently meet the hero of the tale - Retired Detective Hodges. On a superficial level it is easy to imagine flaws in the book where none exist. The good guys are obvious and the bad guy is, too. One can't call this book a mystery, its more of a totally modern techno thriller update on the eternal battle between good and evil. Mr King's legion of Constant Readers will be very familiar (and comfortable) with this theme. Emotional attachment has always been a strong point of Mr King and this book is no exception. The bad guy is despicably bad and the good guy is so human (ie: flawed) that he is in our hearts by the end of part one. As the story progresses, we get to know the book's characters even more closely and we see the huge mistake Brady has made by taking on Hodges. The plot and pacing are perfect. Mr King has always left traces of addictive caffeine scattered across his pages so that it is almost impossible to stop reading until he says it's ok to stop reading, and this latest thriller is no exception. The suspense builds chapter by chapter. With the increased awareness the reader has of uber-sicko Brady Hartsfield, the more terrified they will become of what his plans for impending chaos he has in store. On a personal level, it appears that he lacks social, moral and even ethical boundaries, which makes him a very dangerous individual. Ret. Det. Hodges, if only you knew what you are up against. But the hero of this tale is retired, as we know. His only child is a fully grown and mature woman. His wife is dead. Being involved in this case again - albeit unofficially - has given his life some direction. One wonders even at an early stage of the book, how the story will end, and who will survive. Selfishly, one hopes for Hodges to live to fight another day, at least for the reason that Mr King will have to give us at least one more book!!!!! The ending to this new age techno thriller is fine. It leaves the reader wanting more, with the potential for a sequel featuring at least one of the charscters. Mr King led the reader a merry dance before the final page, so we were never sure what was going to happen. My heart was in my chest at least once during the final stanza and i am glad that my fears and assumptions were wrong. So once more, the world owes Mr King a huge thank you for providing another strong example of his story telling abilities. The only complaint i have is that there was no mention of his Constant Readers in his afterword. BFN Greggorio!!!!!

King has dominated the Horror and Supernatural genres for more than forty years. And while this is his stock-in-trade, he has written some outstanding stories outside of these realms, like Shawshank Redemption (which happens to be one of my all-time favorites), The Colorado Kid, Joyland, and Dolores Claiborne, just to name few. But this is his first attempt at a trilogy outside of his normal yarns, a true detective noir. A Detective Bill Hodges trilogy: Book 1 (Mr. Mercedes), Book 2 (Finders Keepers), which I understand brings back characters Bill Hodges, Jerome and Holly, and Book 3 (Untitled). I enjoyed this book because it wasn't his typical spin. This is a true mystery-thriller, race-against-time, suspense crime novel. Retired Detective Bill Hodges has commendations up the wazoo (but as he humbly states, "Luck really is a big part of it."), but now, unfortunately, spends most of his time sitting in his La-Z-Boy recliner, drinking beer, watching daytime television, getting fat, his trusty S&W M&P at his side, having suicidal thoughts. One day while going through his mail, he comes across a letter without a return address. In it's place is an email emoticon of a Smiley wearing dark glasses and showing it's teeth. He opens it, reads it. It's signed Very Truly Yours, The Mercedes Killer. Shocked, he just sits there. Mr. Mercedes, the one that got away. The letter was intended to encourage Bill to place the barrel of his M&P in his mouth and pull the trigger. But the opposite happens: Bill is galvanized into action, determined to catch the killer that got away. As usual, King's ability to carve out such realistic characters is amazing. His attention to detail is far from the lackluster characters that dominate today's fiction. King is the last of a dying and talented breed of raconteurs. I really get aggravated when people (those that I would bet dollars to donuts have either read none or just a couple of his works) stereotype King as a gruesome horror writer. Yes, he touches on some very uncomfortable subjects, not pulling any punches, particularly when it comes to racism and certain socially forbidden slurs--not that King is racist, only that he is completely honest when telling a story. So, in my opinion, Stephen King is a great storyteller because he does touch on the uncomfortable taboos of life. Without complete honesty, there is no realism in fiction.

I love this new and improved Stephen King 2.0. I am not going to rehash the publisher's summary or go too deep into the plot as some consider writing about ANY plot points as spoilers. There are no spoilers here, just my opinion of the type of readers that would enjoy Mr. Mercedes as much as I did. In my opinion, there are three major buckets of Stephen King fans, A) Readers that love his earlier works that featured densely written supernatural stories that kindled the type of mental terrorism that innovated the genre. Novels that are deep in character and plot line development to the point they easily reach the level of an 800+ page epic. (See: The Stand ) B) Readers that love his lighter works that loan themselves to the psychological thrillers of the physical and mortal world that are so terrorizing, they wish it was due to a supernatural entity. Novels that don't have as much depth (relatively speaking) or number of characters, but still great reads. (See: Misery ) C) Readers who just enjoy to be entertained and terrorized by the master of horror, regardless of the believability of the plot's premise or source of the fear. For the hardcore fans that reside in segment A, I think they will feel Mr. Mercedes is a well written novel, but a rare miss by the author they have grown to love. That would be an unfortunate mis-characterization if readers think Mr. Mercedes is a miss due to the lack of page turning details developing voluminous characters and minuscule details of their surroundings. The development of the main characters in Mr. Mercedes was more that enough to keep us engaged and on our toes with a truly unpredictable plot. Protagonist Bill Hodges is definitely not a sympathetic character nor a character that can be simply introduced to the reader. We are taken through his very tough existence to see him as a loathing underdog and the city's only hope to stop the sadistic plans of the antagonist, Brady Hartsfield. Also, King does a great job still making use and giving depth to the small supporting cast which includes Hodges sidekick, Jermome, Brady's mother Deborah, and Jannelle Patterson - the sister of the woman whose Mercedes was used by Brady in the attack that starts it all. Fans in segments B and C will definitely feel the same heart-racing thrill that they have come to know from Stephen King. Mr. Mercedes is totally unpredictable, fast starting, and interlaced with many newer 21st century references that many will find refreshing. Mr. Mercedes lends more to a thriller where a lot of the plot plays out through the web - a new twist that makes me love Stephen King 2.0 even more. This was a great novel that is much easier to read than many of Stephen King's earlier works. It will definitely not be a disappointment for fans who are open to Kin's expanding range of finding new, and more 21st century ways to keep us horrified, entertained, and guessing. I definitely recommend this to all King fans and those who may be new to his books. This review was of an advanced reading copy.

I am a big Stephen King fan. I don’t buy too many books these days, but I do buy his. Does he need the money? Absolutely not. Could I easily download it illegally? Most definitely. That being said, every time a book of his is released, I buy it that same day for full price. I’m a big fan (although, not a big enough fan to sit through an entire episode of Under the Dome without getting distracted 20 minutes in). I want to like every book of his as much as I liked 11/22/63 or Misery. Mr. Mercedes, unfortunately, didn’t quite reach that level. It was good. I finished it quickly. But it wasn’t classic King, and things fell into place just a little too easily for my taste. Here is a brief synopsis: In the frigid pre-dawn hours, in a distressed Midwestern city, hundreds of desperate unemployed folks are lined up for a spot at a job fair. Without warning, a lone driver plows through the crowd in a stolen Mercedes, running over the innocent, backing up, and charging again. Eight people are killed; fifteen are wounded. The killer escapes. In another part of town, months later, a retired cop named Bill Hodges is still haunted by the unsolved crime. When he gets a crazed letter from someone who self-identifies as the “perk” and threatens an even more diabolical attack, Hodges wakes up from his depressed and vacant retirement, hell-bent on preventing another tragedy. Anything more than that will start to give things away. Until you’re blindsided by that tweet that Stephen King insists is not a spoiler. Seems like it gives a big part of the story away, doesn’t it? He says it doesn’t, which is the only reason I posted it on this review. There is a lot of great information about the trilogy here, and I’ll probably still end up buying the other books when they come out, with unreasonably high expectations. It’s not that this book was bad. It’s scary, the characters are well developed and you’ll finish the whole thing pretty quickly. It’s just too predictable and expected. If something had to happen to ensure that the story would move in a way you saw coming, it was going to happen. Time and time again I found myself rooting for the bad guy just so the story would throw me for a loop. When you read the story you’ll know how awful that sounds, but it’s true. All that said, I still read it and was on the edge of my seat for a majority of it. So, I guess when King isn’t at his best, he’s still the best. It’s worth noting that there are reviews out there stating this book is one of his best. Some went as far as saying, “King never fails to surprise me.” In other words, the exact opposite of my experience. As always, reading preferences are subjective, so pick up the book and see for yourself. I’m excited that two more books are already announced because I like Stephen King, and as long as he keeps writing, I’ll still buy (and 99% of the time, enjoy) his books. I did enjoy this one, but it wasn’t King’s best. If I did a star rating, I’d go with a 3/5.

This plays out like a well-crafted episode of Columbo, where the viewer (or reader, in this case) knows who the badguy is from the beginning, and the fun of the story is in getting to see the detective sniff him out. The head sleuth in this instance is retired Detective Kermit William Hodges (or just Bill), who, when we meet him, is bored, slightly depressed, and spends his days watching crummy TV and contemplating suicide. He is jerked out of the dullness of retirement when a taunting letter from a previous un-captured perpetrator arrives in the mail. Brady Hartsfield (Mr. Mercedes himself [that's not a spoiler, we know it's him very early on]) is one of the most sinister, WTF-is-wrong-with-this-guy villains King has conjured up yet. Brady is only mildly pitiable, and yet, watching his character unfold is fascinating. Also, his relationship with his mother makes ones' skin crawl. King has taken what might have been an overused horror trope—a creepy, murderous psychopath who is also an ice cream man—and makes it work. Brady is clever, but insane; able to keep a happy, upbeat outer appearance, but underneath is boiling and furious at the world. This is a satisfyingly complex story, largely because of Bill Hodges' choice to go around the law and operate on his own (illegally, as he is no longer officially able to do police work). There is another element of an aging man trying to figure out a young man's world; Hodges is used to the old way of doing things, and criminals have become more technologically advanced than he can keep up with. For this, he recruits the unofficial help of Jerome, a sharp-witted African-American high-schooler in the neighborhood. Their working partnership is an unique one, frequently humorous, and gels together all the better for its unlikely quality. Mr. Mercedes has no supernatural elements whatsoever, but it is no less chilling in certain parts—these regarding Brady and his psychotic musings. In recent years, King has somewhat moved away from supernatural or horror elements (as least those as the central focus) and started simply telling stories about people, even if the story does involve some bit or piece of the fantastic. Under the Dome, 11/22/63, and Full Dark, No Stars, for example, were all more-so stories about people and characters than they were about the scary things at the edges. The best part about King's writing (and probably the reason he has such an enormous audience of readers) almost always seems to be the real, relatable characters he creates and their interactions with one another that feel so frequently genuine. This is a smart, snappy little read, and one that I think might be even more accessible than usual for a first-time King reader. Chances are, most folks who pick this one up have read King before, but if you haven't, it's not a bad place to start. His craft is as sharp as ever.

The following synopsis contains NO SPOILERS. Everything here is revealed in the first few chapters. Synopsis: On a foggy morning, before the sun has even risen, a crowd gathers at City Hall, lured by the promise of jobs. A big grey Mercedes-Benz creeps into the parking lot. The engine revs, tires squeal, and the car launches through the crowd of people. Witnesses only saw someone wearing gloves and a mask. The driver, dubbed Mr. Mercedes by the press, is never caught. Months later, the lead detective on the case, Hodges, retires after serving a whopping 40 years on the force. He is depressed, feeling useless, and slowly creeping toward suicide. Until the day he receives a taunting letter from Mr. Mercedes. Mr. Mercedes tells Hodges to get on with it and kill himself since he failed to capture a killer. Rather than fall further into depression, the letter drives Hodges to launch his own investigation into the identity of the killer. (I super swear that all of that was revealed in the first chapters.) Mr. Mercedes is NOT a typical King novel. There are no ghosts, goblins, poltergeists, pyrokenetics or evil clown-spider-alien-things. Instead, this book is more like a detective novel. If you want to read about creepies, crawlies and things-that-go-bump-in-the-night, this book will be unsatisfying. The story is solid, but deals only with the relatively mundane horrors of dealing with a serial killer. Everything that happens in the story has a logical explanation. Not necessarily a NICE explanation, just logical. King's characters are brilliantly rendered, and easily-relatable. Hodges feels his age but manages to capture the heart of a lovely lady called Janey. He also has a young man from up the street, Jerome, come mow his lawn and help him with "computer stuff." Janey has completely awful relatives, and an incredibly neurotic cousin called Holly (who gets much less neurotic away from her crazy mother). In fact, I rather enjoyed the interactions between Jerome and Holly. Neither one quite qualifies as a secondary character - tertiary at best, and yet I loved the banter King created between them. We do learn about Mr. Mercedes, but I am sticking to my "no spoilers" policy. Even at a hefty 436 pages, this is just an average-length King novel. But it is an easy (if slightly uncomfortable-in-places) read. Yes, I really enjoyed this. And while I am a King fan, I do not enjoy all of his books. This one, even with the departure from monsters and ghouls, was a great read.

I just reread the "Mr Mercedes" trilogy by Stephen King. I liked them a lot. Then I watched the mini series on Peacock. I WISH I could have a chat with Mr. King and ask him WHY he allows the powers that be to rewrite so much of his book for the TV script. It really bugs me. And the worst part is, it's not just that he lets them, he is in on it as one of the executive producers. And it's not the first time I've seen it happen. Other books of his were altered for TV or movies. Some of the best parts of Mr. Mercedes were either left out or totally rewritten. Characters were added which weren't in the books. Characters were removed who had been in the books. I found myself shaking my head more than once saying, "THAT didn't happen!" Or, "who the heck is that?" Jerome's character was a lot less appealing than he was in the books. There was no boy band concert with Barbara attending which I think would have been a really great part of the movie. They killed off Hodges former partner, Pete who outlived him in the series. Holly was in her 50's in the book but 31 in the TV series. Lou didn't kill Brady or go to trial in the books. No cabin in the woods in the dead of winter where Hodges, Holly and Jerome found Brady. There were just a LOT of changes that I felt were not for the better. I kept wondering, why even bother calling the TV series, "Mr. Mercedes". The plot has so many changes you could just call it something else and leave the books out of it altogether! I wanted to share these feelings with Mr. King himself and figured he at least had a web page where his fans could post but it's been shut down. Don't know why. Of course there is no way to e-mail him or write him directly, which hey, I get. He could not possibly read all the fan mail I'm sure he'd get. Here's hoping he does maybe check out his book reviews on good old amazon. My favorite book of King's is, "Duma Key" but I am afraid of how they will mutilate it when the time comes for them to make a movie or TV series out of that one. It seems like S.K. would insist they stick to his book. He surely has enough clout now to have things done the way he wants them. Or perhaps he really doesn't mind all the changes or even contributes to them, which really would be disgusting! You wrote a great trilogy. Stephen. Why didn't you stick to the book for the TV series? I just don't get it! I am begging you please, stick to the book when/if "Duma Key" is made into a movie or TV series.

Suspenseful!!

Como siempre, stephen king un maestro de la novela. Continuaré con esta colección sin duda

No primeiro volume da Trilogia Bill Hodges, Stephen King introduz personagens que rapidamente encantam o leitor. O detetive aposentado Bill Hodges, entediado com o rumo que sua vida tomou após se aposentar, busca solucionar o caso do 'Assassino da Mercedes'. Trata-se, nada menos, do feito de um maníaco que atropela dezenas de pessoas em uma feira de trabalho. King descreve a cena com um realismo estarrecedor, fazendo transparecer ao leitor um ambiente de absoluto horror e carnificina. Logo no início, o autor norte-americano deixa claro quem o assassino é (aspecto que me surpreendeu positivamente, uma vez que esse tipo de revelação precoce é pouco comum em romances policiais). O criminoso é analisado de forma psicológica, e nos são reveladas as inúmeras causas da loucura e do cinismo que o assola. Cheio de cenas emocionantes, Mr. Mercedes traz um componente investigativo à obra de Stephen King e demonstra que o autor não precisa recorrer ao sobrenatural para escrever um bom livro.

話の展開が快い速さです。

First Stephen King novel! I have been meaning to pick up a book by Stephen King for ages, but for some stupid reason, I never got around to. Now, I’m happy to say, that I finally picked one of his books up. And I’m very happy about it. This book is very well written and it grips you tight without any intention of letting you go. Not until you finish it. The thrill of the ride was amazing. I loved our protagonist. He was a really smart guy and he was good at his job. He was also self-aware and very human. I’m interested to read the rest this series. The antagonist of this book is also very smart. And loathsome. I really did not like the guy. He was highly disturbed as well, to the point that you couldn’t figure out whether to be disgusted by him or feel sorry for him. I loved getting inside his head. King did a great job writing him. Then there were the other characters. They were all so interesting and cool. I especially adore Jerome. Hoping for more of him. Overall, this was a great book. I didn’t give it 5 stars because of a “love” thing that I thought wasn’t necessary and because I’ve heard that the author has done lots better. I need to save that half a star for the better. I highly recommend this book. I loved it.