3.5 - While I liked that the chapters alternated between focusing on the "hero" and the "villain" it lead up to an ending which was fairly anticlimactic. There was no "big reveal" for the reader because we knew all along who the killer was and Hodges missed out on taking down the killer . I'll still probably give the rest of the series a shot though. ( )

This story is terrifying because of in todays world, it could happen. Seeing the thought process of a mentally deranged madman is unsettling to say the least ( )

My review of this book can be found on my YouTube Vlog at:

https://youtu.be/EpYlUdcrXG4

Enjoy! ( )

Okay. Just... Wow.

Wow, wow, wow!

Stephen King has been hit and miss for me. It was incredible and Carrie was meh, so I wasn't sure how I would like this one. I've heard great things, but you never know. I heard this book was more thriller than horror, and that was right. And man, was it one intense thriller and it was so good!

This book is long, but it's worth every page. The book slowly but surely ramps up until you get to the insane action of the end. Plus, that bloody cliffhanger that DROVE ME INSANE. Now I need to finish this series, which will definitely be a while.

Hodges is a retired cop, and he is haunted by the Mercedes crime. Some crazy dude ran over people at a job fair, and he really wants to solve this mystery. Lucky for him, Mr. Mercedes is still up to his old tricks and wants to commit more crimes. He really liked teasing his victims and Bill Hodges. Bill ends up teaming up with Jerome and Holly to try to solve this mystery, and he faces some real tough losses along the way.

I'm impressed. Thrillers in general can be hit and miss for me, so having this one pull me in so tightly and keep me hooked was awesome!

There are definitely parts of this book that seem unrealistic or seem dumb, but I don't care. This book was a great thrilling read that pulled me in and kept me. Sure, it was dumb Bill didn't try to get some of his buddies from the force to help, but that was half the fun. Some of the racism in this book was rough, but it is what it is. I definitely don't recommend speaking like some of the characters in the book.

Overall, this is a great book by Stephen King. It's not supernatural, it's a crime thriller with splashes of horror. Stephen King has done a great job crafting this story and I can't wait to grab the remainder of this series.

Four out of five stars. ( )

What to say about Mr. Mercedes ? Let me start by stating that I've been reading Stephen King's novels my entire adult life. I've thoroughly enjoyed most of them, and loved quite a few. What that means, is that King has set a pretty high bar for himself and I've come to expect a lot. But unfortunately, to use a baseball metaphor, you can't hit them all out of the ball park. King has hit lots of homers and I'm sure he has more in him, but Mr. Mercedes was at best, just a solid single up the middle. The characters just didn't do it for me. the one exception was Holly. She enters the novel well into it, but once she does, for me, she stole the show. ( )