Reviews
As in Misery and TheShining , King swan dives into the looniness lurking at both ends of thewriter-reader transaction...the narrative hums and roars along like ahigh-performance vehicle...a rip-snortingentertainment; one that also works as a sneaky-smart satire of literarycriticism and how even the most attentive readers can often miss the wholepoint., No one can create a villain quite like King. . . . [A]ll the elements come together in a very public, potentially explosive finale (with a surprising post script). King fans may find themselves furiously turning pages long into the night., "King's many, many fans will want this, especially those who enjoyed Misery , but the second volume in King's projected trilogy will appeal to anyone who enjoys suspense and action, or anyone who finds enlightenment in reading about the internal struggle between right and wrong. It's not necessary to have read the previous book to enjoy this one.", "A taut, calibrated thriller . . . The majority of the book is merciless and unforgiving, and the scariest thing about it is how plausible the whole scenario is.", "King excels in his disturbing portrait of Brady, a genuine monster in ordinary human form who gives new meaning to the phrase'the banality of evil.", Praise for Finders Keepers "[A] taut thriller about the thin line separating fandom from fanaticism...Bellamy is one of King's creepiest creations-a literate and intelligent character whom any passionate reader will both identify with and be repelled by. His relentless pursuit of a treasure that his twisted thinking has determined is rightfully his generates the nail biting suspense that's the hallmark of King's best work. A sharp closing twist suggests Hodges will be back.", The new book is sogood, being at least mildly obsessed with it is understandable. The finest thing about it, however, is thatthe author has another story to tell before the finale of this excellent series., "Hartfield is sensitive, sympathetic and one of King's most realistic characters. He is a lot like Norman Bates from Psycho , in the worst ways imaginable.You can add Hartfield to the list of great King villains, alongside the shape-shifting monster Pennywise from It and the hypnotic vampire Kurt Barlow from Salem's Lot .", A fast-paced cat-and-mouse game between Hodges, the motley group of unlikely heroes that he assembles, and the Mercedes Killer., "No one can create a villain quite like King. . . . [A]ll the elements come together in a very public, potentially explosive finale (with a surprising post script). King fans may find themselves furiously turning pages long into the night.", "As in Misery and TheShining , King swan dives into the looniness lurking at both ends of thewriter-reader transaction...the narrative hums and roars along like ahigh-performance vehicle...a rip-snortingentertainment; one that also works as a sneaky-smart satire of literarycriticism and how even the most attentive readers can often miss the wholepoint.", "[A] taut thriller about the thin line separating fandom from fanaticism...Bellamy is one of King's creepiest creations--a literate and intelligent character whom any passionate reader will both identify with and be repelled by. His relentless pursuit of a treasure that his twisted thinking has determined is rightfully his generates the nail biting suspense that's the hallmark of King's best work. A sharp closing twist suggests Hodges will be back.", Think of Mr. Mercedes as an AC/DC song: uncluttered, chugging with momentum, and a lot harder to pull off than it looks. . . . King has written a hot rod of a novel,perfect for a few summer days at the pool. Mercedes-Benz commands drivers to demand 'the best or nothing.' In pop-fiction terms, that motto still applies to Stephen King, too. With apologies to AC/DC, the highway to hell never felt so fun., Hartfield is sensitive, sympathetic and one of King's most realistic characters. He is a lot like Norman Bates from Psycho , in the worst ways imaginable.You can add Hartfield to the list of great King villains, alongside the shape-shifting monster Pennywise from It and the hypnotic vampire Kurt Barlow from Salem's Lot ., King creates such vivid characters-people you can picture yourself drinking a beer with or inviting over for lunch. So when he puts them in great peril, and that includes Jerome's family and pet dog and the Mercedes' owner's family, it's a race against time . . ., A taut, calibrated thriller . . . The majority of the book is merciless and unforgiving, and the scariest thing about it is how plausible the whole scenario is., "An Oh-So-Dark Mystery That Never Shuts the Door on Love, Loss And, Possibly, Redemption.", "Nicely Dark, Never Predictable and Altogether Entertaining.", "King Deftly Takes Elements of Hard-Boiled Mysteries and Puts a Fresh Spin on Them.", "Think of Mr. Mercedes as an AC/DC song: uncluttered, chugging with momentum, and a lot harder to pull off than it looks. . . . King has written a hot rod of a novel,perfect for a few summer days at the pool. Mercedes-Benz commands drivers to demand 'the best or nothing.' In pop-fiction terms, that motto still applies to Stephen King, too. With apologies to AC/DC, the highway to hell never felt so fun.", "A Showdown between Good and Evil That Characterizes the Best of King's Work, Regardless of Genre.", "A trimmer-than-usual King, but that doesn't mean he skimps on the suspense and spine-tingling chills.", "The new book is sogood, being at least mildly obsessed with it is understandable. The finest thing about it, however, is thatthe author has another story to tell before the finale of this excellent series.", "King creates such vivid characters--people you can picture yourself drinking a beer with or inviting over for lunch. So when he puts them in great peril, and that includes Jerome's family and pet dog and the Mercedes' owner's family, it's a race against time . . .", "A Taut, Suspenseful Race-Against-Time Book . . . [King Is] in Reliably Fine Form.", "A fast-paced cat-and-mouse game between Hodges, the motley group of unlikely heroes that he assembles, and the Mercedes Killer.", On one level, Mr. Mercedes is an expertly crafted example of the classic race-against-the-clock thriller. On another, it is a novel of depth and character enriched throughout by the grace notes King provides in such seemingly effortless profusion. It is a rich, resonant, exceptionally readable accomplishment by a man who can write in whatever genre he chooses., "King creates such vivid characters-people you can picture yourself drinking a beer with or inviting over for lunch. So when he puts them in great peril, and that includes Jerome's family and pet dog and the Mercedes' owner's family, it's a race against time . . .", "On one level, Mr. Mercedes is an expertly crafted example of the classic race-against-the-clock thriller. On another, it is a novel of depth and character enriched throughout by the grace notes King provides in such seemingly effortless profusion. It is a rich, resonant, exceptionally readable accomplishment by a man who can write in whatever genre he chooses.", King creates such vivid characters--people you can picture yourself drinking a beer with or inviting over for lunch. So when he puts them in great peril, and that includes Jerome's family and pet dog and the Mercedes' owner's family, it's a race against time . . ., King's many, many fans will want this, especially those who enjoyed Misery , but the second volume in King's projected trilogy will appeal to anyone who enjoys suspense and action, or anyone who finds enlightenment in reading about the internal struggle between right and wrong. It's not necessary to have read the previous book to enjoy this one., Praise for Mr. Mercedes "Classic Stephen King. Creepy, yet realistic characters that get under your skin and stay there, a compelling story that twists and turns at breakneck speed, and delightful prose that, once again, proves that one of America's greatest natural storytellers is also one of its finest writers.", A trimmer-than-usual King, but that doesn't mean he skimps on the suspense and spine-tingling chills., "The Most Straight-Up Mystery-Thriller of [King's] Career...Pretty Darn Fresh.", Praise for Finders Keepers "Stephen King's superb new stay-up-all-night thriller, Finders Keepers , is a sly,often poignant tale of literary obsession that recalls the themes of his classic 1987 novel Misery ...a love letter to the joys of reading and to American literature... wonderful, scary, moving.", King excels in his disturbing portrait of Brady, a genuine monster in ordinary human form who gives new meaning to the phrase'the banality of evil., [A] taut thriller about the thin line separating fandom from fanaticism...Bellamy is one of King's creepiest creations--a literate and intelligent character whom any passionate reader will both identify with and be repelled by. His relentless pursuit of a treasure that his twisted thinking has determined is rightfully his generates the nail biting suspense that's the hallmark of King's best work. A sharp closing twist suggests Hodges will be back., [A] taut thriller about the thin line separating fandom from fanaticism...Bellamy is one of King's creepiest creations-a literate and intelligent character whom any passionate reader will both identify with and be repelled by. His relentless pursuit of a treasure that his twisted thinking has determined is rightfully his generates the nail biting suspense that's the hallmark of King's best work. A sharp closing twist suggests Hodges will be back., King may have left out the supernatural in Mr. Mercedes , but his gifts for creating thoroughly believable characters and thrumming suspense are in full play. He keeps raising the stakes and ratcheting up the violence, and just when you think everything is settled there's one spine-icing little turn on the very last page., "King may have left out the supernatural in Mr. Mercedes , but his gifts for creating thoroughly believable characters and thrumming suspense are in full play. He keeps raising the stakes and ratcheting up the violence, and just when you think everything is settled there's one spine-icing little turn on the very last page."