Book Review
Sep. 30th, 2024 05:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kenjariMr. Mercedes
by Stephen King
One foggy early morning, Brady Hartfield plows a Mercedes into a crowd of desperate unemployed people waiting to enter a job fair, killing eight and injuring many others. This is one of the crimes Detective Bill Hodges is unable to solve before his retirement after 40 years on the job. A year later, he receives a taunting letter from the Mercedes Killer, setting off a dangerous and deadly cat and mouse game as Bill works to catch Brady before he kills again.
Mr. Mercedes is a bit of a departure for King, in that it is a straight thriller rather a horror novel. It's very well plotted and compelling. Hodges is pretty familiar archetype, the aging, jaded retired detective, but he's likable and relatable. His methods of figuring Brady out are effective, if sometimes charmingly old-fashioned. Brady is evil, but also very small-minded and mean. He's quite intelligent and clever, but not quite as much as he thinks he is. Brady is always just on the edge of being a little sympathetic or a little impressive, but his shittiness just keeps him down. I especially liked Bill's associates Jerome and Holly, who are very different but equally cool.
by Stephen King
One foggy early morning, Brady Hartfield plows a Mercedes into a crowd of desperate unemployed people waiting to enter a job fair, killing eight and injuring many others. This is one of the crimes Detective Bill Hodges is unable to solve before his retirement after 40 years on the job. A year later, he receives a taunting letter from the Mercedes Killer, setting off a dangerous and deadly cat and mouse game as Bill works to catch Brady before he kills again.
Mr. Mercedes is a bit of a departure for King, in that it is a straight thriller rather a horror novel. It's very well plotted and compelling. Hodges is pretty familiar archetype, the aging, jaded retired detective, but he's likable and relatable. His methods of figuring Brady out are effective, if sometimes charmingly old-fashioned. Brady is evil, but also very small-minded and mean. He's quite intelligent and clever, but not quite as much as he thinks he is. Brady is always just on the edge of being a little sympathetic or a little impressive, but his shittiness just keeps him down. I especially liked Bill's associates Jerome and Holly, who are very different but equally cool.
