A cat-and-mouse suspense thriller featuring a retired homicide detective who’s haunted by the few cases he left open, and by one in particular – the pre-dawn slaughter of eight people among hundreds gathered in line for the opening of a jobs fair when the economy was guttering out. Without warning, a lone driver ploughed through the crowd in a stolen Mercedes. The plot is kicked into gear when … Bill Hodges receives a letter in the mail, from a man claiming to be the perpetrator. He taunts Hodges with the notion that he will strike again.
Hodges wakes up from his depressed and vacant retirement, hell-bent on preventing that from happening.
Brady Hartsfield lives with his alcoholic mother in the house where he was born. And he’s preparing to kill again.
Only Hodges, with a couple of misfit friends, can apprehend the killer in this high-stakes race against time. Because Brady’s next mission, if it succeeds, will kill or maim hundreds, even thousands.
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Stephen King, never disappointing. Enough said.
Another page-turner from Stephen King. Difficult subject matter but brilliantly written. Couldn’t put it down.
Stephen King in crime fiction mode. The first book of the Bill Hodges trilogy. A great read.
This is the first book of a three book series about a retired policeman. All three books are worth reading. The characters are likeable and the story is well written. Truly a page turner.
Loved it
One of his best (they are Legion). I am still angry about the ending of his bad doggie novel, but no one writes children better. He can be depended upon for a good novel and in this household we believe he is the modern Dickens (we loved The Green Mile). The Body and Ten O’clock People are two of my favorite stories. He should be considered literary, because he writes so much better than many who are in that category.
I like this book so much I downloaded the audio book to hear the story read to me so I could enjoy it all over again. I love this whole 3 part story. I would definitely recommend it. The characters really felt like my friends at the end. I could help but root for them to win.
Stephen King creates great characters, especially bad guys, and doen’t Pull any punches in his story-telling. This book is a quick read, with some horrific shocks built in, and with an ending which is just about believable. Well worth the read.
Stephen King can write a damned good mystery, when he puts his mind to it. This is an excellent example.
Stephen King is the all time best writer; his characters are the most memorable of any other books I have read. You remember his stories for years. I am re-reading all the Gunslinger series for the 3rd time. It’s his story line and his characters, it’s never about horror or gore, that’s a part of it of course. For example, my favorite all time Stephen King is “It”. I know the advertising, the clown, the new movie coming out so scary, yes it is but it’s the group of misfit kids that I love love love and those same kids are older and in his 11/22/63. He is the best!
As previously stated, the entire trilogy is awesome.
I’ve been a lifelong fan of Stephen King’s work and I especially enjoy his detours from traditional horror (Joyland and Under the Dome are two of my recent favorites of his). Mr. Mercedes is something different for Mr. King– a traditional mystery featuring Bill Hodges, a retired (and depressed) police detective who feels like the best years are behind him, and an unusual group of quirky sidekicks who help Bill return to the work that he loves.
The plot revolves around a killer who has eluded police for over a year. It’s a believable tale grounded in the here and now of life in suburbia during a depressed economy. King takes us inside the head of the killer in that creepy way only he can and though there’s nothing supernatural about the story, there are plenty of scares along the way. This is Stephen King at his very best– having fun and keeping us guessing and we can see King in Bill Hodges, reinventing himself, getting the blood pumping for another round of excitement. Detective (retired) Bill Hodges is a terrific character for King to explore and returns in the sequels Finders Keepers and End of Watch.
King gives his readers a change of pace from horror with this realistic crime story. Loved the action, the pace, and the way King draws me into his stories. I recommend all three of this triology’s books.
This series opened strong and kept me reading. Between buried treasure, twisted psychos, and the endearing and damaged cast of protagonists, there’s something for everyone who loves a good crime thriller.
The twist here is witnessing Mr. King write a straightforward thriller with no supernatural entities, AND hit the nail right on the head. This is why he’s the King.
The master of story telling strikes again!! I instantly fell in love with the characters, the story line, the whole book!! If you love a good mystery, thriller and some gory details then you will love this book.
I just finished this book and wow! it was amazing. The first half was a little slow paced, but the second half just flew by. This was one of those books that made me very tense as I read it. The alternating viewpoints between the detective and the murderer made it all the more exciting. Upon finishing I immediately wanted to read the sequel. Like all of Stephen King’s books, the writing feels very dense to me, very descriptive. This is pure detective story with no paranormal element to it. I highly recommend it.
This book will keep you reading WAY past your bedtime. This isn’t a horror story, or that of the supernatural, but of people who become connected because of deeply disturbed man who wreaks havok in the early morning hours of a job fair. I may be biased, seeing as SK is my favorite writer, but this one is one of his best. Suspense as only Steven King can write it.
I’ve been on a serious Stephen King kick for the last few months, and Mr. Mercedes is one of my new favorites.
Protagonist and retired detective Bill Hodges is relatable, memorable, and likable, and it’s easy to root for him. When he receives a letter in the mail from the Mercedes Killer, whose case Bill was in charge of as a cop, Bill’s determined to find the criminal who eluded him years before. Jerome, Janie, and Holly — great characters who mostly all return for the sequel, Finders Keepers — have to help Bill track down killer Brady Hartsfield… before he commits another mass murder.
A captivating, page-turning read with creepy, realistic elements sure to stay with you long after you’ve finished the book.
This was an amazing book. I loved that this was something that could easily happen in real life. The antagonist was well rounded and it was like a mystery instead of King’s normal horror.