Now an HBO limited series starring Ben Mendelsohn! Evil has many faces…maybe even yours in this #1 New York Times bestseller from master storyteller Stephen King. An eleven-year-old boy’s violated corpse is discovered in a town park. Eyewitnesses and fingerprints point unmistakably to one of Flint City’s most popular citizens–Terry Maitland, Little League coach, English teacher, husband, … League coach, English teacher, husband, and father of two girls. Detective Ralph Anderson, whose son Maitland once coached, orders a quick and very public arrest. Maitland has an alibi, but Anderson and the district attorney soon have DNA evidence to go with the fingerprints and witnesses. Their case seems ironclad.
As the investigation expands and horrifying details begin to emerge, King’s story kicks into high gear, generating strong tension and almost unbearable suspense. Terry Maitland seems like a nice guy, but is he wearing another face? When the answer comes, it will shock you as only Stephen King can.
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Typically and wonderfully Stephen King!
Classic King! This book starts with a horrendous crime that only the King could think up and then describe in such fine detail that it will make you squirm. Then, here comes the good guys and the bad guys with all their personality quirks that Stephen King is so good at creating. His love of baseball comes shining through when he makes Terry Maitland, the first good man down, a pop-warner coach. Eventually, the matrix he draws his readers into is strewn with colorful language, lots of a slimy, sperm-like substance, and, of course, a mystery that can only be solved by believing in a supernatural predator that he calls El Cuco. This book is creepy, fun, scary good, and will leave you not wanting to turn the lights off when you go to bed for a while…everything that we demand from Mr. King. Good job!
As a big Steven king fan, I of course loved this book. Maybe not the first of his series to read if you’re just getting in to Kings work. Also don’t read it to your kids. But if you love horror and psych thrillers, and love a dark tale this is the perfect book
Sadly, not Uncle Stevie’s best work. Feels forced. Started off as a great whodunnit, but ended up with Deus ex Machine supernatural stuff that made no sense.
scary,tragic…. I LOVED IT!!!!!! EEEEEEE
This book is terrifying and gripping all at the same time. Typical Stephen King.
I really loved this book!
Loved the twists and turns!
Another great story from the master.
It’s been a few months since I read a King novel (the last one was “Elevation” which was excellent). I consider “The Outsider” classic King but with an added benefit: the ending was satisfying! With many of King’s books, the story hooks me with relatable characters that draw me in, only for everything to fall apart in the end. That didn’t happen with “The Outsider” (“Elevation” ended well too). I don’t know if King is outlining his novels more or partially (historically he admits to freewriting being the best way to write), but whatever he is doing, his later books have endings that feel more satisfying. This is important. A reader wants to be entertained all the way through and be presented with an ending that sums everything up and respects the time the reader took getting there. The story did remind me of another substantial King book, but I will keep that to myself. Perhaps you’ll see the connections. Anyway, I recommend this book.
Audible will promptly trash my review as soon as I return this audiobook, but I can still warn my Bookbubs peeps here: read this novel, do not listen, if you must do anything at all with it.
I beg of you, buy the book, NOT Will Patton’s audio performance. I suffered so others may avoid the same fate. Will Patton’s narration is TERRIBLE, DREADFUL, and altogether AWFUL in this 4th in the Bill Hodges “trilogy”. Patton’s portrayal of Holly, who you’ll only know if you read/listened to said trilogy (a dependency which no marketing for this novel seems to mention), is so bad it’s not even laughable. Think Luna Lovegood, only less less dreamy and more robotic. As painful as it was to power through The Outsider on audio, truth be told I probably wouldn’t have loved the written word much either.
Stephen King did an excellent job of tying the lack of understanding of a “natural” serial killer to the lack of understanding of a supernatural killer, so we could make that leap of faith into believing the unbelievable. But once the Holly character was introduced, the story went from provocative to humdrum.
For Stephen King it was a little predictable
I hated to put this book down and hated to see it end. I was enthralled from beginning to end. But, then I love Stephen King’s imagination and way with words.
One of my favorite King books! Love that it kept me on the edge of my seat wanting more.
Started out in a CSI perspective, and then turns into…
I can’t say without giving away the plot.
Another Steven King novel.
Super duper cool
I went into this book with pretty high expectations. I have only read one of King’s books in the past, and that was well over twenty years ago. However, King is known for twisting your mind, creeping you out, and overall giving you a horror experience like no other. I was all-in, hoping to get all of the above.
It’s hard for me to rate and review this book. I am big on reviewing based on the words in the book, not the author. This is the first time I have been totally conflicted. Based on what is expected from the author, I would have given this three stars instead of four. But because I need to stick to my usual, I gave it four because it’s a really good book, just not a really good Stephen King book.
The first half of this book had me turning the pages, unable to put it down. I didn’t know the characters well since I haven’t read the series that this connects to, but that didn’t take from my reading experience. I jumped in feet first and hit the ground running. I got to know the characters well enough to be invested in their plites.
The plot started out strong. Then it fell a little. It began to drag some. I was still all-in, but by three quarters of the way in, I was just hoping to get to the end. This seems to happen a lot with longer books. It’s not easy to keep the reader fully invested in such a long, drawn out story. I am admitting, I did waver in interest from time to time in the second half.
Some big pluses for me in this book were the times I found myself cringing. There were some descriptions in the book where I almost lost my lunch. Huge plus for me. It’s what I expected, so I was pleased to get what I had hoped for. The twists and turns in this book might not have been mind boggling, but they fit the plot and made it more interesting.
Overall, this was a well written book. It was definitely worth the read. And it didn’t take me nearly as long as I expected to read it. I did falter in the ending. It did drag some. And the VERY end confused me. If you’ve read it, you might know what I mean. If you end up reading it, you will see what I mean. For a thriller reader, it’s definitely worth a read!
typical King…GREAT READ
This book was like a roller coaster for me. Suspenseful. I just kept turning the page to try to figure out how a person is able to be at 2 places at the same time.