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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This was the ultimate nightmare, being accused of a crime you didn’t commit, but witnesses swear you’re guilty. This is Stephen King at his best. I couldn’t read this at night unless I wanted to have a sleepless night.
Wow. This book reeled me in right away, kept me turning pages into the night. The story follows a community coach and high school teacher who is charged with the horrific murder of a child. His fingerprints are everywhere and witnesses claim to have seen him that day near the scene of the crime. But he wasn’t there, was in a teacher conference in another town. The big question that keeps you reading is how can a man be in two places at once? And just when you think it might be one thing, King steers you in another direction. I loved the writing too – there’s one scene between the cop and his supervisor discussing metaphors that’s remarkable dialogue. If you love suspense, don’t miss this one. I can’t stop thinking about it.
Let me start by saying I am READING The Outsider by Mr. King. Found it hard to put it down to do this preliminary review. Get your copy today. You won’t be disappointed, especially you Stephen King fans.
This is a frustrating read for the majority of the book. An impossible situation is at the center of it, and it remains impossible for far too long. Many of the characters inhabit a world where Stephen King-ish occurences are not to be considered, and that gives the book a wrong feel. Partially redeemed by the late (very) entry of the proprietress of the Finders Keepers detective agency from the FK trilogy. She’s a wonderful character, but it’s too little, too late.
As you’d expect from Stephen King, a great story that grabs you and keeps you wanting more!
Great book. On the order of King’s “Mr Mercedes” series even had one of the characters. Not a horror book but very surprising.
I’ve read most of King, and liked this one a lot. It seemed like it was a bit too easy to kill the demon in the end, but I’m picky about that. Overall, it was a great read.
I flubbed in downloading this book. “The Outsider” begins as a crackling good crime whodunit. A school boy is brutalized and killed and the accused killer’s DNA is everywhere. The only problem is: he’s got an ironclad alibi 70 miles away, and there’s gobs of his DNA there too. Fingerprints, video of him in a hotel ballroom, work associates who will vouch. It was such a fascinating set-up and I was zipping right along, riveted.
Oops. The whole story slides into a supernatural explanation, and even though it’s decently interesting, for me the story kind of disintegrated right there. King does inject some elements of horror – that’s his specialty, after all – but in this case, once you open the door to the otherworldly, there’s not much mystery left.
Okay, it’s my own fault for bringing such expectations to Page One. In “The Green Mile,” the reader knows going in that John Coffey is a miracle man with healing power. That’s the magic of the whole story. Here it seems like a convenient escape route when a story doesn’t have any other plausible finish to it.
Billy Bob Thornton as Jack Hoskins? :>)
Overall this was a great story that kept me reading, but some parts felt a little long-winded. I enjoyed seeing Holly Gibney back in action!!
I love the creepiness and the guessing at the end
It’s Stephen King what’s not to like? Different from his usual scary horror stories. This book tells the background history of the story then gets into the scary stuff. A good book worth reading.
It is a great horror fiction book. I also recommend the movie.
This in one of my top read in 2018. One of the best of the recent King works. starts out as a great crime/investigation thriller with great character development and of course per usual Kings greatness a supernatural component develops. I loved it
Enjoyed this book! Definite page turner! Had to keep reading to find out what was happening!
Not as scary as I had hoped. Story was pretty predictable and not his best.
The story has an interesting premise that is typical Steven King. It’s a page turner because it’s hard to figure out how the story line will gat to the ending.
Welcome back Stephen King, I have been missing your good old way of building a story and not being predictable.
Not his best.
Who doesn’t love King? This is a remarkable book that I couldn’t put down