REVIEW: Mr. Mercedes

A novel by Stephen King

Fans of the TV shows Criminal Minds and C.S.I. will thoroughly enjoy Mr. Mercedes. This is the first hard-boiled detective novel written by Stephen King, the renowned author of the horror genre. King sets his novel in present day with flashbacks to the recession and a single event: the day a Mercedes sedan plows into a line of unemployed people waiting to get into a job fair. The driver isn’t caught and the head detective on the case, William Hodges, retires. Time passes, and one day he gets a letter in the mail from the killer. It’s a taunting missive that brings the 64-year-old out of retirement to work as a private investigator.

The story is told in alternate viewpoints between Hodges and Brady Hartsfield, the driver of the Mercedes who is longing to do something on a much larger scale this time. King’s writing keeps the reader on his toes. One is constantly left wondering if Hodges will catch up to Hartsfield in time, or if the killer will be successful. Mr. Mercedes is the first in a trilogy of mystery thrillers. While this is not the genre Stephen King usually makes camp in, he definitely does it justice in his own way.

— Codie Smith, John’s Island Regional Library, John’s Island, S.C.

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