Read of the Town: Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King

Stephen King has been on a role lately! Especially since his books in the last year I have been able to read. Specifically Joyland that came out last Summer. Since then he's also written the sequel to The Shining, which fans of the book and the movie I'm sure were excited to get their hands on. And now he's back with a book that's shorter than his usual 600+ page novels!

Let me start by discussing the cover. It's pretty freaking awesome! I love a good umbrella and what would be better than an having an umbrella shield you from blood falling like rain and a smiley face on the handle?! Yeah, NOTHING! They say don't judge a book by its cover, but in this case, because it's Stephen King I will be judging this book by its cover and expecting nothing less than a thrill ride like only he can give us.

I tend not to read his 600+ page novels, not because of the length, but because when you devote that kind of length of time to the crazy world of Stephen King, you can come out the other side forever changed. Of course everyone reads a book differently, but most who read tend to put themselves into the shoes of the main character (or their favorite character) in order to better immerse themselves in the world the novel creates. If it's a good novel then that is easily achievable and there is something about the way Stephen King writes that that is ALWAYS easy to do! Therefore, if I read a novel of his that is 600+ pages, like I did YEARS ago with Needful Things, when I'm done, I feel like I need a full year of comedy television and humor novels to rescue me from the depths to which I was taken!

So yeah, shorter Stephen King novels, although by most novel standards I'm sure 448 is still pretty lengthy, is much more manageable on my mind and soul! How do you feel about his earlier novels versus his latest? Is he getting better with the fear or becoming tamer? I have my own theory, which I will share after I've read Mr. Mercedes!

Synopsis:

In a mega-stakes, high-suspense race against time, three of the most unlikely and winning heroes Stephen King has ever created try to stop a lone killer from blowing up thousands.

In the frigid pre-dawn hours, in a distressed Midwestern city, hundreds of desperate unemployed folks are lined up for a spot at a job fair. Without warning, a lone driver plows through the crowd in a stolen Mercedes, running over the innocent, backing up, and charging again. Eight people are killed; fifteen are wounded. The killer escapes.

In another part of town, months later, a retired cop named Bill Hodges is still haunted by the unsolved crime. When he gets a crazed letter from someone who self-identifies as the “perk” and threatens an even more diabolical attack, Hodges wakes up from his depressed and vacant retirement, hell-bent on preventing another tragedy.

Brady Hartsfield lives with his alcoholic mother in the house where he was born. He loved the feel of death under the wheels of the Mercedes, and he wants that rush again. Only Bill Hodges, with a couple of highly unlikely allies, can apprehend the killer before he strikes again. And they have no time to lose, because Brady’s next mission, if it succeeds, will kill or maim thousands.

Mr. Mercedes is a war between good and evil, from the master of suspense whose insight into the mind of this obsessed, insane killer is chilling and unforgettable.