Ratings391
Average rating3.9
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 Hartfield 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.
Featured Series
3 primary booksBill Hodges Trilogy is a 3-book series with 3 released primary works first released in 2014 with contributions by Stephen King.
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Stephen King is usually praised for his supernatural horror. I may be a bit of an odd one out here, but I prefer King when he stays away from the supernatural. Mr Mercedes is atypical King in that it is ultimately a police procedural type story. There is no supernatural horror (although psychological horror is used) and that gives this story a horrifying believability that cuts through.
Mr Mercedes is a mass murderer. He drove a car through a crowd just to feel what it feels like and got away with it. The policeman who was assigned to his case (Bill Hodges) has since retired, leaving the killer feeling unfulfilled - he wanted the chase and now he is not getting it. He now tries to lure the detective out of retirement - with deadly and dangerous repercussions.
This is a very good crime novel. It really grasps the importance of the psychological battle between the perpetrator and the detective. The cat and mouse really is played with to a superb degree. At this stage this is probably my favourite King novel!
I haven't read a lot of Stephen King, but I do like mysteries. He has mastered the formula and included a few surprises along the way. This one is just for fun.
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