Mr. Mercedes, Stephen King

Title: Mr. Mercedes
Author(s): Stephen King
Series: Bill Hodges trilogy #1
No. of pages: 424
Genre: Crime thriller
Publication date: June 3rd 2014
Date read: April 23rd 2018

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Blurb

In the frigid pre-dawn hours, in a distressed Midwestern city, 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 two new, unusual 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.
(Goodreads)

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Review

I’ve waited a long time before reading this book (not intentional), although many people loved it and recommended it. So, I was very happy I pulled it out of my TBR jar in March for my April TBR! And man, people were RIGHT!

Although Mr. Mercedes is not a horror story, it’s still very King. In my opinion, only King can create a villain so absolutely mental. Most criminals in crime thrillers are crazy, but Brady just plain disgusted me from time to time, which at the same time made me love him as a villain. Not only is King a master in creating villains, he’s also a master in character development. The characters, as you get to know them at the start, are so very different from the characters that the story ends with. The main characters (Brady aside) follow a path on which they evolve in more brave persons. And where Brady is this mysterious calculated killer at the start, he too evolves, but instead in something that you pity. I will definitely remember Hodges, Jerome, Brady and Holly for a very long time!

Reading Mr. Mercedes made me quite uncomfortable from time to time. Mainly because Brady’s crimes are so very actual and describe events that have happened in the recent past and are still happening unfortunately. It made me uncomfortable, because it was so real.

Many people said that they liked the second book in the trilogy best, so of course that got me very curious and I can’t wait to dive into it! I may even just add it to my May TBR!