2 Book Lovers Reviews

Mr. Mercedes

(The Bill Hodges Trilogy #1) 

By Stephen King

I’ve been a fan of Stephen King’s work since I was a youngster.  It’s funny how Stephen King has built up his fan base, the movies based on his books probably earn him as many fans as the books themselves.  I’ll even admit, I think I’ve seen more of the movies than I’ve read his books.  Mr. Mercedes is more of a police procedural/thriller than the horror that I am accustomed to reading from Stephen King.

I always find, no matter the genre, the protagonist is the number one factor in the book.  If the protagonist is mediocre – the story is mediocre.  Bill Hodges is a fascinating character; Brady Hartsfield is equally as fascinating.  These two adversaries quickly pulled me into the story and never let me go.  Stephen King has given his readers, not one, but two deeply flawed characters.  Bill and Brady have more in common than they would like to admit, and they are still polar opposites of one another.  This makesMr. Mercedes.

I really don’t think that I need to say that Mr. Mercedes was well written.  For a book of this size it just flew by.  I read the bulk of it sitting on my back deck, and before I knew it, the sun was setting and it was time to fire up the BBQ.  I was so immersed in the story that I completely lost track of time.

Mr. Mercedes did have some elements that I’ve seen elsewhere.  My son and I had a discussion about some elements that are in another series that we both enjoy; I’m not saying that Stephen King has stolen any ideas, these are just great elements that make these types of stories better.  And with all of the times that I had to interrupt my wife’s reading to read her a great quote from Mr. Mercedes, I have no choice but to give it five stars!

*5 Stars

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