memydogandbooks's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
4.5 ⭐️ dark crime thriller from the King!
SYNOPSIS:
"An eleven-year-old boy’s violated corpse is found in a town park. Eyewitnesses and fingerprints point unmistakably to one of Flint City’s most popular citizens. He is Terry Maitland, Little League coach, English teacher, husband, and father of two girls. Detective Ralph Anderson, whose son Maitland once coached, orders a quick and very public arrest. Maitland has an alibi, but Anderson and the district attorney soon add DNA evidence to go with the fingerprints and witnesses. Their case seems ironclad.
As the investigation expands and horrifying answers begin to emerge, King’s propulsive story kicks into high gear, generating strong tension and almost unbearable suspense. Terry Maitland seems like a nice guy, but is he wearing another face? When the answer comes, it will shock you as only Stephen King can."
MY THOUGHTS:
🧍🏻♂️ From the very beginning this starts with the brutal discovery of a murdered boy, which is dark and graphic (and thus not for everyone) from the outset. But it gripped me as I am a HUGE fan of dark dark thrillers.
🧍🏻♂️ The first part of this book feels like a disturbing crime thriller and then in true King style takes a twist you may/may not expect pending if you've ever read King before. I mean I never expected the twist per se but the kinda twist wasn't a surprise.
🧍🏻♂️ I LOVED the two main characters Holly* (from Mr. Mercedes/Bill Hodges Trilogy) and the investigating officer, Ralph, they made a great duo in this thriller.
🧍🏻♂️King's writing, I LOVE it, love it, love it. He has an outstanding ability to write about human nature that I connect with whilst often always having social commentary. As well as just his ability to write about normal day-to-day life in a captivating way.
🧍🏻♂️ In this book the social commentary is very much about our quick-to-judge society, and to believe the unbelievable as it's even more believable than... (well I cannot say! that would be a spoiler).
🧍🏻♂️ This book is dark, unsettling, disturbing, and horrifying but utterly gripping, poignant, with amazing characters and I could not put it down.
I highly recommend this book if you love dark thrillers (like Karin Slaughter's dark) but with a twist and have enjoyed books/movies like IT.
I also highly recommend the HBO tv adaptation of this, it's brilliant.
*This book contains spoilers to the Bill Hodges Trilogy due to the fact one of the key characters in this series (Holly) features. Also sooooo excited to know that King's new book this year is all about Holly as she is an awesome character.
SYNOPSIS:
"An eleven-year-old boy’s violated corpse is found in a town park. Eyewitnesses and fingerprints point unmistakably to one of Flint City’s most popular citizens. He is Terry Maitland, Little League coach, English teacher, husband, and father of two girls. Detective Ralph Anderson, whose son Maitland once coached, orders a quick and very public arrest. Maitland has an alibi, but Anderson and the district attorney soon add DNA evidence to go with the fingerprints and witnesses. Their case seems ironclad.
As the investigation expands and horrifying answers begin to emerge, King’s propulsive story kicks into high gear, generating strong tension and almost unbearable suspense. Terry Maitland seems like a nice guy, but is he wearing another face? When the answer comes, it will shock you as only Stephen King can."
MY THOUGHTS:
🧍🏻♂️ From the very beginning this starts with the brutal discovery of a murdered boy, which is dark and graphic (and thus not for everyone) from the outset. But it gripped me as I am a HUGE fan of dark dark thrillers.
🧍🏻♂️ The first part of this book feels like a disturbing crime thriller and then in true King style takes a twist you may/may not expect pending if you've ever read King before. I mean I never expected the twist per se but the kinda twist wasn't a surprise.
🧍🏻♂️ I LOVED the two main characters Holly* (from Mr. Mercedes/Bill Hodges Trilogy) and the investigating officer, Ralph, they made a great duo in this thriller.
🧍🏻♂️King's writing, I LOVE it, love it, love it. He has an outstanding ability to write about human nature that I connect with whilst often always having social commentary. As well as just his ability to write about normal day-to-day life in a captivating way.
🧍🏻♂️ In this book the social commentary is very much about our quick-to-judge society, and to believe the unbelievable as it's even more believable than... (well I cannot say! that would be a spoiler).
🧍🏻♂️ This book is dark, unsettling, disturbing, and horrifying but utterly gripping, poignant, with amazing characters and I could not put it down.
I highly recommend this book if you love dark thrillers (like Karin Slaughter's dark) but with a twist and have enjoyed books/movies like IT.
I also highly recommend the HBO tv adaptation of this, it's brilliant.
*This book contains spoilers to the Bill Hodges Trilogy due to the fact one of the key characters in this series (Holly) features. Also sooooo excited to know that King's new book this year is all about Holly as she is an awesome character.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Murder, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, and Body horror
f3rn_'s review against another edition
Ok this might be controversial but…
Stephen King books kinda suck. His concepts make better movies and TV than books. What should be 1 sentence is like 10+. He’s painfully descriptive to the point where it’s like….. get to the point. Get to the story, dude. I’m done torturing myself trying to like his books.
Stephen King books kinda suck. His concepts make better movies and TV than books. What should be 1 sentence is like 10+. He’s painfully descriptive to the point where it’s like….. get to the point. Get to the story, dude. I’m done torturing myself trying to like his books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape and Murder
wrxtacy's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
My raw CAWPILE score: 7.57
Full review to come...
Full review to come...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Pedophilia, Gore, Mental illness, Violence, Sexual violence, Murder, Gun violence, Death, Blood, Child death, and Child abuse
chloevienna's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
i had fun with this book, but didn’t find it to be anything incredible. the only other king i’ve read is the girl who loved tom gordon, and i thought that was far superior. this had some eerie descriptions, but nothing ever truly scared me or got under my skin like i hoped it would when i started this book. i enjoyed the characters and core ideas, but feel this had too much going on for its own good; it was somewhat convoluted and hard to follow at times. it was a fairly easy read and i enjoyed the experience, but i can’t say i’d confidently recommend it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/injury detail, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Animal death
dark_221b's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Child death, Gore, and Murder
leligavi's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Body horror, Cannibalism, Murder, and Child death
Moderate: Cursing
ccpetrikas's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Rape, Suicide attempt, Pedophilia, Murder, Child abuse, Torture, Suicide, Gore, and Child death
amberlouiseking's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I especially loved the character Holly, and her ability to enlighten the other characters about the truth of the murderer.
Spoiler
The only thing that disappointed me was how fast the ending was, all it took to defeat the shapeshifter was a hit to the head. There should’ve been more of an epic fight sequence and we should’ve learnt more about the character, like how they came to be, and why they did it
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Rape
Moderate: Child death and Death
lpdx's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Injury/injury detail, Murder, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Blood, Cannibalism, Child death, Pedophilia, Suicide, Violence, Sexual assault, Body horror, Child abuse, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, and Death
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Alcoholism
Minor: Cancer, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Vomit
bartlebies's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I would die for Holly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Sexual violence, Gore, Murder, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Torture, Rape, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, and Violence