Reviews tagging 'Mass/school shootings'

Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King

10 reviews

jourdanicus's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? It's complicated

4.5

This was a good King for me. Not a perfect 5, cuz I still find it hard to get past some things with him, like the whole including a Black character who is really smart and Ivy League-bound... but still uses AAVE in reference to the 'chores' he does for his adult white friend as a 'joke' because that's funny right? Steve, I get that you're the King of Horror (pun intended); does that preclude you from hiring sensitivity readers?

I actually thought his representation of Holly's neurodivergence was pretty well done though. And I laughingly wondered whether the feds have Stephen on some sort of list for how much he must have researched explosives and strychnine for this one?! Brady is probably one of the most creepily realistic portrayals of a domestic terrorist and psychopath I've read in fiction thus far.

Anyways, Jerome 4ever. Holly 4ever too. Looking forward to finishing the Bill Hodges trilogy and moving on to the Holly trilogy!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent

Moderate: Cursing, Incest, Mental illness, Sexual content, Violence, Mass/school shootings, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, and Fatphobia

celina246's review against another edition

dark tense medium-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

4.75

if you came here looking for a SK book because you're familiar with his work, you probably know what to expect. if you aren't - it's an excellent crime thriller, grabs you and doesn't let go til the end. but it's a veeery dark ride, full of gore and hatred and some racism and shock value (only thing stopping me from giving it a 5), so proceed with caution.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Car accident, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Lesbophobia

Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Vomit, Antisemitism, and Classism

eadrianschmitz's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I don't like the way he writes about the female characters, and if you can get over the unrealistic progression of the plot, it's a pretty good story. Two minor things from the first scene that drove me crazy: Costco doesn't have bags, misuse of the term "baby mama". Can recommend audiobook. Great narrator.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

I don't like the way he writes about the female characters, and if you can get over the unrealistic progression of the plot, it's a pretty good story. Two minor things from the first scene that drove me crazy: Costco doesn't have bags, misuse of the term "baby mama". Can recommend audiobook. Great narrator.

jonssweater's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Dementia, Lesbophobia, and Classism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Drug use, Pedophilia, Vomit, Antisemitism, and Fire/Fire injury

ashsupahfire's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

My first SK read. Always been familiar with his work but realized I never read a full book. So of course I was shocked by how often the n word and other slurs were dropped. When I looked it up, his fans proclaimed he HAD to do it to show how the bad guy was really the bad guy. A mass murderer who has a sexual relationship with his mother needs to be racist to show he’s bad? Feels like a weird cop out because SK presents himself as so lib that he can’t be accountable for racist acts. 

Anyway, as far as thrillers go, halfway through is when I got hooked. Took me day to finish the first half as I kept putting the book down. I just finished the second half after work because I couldn’t put the book down. Some predictable turns but entertaining nonetheless. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Vomit, Mass/school shootings, Car accident, and Murder

jasmine256's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Racial slurs, Mass/school shootings, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts

kileyjojo's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Not one of King’s best but I enjoyed this thriller. There were definitely parts that felt overdone and tired but King’s style is amusing and kept me intrigued throughout. I’m thinking of revisiting it just to see if I still can be surprised by it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Mass/school shootings, and Murder

yodamordecai's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-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

This was a nice easy read. The last 50 pages were some of the most tense and enthralling I have ever read, which  bumped this up from a solid 3.5 to a 4.5. There is some stuff that doesn’t really make sense, like why is this seventeen year old with a healthy social life spending so much time with his elderly neighbor? Stephen King also doesn’t really understand computers and it show. If you can overlook some of that stuff, you’ll have a really good time with this.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Incest, Racial slurs, Mass/school shootings, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Minor: Sexual content

theimposter's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Mass/school shootings, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal cruelty

latham9's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Hate crime, Incest, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, and Death of parent

Moderate: Stalking

Minor: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Pedophilia, and Mass/school shootings