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Title: Mr Mercedes
Title: Mr Mercedes
Series:
Bill Hodges #1
Author:
Stephen King
Rating:
3 of 5 Stars
Genre:
Thriller
Pages:
449
Format:
Digital Edition
|
Synopsis: Spoilers!! |
A madman runs through a crowd of jobseekers, using a stolen Mercedes. He is never caught and the detective in charge, Bill Hodges, retires and always regrets that he never caught Mr Mercedes.
Then
Mr Mercedes sends a letter to Bill, taunting him. And the chase is
on. Mr Mercedes wants to break Hodges and make him commit suicide
while Hodges wants to catch Mr Mercedes. Other people get involved.
Things get personal for Hodges with the death of a lady friend. Mr
Mercedes decides to go out with a bang at a teeny bopper concert put
on by the nations latest and greatest boyband.
Hodges,
with help, prevails and Brady, aka Mr Mercedes, ends up in a coma.
* very
weak cheering *
Yay...?
|
My Thoughts: Spoilers!! |
Did a buddy read of
this with BookCupidity.
Unfortunately, due to life circumstances, BC wasn't able to
participate as much as hoped in the back and forth. However, I was
able to do a couple of updates as I read this, so this review is
pretty much a compilation of those updates.
First, and most
importantly in my mind, there is NOTHING supernatural going on in
this book. This is just a detective thriller about chasing a madman
who is halfway intelligent. I read King, once a year in October, for
his supernatural, other worldly, stuff. So that was a huge
disappointment for me.
Second, the whole
relationship between Brady the villain and his drunk mom. It was
incestuous and while they never actually had sex, it was clear that
they toed that line. It turned my stomach. Also, being inside Brady's
mind was not a pleasant experience nor was it one I ever wish to
repeat. Which leads into the next point.
Third. I am done
with King now. Every year I vacillate about whether I'll keep reading
him. He can write a heck of a story. He draws me in every time and
makes the characters and situations come to life. But this? It was
just filthy and disgusting and I am done using my brain as a filter
for that kind of thing. In some ways that is a relief, as I don't
have to wonder every year what I'll be exposing myself to in my next
King read, but there is also a tinge of regret as I know that King
has some great stories that I probably would have really enjoyed. But
there are things that are not worth desensitizing myself to just for
entertainments sake.
And the ending,
where Brady wakes up from his coma, caused by being bashed in the
head multiple times to prevent him from blowing the plastic
explosives at the concert, was just lame. That should have happened
in the 3rd chapter and he is then possessed by
supernatural powers and Hodges goes toe to toe with Evil Incarnate.
THAT is what I expect from a King book. This was like a weak version
of the Strawmen
Trilogy by Michael Marshall, in tone.
★★★☆☆
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