Finders Keepers by Stephen King

Finders Keepers (Bill Hodges Trilogy, #2)

by Stephen King

1978: Meet Morris Bellamy the man who robs the safe of America's most famous reclusive writer John Rothstein. But it isn't just the money he is interested in. Morrie is obsessed by the author's notebooks and is prepared to kill the author for them.

2009: Meet young Pete Saubers whose father was knocked down by an out-of-control Mercedes in a job line-up. When he discovers a buried trunk of money and notebooks of a famous writer, he has the means to rescue his family from poverty. If he can keep it secret.

2013: Morrie is up for parole. And he's hell-bent on recovering the notebooks.

That's when retired detective Bill Hodges - who has set up a company called FINDERS KEEPERS -discovers the scheme.

FINDERS KEEPERS is spectacular suspense. It is also King writing about how literature shapes a life - for good, for bad, for ever.

Nominated for the Audio Publisher's Association Audio Award 2016 for Best Male Narrator (Will Patton).

(P)2015 Simon & Schuster

Reviewed by kimbacaffeinate on

4 of 5 stars

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While King is the indisputable king of horror, I am quite enjoying his foray into crime thrillers, and his descriptive creepiness finds its way into Finders Keepers.

The tale stems around a man obsessed by the works of author John Rothstein and that of his famous character Jimmy Gold. Our villain idolized this character; one could even say he is obsessed.
When the author stopped writing about Jimmy and in Morris's opinion "sold out the character" Morris kills him. He then ransacks the authors' home and steals not only cash but also a treasure trove of unpublished works including some Jimmy Gold novels. Imagine Gollum and “my precious” and you will have an indication of Morris and his obsession.

Morris hides his “precious” and ends up being locked away for another crime. Thoughts of his treasure trove are the only thing that keeps him from losing his mind. Almost a decade later Peter Saubers discovers the treasure trove when its needed the most. When Morris is released and goes searching for his "precious,"  it is up to Bill, Holly and Jerome to stop this angry, obsessed man.

King did a wonderful job fleshing out Morris and Peter. The first three-fourths of the novel are spent going back and forth between them and I quickly found myself caught up in their stories. Morris gave me the chills and King did such a wonderful job of capturing his deranged personality. We see glimpses of Bill and the gang but they felt more like commercials between until the last one-forth of the story. I felt for Peter and held my breath as the their story-lines began to merge.

The intensity of the story increased when Bill, Holly and Jerome entered the picture. At this point, I could not stop listening. I know not everyone has warmed up to Bill and the others, but I adore them. They are quirky, fleshed out and exactly what I have come to expect from King. I think Will really brought them to life with his narration. Holly is a genius, albeit a weird one and her quirky mannerisms and logical tones had me giggle. Bill is an old school detective and I love his commentary.

The case wrapped up with a satisfying conclusion as King set us up for the final book and I am excited to see what happens. Fans of King and crime thrillers will find themselves caught up in Finders Keepers. Are you going on a road trip this summer? Than grab the audio, Will Patton does an excellent job. I love his speaking voice to begin with and he rocks this series.

Audio provided by publisher. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Book Reviewer

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 12 June, 2015: Finished reading
  • 12 June, 2015: Reviewed