Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King

Mr. Mercedes (Bill Hodges Trilogy, #1)

by Stephen King

The stolen Mercedes emerges from the pre-dawn fog and plows through a crowd of men and women on line for a job fair in a distressed American city. Then the lone driver backs up, charges again, and speeds off, leaving eight dead and more wounded. The case goes unsolved and ex-cop Bill Hodges is out of hope when he gets a letter from a man who loved the feel of death under the Mercedes’s wheels Brady Hartsfield wants that rush again, but this time he’s going big, with an attack that would take down thousands—unless Hodges and two new unusual allies he picks up along the way can throw a wrench in Hartsfield’s diabolical plans.

~from back cover

Reviewed by kimbacaffeinate on

4 of 5 stars

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I am a die-hard Stephen King fan and have been since I was a teenager. I love his quirky characters, vivid imagination and his ability to pull me into the story. Recently I have been enjoying audio books and snagged Mr. Mercedes on audio when I saw the narrator was Will Patton. Mr. Mercedes was brilliant mystery crime thriller with an eclectic cast of characters who intrigued me as much as solving the case. I laughed, cringed and gave myself over to the audio.

The tale opens with an unthinkable, seemingly random crime that has horrific consequences and King had me hooked. The crime goes unsolved and is one of a handful that plagues now retired cop Bill Hodges. He sits in his home day after day watching a regiment of daily talk shows, fondling his gun, and contemplating suicide. When the mail falls through his door he finds a letter from someone identifying themselves as Mr. Mercedes. He is threatening another attack  and it springs Bill out of his depression and back on the case. He enlists his neighborhood friend, Jerome to aid him, and picks up other help along the way.

The tale that unfolds in Mr. Mercedes takes us on one heck of a ride with twists and turns that kept me up listening into the wee hours. King includes our villain Brady Hartfield’s perspective and  call me creepy but I loved getting inside his twisted mind. King’s characters are not your typical heroes and villains. They are quirky, and flawed and he quickly brings them to life as you root for them, fear for them and shiver as they cross hairs with Brady. The story was perfectly paced with moments of intense suspense, and eye-opening horror. King then weaves in humor, friendship and teamwork giving you the entire package.

Will Patton is the narrator and many of you will recognize the name from the hit show Falling Skies. He has performed in more than forty-five films and was the narrator for King’s previous novel Doctor Sleep. Patton brought the tale to a completely new level for me. I adored his voice for Jerome as well as the other cast. He made Brady’s thoughts seem real and added a creep factor that gave me shivers. His interpretation of Bill Hodges reminded me of the old dime store novels and Patton breathed life into him. As I closed my eyes, listening to Patton each character was easily identifiable, and the tale flowed seamlessly allowing me to experience that book high I constantly crave.

Fans of King and crime thrillers will find Mr. Mercedes to be stunning addition to King’s collection.This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Book Reviewer

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 12 July, 2014: Finished reading
  • 12 July, 2014: Reviewed