Mr. Mercedes - Wyrms.de

hardcover

English language

Published June 2, 2014 by Scribner.

ISBN:: 978-1-4767-5445-1
OCLC Number:: 972133511

(4 reviews)

In the predawn hours, in a distressed American city, hundreds of unemployed men and women line up for the opening of a job fair. They are tired and cold and desperate. Emerging from the fog, invisible until it is too late, a lone driver plows through the crowd in a stolen Mercedes, running over the innocent, backing up, and charging again. Eight people are killed; fifteen are wounded. The killer escapes.

Months later, an ex-cop named bill Hodges, still haunted by the unsolved crime, contemplates suicide. When he gets a crazed letter from "the perk," claiming credit for the murders, Hodges wakes up from his depressed and vacant retirement, fearing another even more diabolical attack and hell-bent on preventing it.

Brady Hartfield lives with his alcoholic mother in the house where he was born. He loved the feel of death under the wheels of the Mercedes, and he wants that …

In the predawn hours, in a distressed American city, hundreds of unemployed men and women line up for the opening of a job fair. They are tired and cold and desperate. Emerging from the fog, invisible until it is too late, a lone driver plows through the crowd in a stolen Mercedes, running over the innocent, backing up, and charging again. Eight people are killed; fifteen are wounded. The killer escapes.

Months later, an ex-cop named bill Hodges, still haunted by the unsolved crime, contemplates suicide. When he gets a crazed letter from "the perk," claiming credit for the murders, Hodges wakes up from his depressed and vacant retirement, fearing another even more diabolical attack and hell-bent on preventing it.

Brady Hartfield lives with his alcoholic mother in the house where he was born. He loved the feel of death under the wheels of the Mercedes, and he wants that rush again. Only Bill Hodges, with a couple of eccentric and mismatched allies, can apprehend the killer before he strikes again. And they have no time to lose, because Brady's next mission, if it succeeds, will kill or maim thousands.

Mr. Mercedes is a war between good and evil from the master of suspense whose insight into the mind of this obsessed, insane killer is chilling and unforgettable. --front flap

25 editions

Michael Gouker reviewed Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King

Review of 'Mr. Mercedes' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I’ll do my best to not give any spoilers, because it’s critical that in a book like this, you do not anticipate the surprises. To make things easy, if you are wondering if you will enjoy this, you will. It’s a very good novel with believable characters (except for Jerome, who I liked - no, I loved, but could use a few flaws) and it might not have you bite your nails as short as Holly does, but if you aren’t nervous in the last two hundred pages or so, you might want to check your vitals.

What a great romp! Stephen King lets the pot simmer for a while, letting the reader (who watches both sides of the story) second-guess the protagonist Det Ret Hodges and acquire familiarity with the villain, who (not a spoiler) hides in the open. When the chips are down, though, it’s Hodges and those …

I’ll do my best to not give any spoilers, because it’s critical that in a book like this, you do not anticipate the surprises. To make things easy, if you are wondering if you will enjoy this, you will. It’s a very good novel with believable characters (except for Jerome, who I liked - no, I loved, but could use a few flaws) and it might not have you bite your nails as short as Holly does, but if you aren’t nervous in the last two hundred pages or so, you might want to check your vitals.

What a great romp! Stephen King lets the pot simmer for a while, letting the reader (who watches both sides of the story) second-guess the protagonist Det Ret Hodges and acquire familiarity with the villain, who (not a spoiler) hides in the open. When the chips are down, though, it’s Hodges and those who help him that take the real chances.

I guess my only complaint is that the villain seems a bit too cookie-cutter: mommy issues, lonely geeky computer guy, et cetera. It's a bit too easy. Just as Jerome could use a few flaws, Brady needs some redeemable assets.

There are some factors I see as improbable regarding (security procedures at events cannot be so flimsy, can they? Please say no) but the story doesn’t suffer too much. Mostly what you get at the end is the happiness that the idea of self-sacrifice is alive and well and that people do give a damn, especially when it counts.

Anyway, thanks for a wonderful story and the endearing characters! I’m really glad to have enjoyed this delightful carnival ride. Once again I know what it feels like when Stephen King loves you his way! :-)

urmaul

rated it

April 4, 2018

Benjamin Asher

rated it

July 12, 2023

mindbat

rated it

Feb. 4, 2018