Mr Mercedes by Stephen King

About the Book

A cat-and-mouse suspense thriller featuring Bill Hodges, a retired cop who is tormented by ‘the Mercedes massacre’, a case he never solved.

Brady Hartsfield, perpetrator of that notorious crime, has sent Hodges a taunting letter. Now he’s preparing to kill again.

Each starts to close in on the other in a mega-stakes race against time.

My Review

It is years since I read any novel by Stephen King, from memory the last one was probably IT which was first published in the 1980s.
From the opening chapter I knew Mr Mercedes was going to be good. The prologue that described the mass killing was very convincing, a crowd of people spending the night in a queue for jobs who are mowed down by a madman. It then moves into present day, the lead detective has recently retired and not coping very well. All he has to focus on is an endless cycle of daytime trashy TV. And then he receives a letter that gives him something to think about, and a desire to get justice for the innocent who lost their life that night.

There was a lot to enjoy, fans of Stephen King will pick up on the references to the film adaptations of his novels, I thought this was a clever touch and it made me smile after the grim start.
I liked Hodges instantly but my favourite character was Jerome, I really hope that he appears in the other books in the trilogy. I liked his dedication to his family and friends and his determination to prevent further disaster. Brady’s character was very creepy, especially his relationship with his mother. Cold, calculating and capable of anything, but he isn’t as clever as he thinks. My favourite parts of the novel were when others upset his plans.
I really enjoyed this first book in the Detective Hodges series and I’m happy that I have the others to read soon.