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| Cover art for "Mr. Mercedes" (Copyright reserved by artist or publisher) |
So, I just finished reading Stephen King's award-winning
detective novel "Mr. Mercedes." (Well, not just finished. I read the
sequel before I could stop reading long enough to write this review.) To put it
right out there, I completely and utterly enjoyed it. With the exception of one
device I found a little annoying, it was excellent. The pacing was great, the
characters rich and the bad guy excruciatingly creepy.
There be spoilers ahead.
"Mr. Mercedes" opens on an all too real setting
that addresses the recession and shows the desperation of working class
Americans in stark relief. You get a glimpse at an average guy waiting in line
at a job fair insanely early in the morning hoping to land a job that will keep
him above water. You warm to him as he meets a young mother who had to bring
her baby out on this cold night so she could continue to provide for her child. Your mind
will start to weave a tapestry that centers on these characters, but don't get
used to them. Just a few pages in, I was kicked in the teeth by Stephen King. I
can't recall another opener from him that is anything like it.
The meat of "Mr. Mercedes" comes soon after the
open. You meet retired police detective Kermit (Bill) Hodges, who is deeply
depressed and still brooding over the biggest case of his life–The Mercedes
Killer. He didn't catch the guy, but the guy soon catches up with him. In a
game of cat and mouse that never drags, the two dance around each other while
one finds new purpose in his life and the other plans further atrocities.
Bill Hodges is likable, as are a few of Bill's friends, but
the most memorable character is Mr. Mercedes himself. King succeeded in making
him truly loathesome. I can't think of a single redeeming quality. Jerome, the
teen that mows Hodges' lawn, is quirky and intelligent. I liked this character
as well, but King had him lapse into Detta Walker-like lingo as a
joke too many times for my taste. I found myself thinking that this would annoy
me if someone I knew did it, so I got a little exasperated whenever Jerome did
it. It wasn't annoying when Detta did it because it was how she talked. Really, this is my only criticism and it's not a biggie.
Stephen King has had a few books that didn't resonate with
me. "Mr. Mercedes" is not one of them. King is at his best, like he
is most of the time, throughout the novel. I strongly recommend it, even to
people who avoid King because they don't like horror. This is not horror,
though it has horrific moments. This is a detective thriller that covers an act
of terror from every angle. And it's good.
Shelly Barclay
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