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Decades into a prolific and successful career, Stephen King
is still churning out trilogies. His latest follows the post-retirement years
of Detective Bill Hodges. I just finished up End of Watch–the final novel of
the trio. It appears the adventures of this intrepid ex-cop and his
arch-nemesis "The Mercedes Killer" are wrapped up with a neat bow in
this one. While not my favorite of the bunch (I'd be hard pressed to choose
between Mr. Mercedes and Finders Keepers), End of Watch is a fantastic finish
that brings in a lot of the mindeffery for which we know and love the King.
*Some spoilers
End of Watch finds Bill (real name Kermit) and his
partner-in-crime-fighting Holly Gibney dealing with Bill's grim diagnosis of
pancreatic cancer and the reappearance of Brady Hartsfield in their lives.
Hartsfield, a serial killer who plowed down dozens of people in the first book
of the trilogy, is a near-vegetable at the local hospital. How is it that Bill
suspects the brain trauma patient in a recent rash of suicides?
Before End of Watch, King had largely refrained from the
more fantastic aspects of his imagination with this trilogy. We've been given
straight-up everyday evil against a flawed hero in two relatively normal,
though outstandingly written, detective novels. King opened up the floodgates
for the last hurrah, bringing back an old favorite of his–telekinesis.
Because of the supernatural twist hinted at in Finders
Keepers and delivered in End of Watch, Hodges finds himself in the most
challenging case of his busy retirement. Some might call it an easy way to
bring back a crippled antagonist, but I found Hartsfield too intriguing, too
disgusting to be done away with in a single book. It was fitting to have him
back too see how he would fare against an again weakened Hodges in a second
round.
I enjoyed the book on a few lazy days swinging in my hammock
this summer. As usual, I was thoroughly entertained by Mr. King and bummed out
when the book inevitably ended. I'll wrap this up by noting how much I loved
King's treatment of the ever-anxious Holly Gibney. I have an anxiety disorder
myself and enjoyed having a hero more on my level. I'm also very happy that
King touched on themes of suicide and then included an encouraging note to
those of us who struggle with those issues to seek help and be patient enough
for the good times to come back. I was truly moved.
Shelly Barclay
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