Holly

The Master is back!

I’m a MASSIVE King fan, but some reads are better than others, particularly in the Bill Hodges Trilogy, but Holly Gibney (perhaps King’s all-time favorite character) is rocking out in this one. 

Holly, now a successful private detective, navigates her way through a world still grappling with the devastation of COVID with fabulous neuro-diverse coolness. Her opponents are formidable despite their advanced years. There’s no one like King who can somehow take a quiet old couple and turn them into cannibalistic monsters (probably a good thing?) 

Holly is, by turns, funny, gross, titillating, horrifying, and engaging.… show more.

I fell in love with Holly Gibney from the moment she appeared on the page in Mr. Mercedes. Since then, she has appeared in three more novels, Finders Keepers, End of Watch, The Outsider, and the novella If It Bleeds, but she hadn't had her own full-length novel before.

Holly changed that, and Stephen King did it in style. The story is a slow-burner, but when the antagonists' motivations are finally revealed, it becomes all the more shocking—a brilliant, brilliant book from arguably our greatest living author.

I’m a committed Stephen King fan, not because of the genre (horror scares me too much, so he’s the only author in this genre I read!) but because he is a consummate storyteller and, in particular, because he does real people and everyday life so well that by the time the horror kicks in it’s too late, you’ve already followed the path he’s laid out for you.

Holly, featuring one of his own favorite characters, Holly Gibney, is King at his very best, with the everyday life of this private investigator slowly turning into a horrifying scenario, but one… show more.

Stephen King has been my favorite author since I read Carrie in 1976, and Holly is one of my all-time favorite characters.

This is the fourth book King has written featuring the anxiety-ridden, and possibly neurodivergent, Holly Gibney, and her character arc is incredible.

From the fearful, guilt-consumed mess in Mr. Mercedes to the quick-witted, quick-moving, confident woman who owns and runs her own private investigation company. Holly is a character to cheer for…and to fear for as she gets herself into some terrifying situations with brutal killers.

And, of course, being King, it’s not enough that the elderly monsters… show more.

The Master rarely fails to provide an absorbing, entertaining, suspenseful, and character-driven read. Holly is no exception.

Taking one of the most fascinating and conflicted characters from the Outsider series and setting her down in a COVID-infested world and on the scent of very real-life cannibal killers, this is one that could keep you up all night reading the whole thing in one sitting.

But you'd have to be a speed reader because King doesn't move too far from his love for longer tomes. But it doesn't matter how long the book is. You'll be gripped from the very first… show more.

Stephen King, really? Sixty-plus books, all of them best sellers? Does he need support? Recommendations?

But in Holly, he has not only two of the creepiest (and creakiest) villains in his canon but one of his most engaging protagonists, a borderline autistic, nicotine-addicted, mother-harassed young woman trying really, really hard to make a life on her own terms, and succeeding. It is impossible not to cheer as she finally deals decisively with her most unexpected opponents.

Holly is a fantastic thriller. The title character, Holly Gibney, has appeared in several stories by Mr. King. If you've read any of these tales, namely The Bill Hodges Trilogy, you will surely enjoy this novel. I hesitate to call this a paranormal novel, but it is paranormal adjacent. The elderly villains bring the creep factor and are terrifyingly evil. 

Ultimately, Holly makes this story so satisfying, especially if you have encountered the character in previous yarns. This book culminates her journey from a shut-in, terrified to leave her home, to an astute detective always in the thick of the… show more.

Holly Gibney has appeared in six Stephen King books; Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers, End of Watch, If It Bleeds, The Outsider, and now Holly.

She does not move objects with her mind, start fires with her anger, or appear as a spooky clown to fearful children. Holly possesses a knack for problem solving thanks to her intuitive powers of deduction. In essence, she is Stephen King’s Sherlock Holmes disguised as a woman on the spectrum who has struggled with mental illness.

Holly is not to be underestimated. She was the surprise heroine in Mr. Mercedes, and proves a… show more.