Holly

King proves he is master of a different genre than Fairy Tale with his characters and their interwoven lives. The secrets held by the main character, her motivation to do right and find the perpetrators of henious crimes are well relayed to the reader. I read this book in spurts, becoming enveloped in the stories of the characters, then needing time to digest before picking the book ( and stories) up again. King's descriptive powers come to the fore here and it is this that draws the reader ever more into the world of Holly and her unrelenting search for… show more.

Anyone who is familiar with Holly Gibney, King’s quirky heroine, will love this novel dedicated to her. First introduced in the Mr. Mersades trilogy, Holly has quickly become a fan favorite. Since her mentor, Bill Hodges, died of cancer, Holly has struggled to continue to run the private detective office of Finders Keepers.
With her new partner out of play due to covid, Holly accepts a case of a missing woman, but the case brings a new twist to terror and madness. Holly uses the tricks of the trade that Bill taught her, plus her own uniqueness to the case.… show more.

Again, King writes an improbable plot and somehow hooks me. I read it with interest and anticipation. I am of the age where I find it hard to suspend my disbelief and enjoy reading improbable plots, but this succeeded. It was a great read.

I never realized before that a horror novel could also be a spellbinding thriller. Early on, I learned about the awful things this supposedly respectable couple was doing in their basement and the ghastly purpose they had done it for. But pit it against the naivete of the bumbling private detective who stumbles into the disaster, and for me, the story was thrilling and horrible at the same time.

Again, the author’s prose just took my breath away. I found myself holding my breath while turning the page and then letting it out when the chapter finished. This is one… show more.

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.