Only if you've finished it *SPOILERS*

  • This message board permanently closed on June 30th, 2020 at 4PM EDT and is no longer accepting new members.

If you haven't finished it get out of this thread, I can't promise I will be able to remember to do the spoiler tags and I want to TALK about the book!!!


That being said, well what did you think? I finished it yesterday (Amazon Kindle). For me it was good, just good. I can't see myself needing to re-read it again. It was no 11/22/63 (more on that later though)

There were a lot of parts I liked, I'll start with those.
The villain (holy moly) King really created something there. His backstory, his way of thinking. VERY creepy and very enjoyable, he'll be creeping me out a long time. And the very very end of the book? AWESOME

The crimes (if you will) these were well thought out I love
the murder by mental anguish route

Jerome and family, loved his character too.

I haven't tried out the interactive elements yet, but will.

There were some disappointing parts for me.
Janey was Sadie Dunhill with a little less time invested in her {spoiler}. This was disappointing not so much the demise, just the character... I was not invested, maybe I saw it coming, I don't know.

Also I felt like {spoiler}Holly for being a major part of the ending, was just kind of dumped on us, I would have liked her to be developed more. I got the feeling he could have gotten by with morphing Holly and Janey into one character and dropping the romantic interaction,
but that's just me.

Beyond that there were a couple of foreshadowing parts I was confused about, but maybe I read too fast (at one point he says something like, "If Billy knew it was the last time he'd see his home again,..." and then later on he DOES go back home) there was another foreshadowed thing that then didn't pan out but I'd have to reread it to find it and I'm not THAT picky.

My opinions, would love to hear yours....
 

skimom2

Just moseyin' through...
Oct 9, 2013
15,683
92,168
USA
I thought it was a solid crime drama (it would have done well flying the Hard Case Crime banner if it was a bit shorter). The things that niggled at me were just that: niggling. There were only a couple: first, the misspelling of 'guaranteed' on both signs. I couldn't decide if it was a genuine misspelling of the word (if so, shame on the editor-lol), or or if it arose from an opinion that it would be a word that is misspelled often. That didn't work for me, if so, as I've never seen it misspelled on a sign-most people are wary of less common words and check the spelling before committing themselves in print. The second thing was Brady's virulent, old style racism. Not that it doesn't exist, but it seemed anachronistic for someone under 30 that lives urban. I've just not seen it in younger generations.

Really, though, those are tiny things. All in all, I liked it.
 

bigkingfan91

Well-Known Member
Mar 1, 2014
190
921
32
WV
I thought it was good, not great, not something I'd re read every year but a good fun read. I had read nothing much at all on what it was about, so I had no idea we would know who the killer was throughout the book, so that came as a real shock to me, lol. It started off full throttle and I didn't even expect what happened in the opening scene to happen right then.. That was another huge shock for me. From the opening scene to the letter I really enjoyed it, and then things seemed to get a little flat for me. I was hoping for a little more action and crime, but still it was a fun read.

I will say the ending shocked me. He had me thinking the worst was going to actually happen, and when things began to change, I couldn't put it down. To be honest all of the events surprised me, I didn't see any of them coming, including the thing with Brady's mother and the beef, lol. The way he threw all those surprises out there were nice, for me.

I didn't expect the final ending, either.
Nice happy surprise from King. I kept waiting on the "3 years later on a rainy day" Hodges death ending, and was pleasantly surprised.
That opening scene and the letter is something I won't forget for awhile, great writing.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

McGinnisNC

Member
Feb 22, 2014
21
101
30
Solid book, not an epic, but a good middle of the pack fill.

We can't honestly expect King to crank out "The Stand" every year can we?

It was a little slow for me (I read the letter, watched the preview, etc. before buying the book) so I kind of knew the beginning. I didn't find it particularly scary, but I was excited all the way up until the last little bit, in which I felt like a kid waiting for the end of the horror movie where the monster comes back. I would recommend it, of course, but I doubt it'll need a re-read for quite a while. Although I will say, The entire scene about Brady's mentally challenged brother is the first time King ever made something HARD to read, it was so awful that I literally wanted to stop imagining it.

3.5/5, good addition to my bookshelf.
 

Chris_Ferox

Well-Known Member
Nov 5, 2011
70
13
fair to middling. Ray Chandler King aint.
I also had a bad feeling every time of the many times King lapsed into his racist sambo routine, cant read that as a real characterization, only as King linestepping up to sheer racism & not having anyone to bitchslap some sense into him. plotwise, I still cant reconcile how the initial kill spree happened. the killer was randomly breaking into cars for years with his gadget, including the mercedes, and happened to find the spare key in the mercedes. how did he go from randomly finding the key, to the kill spree with the sticker and the careful mask work etc? does not compute
 
Last edited by a moderator:

RandallFlagg19

Well-Known Member
May 5, 2014
809
6,209
38
I also had a bad feeling every time of the many times King lapsed into his racist sambo routine, cant read that as a real characterization, only as King linestepping up to sheer racism & not having anyone to bitchslap some sense into him.

Are you referring to Brady's racism or Jerome's dialect?


Brady was definitely an intense embodiment of terrorism, homophobia, racism, sexual perversion, ethical indifference/disregard.Talk about your full packaged psycho.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

McGinnisNC

Member
Feb 22, 2014
21
101
30
I felt like the vernacular used by the characters was pretty on point in regards to who was speaking. It was easier being a fan, as I know that this is SK's normal writing style.

Similar to Jeffery Chaucer(sp) during Canterbury Tales, he changes the entire tone of the book depending on who is speaking. I found it very entertaining, but I could see how it would be unsettling to some.
 

carrie's younger brother

Well-Known Member
Mar 8, 2012
5,428
25,651
NJ
Help!!!
I just finished Mr. Mercedes and I thoroughly enjoyed it. But why...

the misspelling of the word "guaranteed" as "guarenteed" twice: once on the sign for the job fair in the beginning of the book and then again on the Under Debbie's Blue Umbrella home page??? This is killing me. I kept thinking it would appear again with an explanation, but... nothing. Does anyone know???
 

Spideyman

Uber Member
Jul 10, 2006
46,336
195,472
79
Just north of Duma Key
Help!!!
I just finished Mr. Mercedes and I thoroughly enjoyed it. But why...

the misspelling of the word "guaranteed" as "guarenteed" twice: once on the sign for the job fair in the beginning of the book and then again on the Under Debbie's Blue Umbrella home page??? This is killing me. I kept thinking it would appear again with an explanation, but... nothing. Does anyone know???


There is an old saying: "there are no accidents". Mayhap it was meant to be as it is.
 

Moderator

Ms. Mod
Administrator
Jul 10, 2006
52,243
157,324
Maine
Help!!!
I just finished Mr. Mercedes and I thoroughly enjoyed it. But why...

the misspelling of the word "guaranteed" as "guarenteed" twice: once on the sign for the job fair in the beginning of the book and then again on the Under Debbie's Blue Umbrella home page??? This is killing me. I kept thinking it would appear again with an explanation, but... nothing. Does anyone know???

I don't know why it's intentionally misspelled but it is. Will try to remember to ask Steve.
 

cat in a bag

Well-Known Member
Aug 28, 2010
12,038
67,827
wyoming
One thing I wondered throughout was
why Brady used the word "perk" instead of "perp". I was expecting that to be a major clue to his identity for Hodges or something. But it didn't even produce a tantrum out of Brady when Hodges told him he was using the wrong word. Was that just one of Brady's character flaws? Character as in what makes him tick, not character as in he is one. ;-D

Not a complaint though, just a curiosity. :)
 

carrie's younger brother

Well-Known Member
Mar 8, 2012
5,428
25,651
NJ
One thing I wondered throughout was
why Brady used the word "perk" instead of "perp". I was expecting that to be a major clue to his identity for Hodges or something. But it didn't even produce a tantrum out of Brady when Hodges told him he was using the wrong word. Was that just one of Brady's character flaws? Character as in what makes him tick, not character as in he is one. ;-D

Not a complaint though, just a curiosity. :)
I was curious about this too and thought it was definitely tied to the misspelled "guarenteed." Hmmmm.