Synopsis and pub date

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

dwshorn

Member
Aug 14, 2017
7
31
55
The following synopsis is on Amazon, with a publication date of June 5, 2018.

From #1 New York Times bestseller Stephen King, whose brand has never been stronger, comes one of his most propulsive and unsettling stories ever.

An eleven-year-old boy is found in a town park, hideously assaulted and murdered. The fingerprints (and later DNA) are unmistakably those of the town’s most popular baseball coach, Terry Maitland, a man of impeccable reputation, with a wife and two daughters. Detective Ralph Anderson, whose son Maitland coached, orders an immediate and public arrest. Maitland is taken to jail, his claim to innocence scorned. Maitland has a foolproof alibi, with footage to prove that he was in another city when the crime was committed. But that doesn't save him either.

King constructs a propulsive plot, and a race against time to uncover the identity of a terrifying and diabolical killer who has left victims—and “perpetrators”—across the country, and who is on his way to his next horrific act.

King’s psychological suspense is at its most riveting in this extraordinarily dramatic and eerie story. He is devastatingly vivid on the experience of being falsely blamedthe effect on the accused, the spouse, the children; the suspicion of friends, even the most loyal; the impossibility of ever being innocent again (if you are lucky to enough to live). He is also masterful at showing us that supernatural monsters are startlingly like human beings who do monstrous things.
 

GNTLGNT

The idiot is IN
Jun 15, 2007
87,651
358,754
62
Cambridge, Ohio
Hmm...isn't there a Ralph "Raphie" Anderson in STORM OF THE CENTURY? They're probably unrelated, though. Kind did say that we would recognize a character in this book. I wonder if this is the Holly Gibney book...?
...welcome Cody!!...if it’s set in Ohio, at least in part-it might well be...sounds like something that would scare him, as he said it did while writing it...
 

Moderator

Ms. Mod
Administrator
Jul 10, 2006
52,243
157,324
Maine
Shouldn't there be a post about "The Outsider" in the News section (and/or Future Works) by now? I mean, it's showing up all over the internet. I would think it would be announced on SK's official site first. Or at least concurrently. Just sayin'.
The reason we haven't is because Stephen is not happy with the copy for the synopsis and Scribner is editing it. When we have the approved version, we will post it.
 

Moderator

Ms. Mod
Administrator
Jul 10, 2006
52,243
157,324
Maine
The approved final version of the plot copy:

An unspeakable crime. A confounding investigation.

At a time when the King brand has never been

stronger, he has delivered one of his most

unsettling and compulsively readable stories.


An eleven-year-old boy’s violated corpse is found

in a town park. Eyewitnesses and fingerprints

point unmistakably to one of Flint City’s most

popular citizens. He is Terry Maitland, Little

League coach, English teacher, husband, and

father of two girls. Detective Ralph Anderson,

whose son Maitland once coached, orders a

quick and very public arrest. Maitland has an alibi,

but Anderson and the district attorney soon add

DNA evidence to go with the fingerprints and

witnesses. Their case seems ironclad.


As the investigation expands and horrifying answers

begin to emerge, King’s propulsive story kicks into

high gear, generating strong tension and almost

unbearable suspense. Terry Maitland seems like a

nice guy, but is he wearing another face? When the

answer comes, it will shock you as only Stephen

King can.
 

Spideyman

Uber Member
Jul 10, 2006
46,336
195,472
79
Just north of Duma Key
The approved final version of the plot copy:

An unspeakable crime. A confounding investigation.

At a time when the King brand has never been

stronger, he has delivered one of his most

unsettling and compulsively readable stories.


An eleven-year-old boy’s violated corpse is found

in a town park. Eyewitnesses and fingerprints

point unmistakably to one of Flint City’s most

popular citizens. He is Terry Maitland, Little

League coach, English teacher, husband, and

father of two girls. Detective Ralph Anderson,

whose son Maitland once coached, orders a

quick and very public arrest. Maitland has an alibi,

but Anderson and the district attorney soon add

DNA evidence to go with the fingerprints and

witnesses. Their case seems ironclad.


As the investigation expands and horrifying answers

begin to emerge, King’s propulsive story kicks into

high gear, generating strong tension and almost

unbearable suspense. Terry Maitland seems like a

nice guy, but is he wearing another face? When the

answer comes, it will shock you as only Stephen

King can.


Thank you MsMod!
 

RichardX

Well-Known Member
Sep 26, 2006
1,737
4,434
All book synopsis descriptions from the publishers are amusingly similar in their exaggerated hyperbole. I picture the same person writing them with a list of mandatory buzz words tacked up on the wall for easy reference: "masterful" "shocking" "stunning" "suspenseful" "evocative" "haunting" "must read" "chilling" "heartbreaking"....
 
Last edited:

Steffen

Well-Known Member
Aug 9, 2015
2,233
12,800
All book synopsis descriptions from the publishers are amusingly similar in their exaggerated hyperbole. I picture the same person writing them with a list of mandatory buzz words tacked up on the wall for easy reference: "masterful" "shocking" "stunning" "suspenseful" "evocative" "haunting" "must read" "chilling" "heartbreaking"....

Tell me about it. As if in this day and age it's even necessary to include hyperbole as a selling point on the back of a Stephen King novel. ;-D

The copy should just read "New book. Go wild."
 

FlakeNoir

Original Kiwi© SKMB®
Moderator
Apr 11, 2006
44,082
175,641
New Zealand
I pre-ordered this from Amazon and have just received an email telling me that the order has been cancelled as it is no longer available from their supplier. Is there a problem with it or will it be available again soon.
...hasn’t been released yet, not till next year...
The Outsider
Release Date: June 5th, 2018
 

Spideyman

Uber Member
Jul 10, 2006
46,336
195,472
79
Just north of Duma Key
I pre-ordered this from Amazon and have just received an email telling me that the order has been cancelled as it is no longer available from their supplier. Is there a problem with it or will it be available again soon.


I just ckd amazon USA and Uk and the book is still available on PRE- ORDER. (meaning it will be available for shipping only on publication date of June 5, 2018)
 

Liselle

Well-Known Member
Jul 10, 2006
1,586
1,448
51
England
I understand that it is released next year, but have always been able to order months in advance, even got an email stating that the arrival date was pushed back until June 28. Just not understanding the unable to source bit, was wondering if there had been a problem or something.