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You Like it Darker
By Stephen King
Scribner, 9781668037713, May 2024, 512 pp.

The Short of It:

A mix of tried and true King stories and some not so typical ones.

The Rest of It:

Readers always ask me what King book I recommend. Well, that is not an easy question to answer. When I was a pre-teen I started with his classics like Cujo, Salem’s Lot, Carrie and the like. Then I dabbled in his short story collections, and then hit the big guns like The Stand and IT. I hear over and over again that King’s work is too dark, too morbid, too graphic. Sometimes, yes. Most of the time though it’s solid storytelling, excellent character development and just enough plot and suspense to keep those pages turning.

That brings me to King’s latest, You Like It Darker. I had a hard time obtaining a library copy so with my premium Spotify account I get free audiobooks so I gave it a listen.

What an experience! The audiobook is read by Will Patton. He was the perfect reader for this collection. I could not wait to jump into the car for a listen. Some of the stories I absolutely loved and wouldn’t mind if they somehow expanded into a novel. King, are you listening?

My faves:

Two Talented Bastids (think other worldly)
Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream (prophecy in the form of a dream)
Rattlesnakes (dead twins, snakes, ghosts)

There are a few stories that didn’t really fit the King mold but they were pretty short and since the three above were so strong I consider the collection a success overall. There is nothing like spending the summer with King.

If you are new to King, these stories will give you a good sense of his storytelling and all that King quirkiness that his readers have come to expect. PLUS, there are lots and lots of Easter eggs for his other novels in here. When I heard some of them I literally gasped out loud in the car! So fun.

Definitely recommend the audio.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

The Return of Ellie Black
By Emiko Jean
Simon & Schuster, 9781668023938, May 2024, 320pp.

The Short of It:

Riveting. Impossible to put down.

The Rest of It:

It’s been twenty years since Detective Chelsey Calhoun’s sister vanished when they were teenagers, and ever since she’s been searching: for signs, for closure, for other missing girls. But happy endings are rare in Chelsey’s line of work.

Then a glimmer: local teenager Ellie Black, who disappeared without a trace two years earlier, has been found alive in the woods of Washington State. ~ from the Publisher

A missing girl found! GREAT news. Except, Ellie is not the same girl she was when she went missing. Something is up with Ellie and the detectives and her own therapist aren’t really sure what happened to her. Why? Because Ellie isn’t talking.

As Ellie tries to re-insert herself into the life she once knew, through alternating chapters we learn what Ellie endured and how it changed her. We are introduced to many characters and the twists keep coming. Was Ellie a victim, or a willing participant?

I really enjoyed The Return of Ellie Black. It was suspenseful without being too dark. The inner workings of Ellie, post kidnapping are very complex and nothing is cut and dry. As she works through the trauma she endured, Detective Calhoun also works through the pain she felt when her own sister went missing years before.

Psychologically there is a lot to pick apart here. The development of the characters over time is excellent and with every page there are twists and turns and it’s the perfect book to lose yourself in. I read it in just a few sittings. Loved it. It will be on my list of faves at the end of the year.

Source: Sent to me by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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