Serial Killer | Book Chatter

Never Flinch
By Stephen King
Scribner, May 2025, 448 pp.

The Short of It:

Holly Gibney is back.

The Rest of It:

When the Buckeye City Police Department receives a disturbing letter from a person threatening to “kill thirteen innocents and one guilty” in “an act of atonement for the needless death of an innocent man,” Detective Izzy Jaynes has no idea what to think. Are fourteen citizens about to be slaughtered in an unhinged act of retribution? As the investigation unfolds, Izzy realizes that the letter writer is deadly serious, and she turns to her friend Holly Gibney for help. ~ the publisher

This is a slow burn read. It’s a little different from his other books. This story is definitely more nuanced and paced but still captures the essence of one of his most beloved characters, Holly Gibney.

However, it was painfully slow in the beginning. There is a lot going on. New characters, a crazy killer, police involvement and Holly moonlighting as a body guard. This was plenty, but then a musical band is introduced as well as a women’s rights speaker. There are competing events to contend with. Honestly, it didn’t feel all that authentic to me.

Barbara. Beloved Barbara writing her poems abut also singing? Holly, oogie Holly as a bodyguard? The villain? Pretty good. Well fleshed out with a decent backstory and setup.

Never Flinch is the product of the current world we are living in. The Presidency, although just a tiny mention, the women’s rights stuff tossed in, the need for substance abuse support and programs. I feel like King was trying to say a whole lot with this story but the plot suffered for it.

I read to escape and this installment didn’t have that classic King stamp that I enjoy so much. The ramped up ending made up for a lot of it because it’s a knuckle-biter but did I want to spend time with these beloved characters? Not really.

I am a huge King fan so don’t come at me in the comments. I gotta tell it like it is. Will I read him again. Damn straight I will and I will clear my calendar just like I did for this one.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Bookshop.org affiliate links.

The Stowaway
By James S. Murray & Darren Wearmouth
St. Martin’s Press, 9781250263650, September 2021, 320pp.

The Short of It:

Gruesome, but oddly entertaining.

The Rest of It:

Two years ago, Maria Fontana, the head of the Psychology Department at Columbia University, sat on a jury for one of the most depraved cases ever to pass through the hallowed halls of City Hall. ~ Indiebound

The set-up is very good. Maria’s role on that jury comes back to haunt her and her family as they are vacationing on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean. Maria and her fiancé are trying to put the events of the past behind them while getting a little R&R with Maria’s young children in tow. But things suddenly take a dangerous turn on the ship when people turn up dead. People, mostly, young children. How can this be? Could the man on trial, Wyatt Butler have a copycat?

Maria spent a lot of time reviewing the evidence of that case. All the gruesome photos of Butler’s young victims. Plus, her background in Psychology gives her enough info to know how these serial killers work, but could there really be a copycat on board? Why? What is he after?

This book is a classic example of being trapped with no place to run. It’s a ship but there are only so many places to hide and Maria’s knowledge of the case and what this killer is capable of keeps the story flowing at a breakneck pace. I really enjoyed this one. I read it in one sitting and could not put it down for long.

But…

It’s gruesome. The crime scenes are very graphic. It seemed somewhat tolerable only because the killings are not in real time. As readers, we only hear of the aftermath but it’s children, which is a bit hard to swallow. Many of you warned me about how graphic it was but it was done well-enough that it didn’t keep me from frantically turning those pages.

If you need something a little different, something that is hard to put down and you don’t mind the graphic nature of these killings, then I highly recommend it.

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

Chatting with friends about books and life…