Stephen King | Book Chatter

End of Watch
By Stephen King
Simon & Schuster Audio | ISBN 9781508211365 | June 2016

The Short of It:

A solid conclusion to the Bill Hodges trilogy.

The Rest of It:

*No Spoilers*

These days, I am not a fan of trilogies. When I read Mr. Mercedes, it had not been announced yet that it was the first book in a trilogy but it’s King so what do you do? You read all of them. When Finders Keepers came out, I ran right out to get it. It was pretty good but the story strayed a little from the main bad guy which made it less interesting to me.

However, with End of Watch, retired detective Bill Hodges is once again forced to deal with bad guy Brady Hartsfield which made my heart sing. He’s a real “baddie” and in this book, he’s taken it to a whole new level.

King has always been good at developing awesome characters and he built a good one in Bill Hodges. I always worry about the last book in a trilogy because it has to do so many things. It has to tie-up all the loose ends. It has to give the reader a sense of finality without bashing them over the head with some trite ending. It should be good…and this one is.

As you can see, I didn’t go into the story because I’d inadvertently give something away but as a trilogy this series is pretty solid and enjoyable to read and/or listen to.

Audio Note:

I listened to this book on audio and then alternated between it and print due to a technical glitch with my device. If you’ve not listened to a King book on audio then you are missing out.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

Finders Keepers
By Stephen King
Scribner Book Company, Hardcover, 9781501100079, June 2015, 448pp.

*No Spoilers*

The Short of It:

This is the second installment of the Bill Hodges trilogy and it’s pretty good.

The Rest of It:

When I heard that Mr. Mercedes was not a stand-alone novel, and was in fact, book one of a trilogy, I groaned a little. I am not a fan of trilogies as a rule. But, it’s King and you know how I love a good King story. Plus, all that Constant Reader stuff. So I went in with high hopes.

Luckily for me, it’s a keeper. Pun intended.

This story focuses on some of the characters from the previous book, like Bill Hodges, ex-cop/private detective and the people he’s come to know as family but King also introduces a new baddie by the name of Morris Bellamy. Bellamy is obsessed with one particular author and ends up committing some horrible crimes to protect what’s his.

What he does not anticipate is anyone getting in his way. Pete Saubers, high school kid and lover of books unwittingly places himself between Bellamy and Bellamy’s obsession and it creates a very dangerous situation. As a favor to one of his closest friends, Hodges steps in to help.

What I like about this one is that the story is pretty simple, the characters are well-developed and there was none of that sucker-punch stuff I experienced while reading Mr. Mercedes. As the suspense builds, the pace picks up and King takes you along for the ride. I could sense that King enjoyed writing this one and I enjoyed reading it.

As with most trilogies, when you come upon those final pages you hold your breath to see how you will be left hanging, and with this one, I can clearly see where he will be going with book three. At least, I think so.

This book was entertaining, the pacing was good and although I took a long break from it to finish another book, I was easily able to jump right back into it when I picked it up again.

If you haven’t read Mr. Mercedes yet, start with that and then pick this one up. The last book in the trilogy, End of Watch is scheduled to make its appearance June 7, 2016!

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

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