End of Watch
Ratings191
Average rating3.8
Really great trilogy. The individual stories were the usual mix of fascinating messed-upness we get from King, but it was the weaving of the details that really wowed me. You know those films with giant ensemble casts where we're shown individual vignettes but there's like this underlying thing that connects everyone? This was like that. Spread out over three books. With nary a lull or dull moment. Just fantastically skilful storytelling from one of the masters.
I am not okay after that ending!!! I'm going to run away and cry now.
Payback is a bitch, and the bitch is back!
Wow! Okay, Brady is back guys! He is back and he is looking for revenge.
End of Watch totally wasn't what I thought it was going to be but somehow Mr King managed to make it great. He was able to incorporate a supernatural twist into a crime thriller and seriously, it worked.
Hodges, Holly, and Jerome are back for the finale of the Bill Hodges trilogy and their unlikely friendship comes together even more to try and put an end to Brady Hartsfield aka Mr Mercedes, once and for all.
It was the perfect end to a great series. Stephen King is known for his horror and whilst this series was different from anything he has done before, he nailed it.
The weakest part of the trilogy I thought.
[SPOILERS] The introduction of paranormal elements made it too different to the previous entries in the trilogy so it felt a bit off. Other than that a decent read, just not up to the standard of the previous two in the series.
Great story. I didn't want it to end. Was a great ending to the this trilogy. Can't believe the ending though, was not prepared for that. Read it you won't regret it.
Stephen King will always be one of my favorite writers. First, his prose and style of writing digs it's hooks into me.
However, what really gets me are his characters. I adore Jerome, Holly and Hodges and can't wait to read The Outsider.
End of watch was a satisfying conclusion the Kings Mercedes trilogy, nothing too deep but it was fun and fast paced. Look out for the upcoming series.
Interesting book, but not enjoyable to read in a few sections.
Executive Summary: I enjoyable and satisfying conclusion to a series I'd be surprised I enjoyed so much if it wasn't written by Stephen King.
Audiobook: Will Patton is fantastic. He's got the perfect voice for Bill Hodges, but he does an excellent job with the supporting characters as well. This is definitely one of those I think is better in audio.
Full Review
Murder stories are far too popular. If comic books are dominating the movie theater, murder shows are the thing of choice for TV. At least network TV anyways. I got tired of it, and so I wasn't sure how much I'd like a detective murder mystery.
However there are very few Stephen King books that I've read that I haven't enjoyed to some degree. He writes fantastic characters that always jump off the page for me. Bill Hodges is pretty good. However for me the real star is Holly Gibney. She's probably in my top 5 favorite Stephen King characters. Considering the iconic characters Mr. King has written over the years, that's really saying something. This series wouldn't be the same without her. The interaction between her and Bill are especially excellent.
Without getting into spoiler territory, I wasn't really sure where this third book would be going after how things were left in the second one. Turns out Mr. King had a plot device ready to go to move the story forward. I was initially not very happy with it, but I came to accept it by the end. I'm not sure what I might have preferred as an alternative, but after awhile I was too caught in the story to really care that much.
There are several other returning characters in this book I was happy to see again, the top being Jerome Robinson, but especially compared to previous book it's nice to have a book where I like so many of the characters.
Not all of them are likable though. However even the antagonists of the book are fascinating to follow around (at least between cringes). I think Mr. King puts some of the worst thoughts and actions of humanity on display here. It gives it a sense of realism that had me glad this was fiction.
Thankfully the overall message I got out of this book is one of optimism. This book deals a lot in suicide, and highlights many of the reasons people may choose to take their own life. It's a dark topic, but I think he does a good job at combating that with people who love and care one another.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and this series, and it's bittersweet to be done with it. I want another book (or three) with Holly Gibney. Prequel, sequel, side story. I don't care Maybe she can make an appearance or two in some of his other works like some of his other characters have. I just know I'm going to miss her like she's someone I'm friends with rather than a character in a book, which is always a sign of a great character. I look forward to seeing what Mr. King has in store for us next.
What a great trilogy that was! Perfectly ended, by the way. I believe this is certainly one of King's masterpieces.
Wow - what an end to a great trilogy! I've been reading Stephen King for more than three decades now. While I enjoyed his more recent non-supernaturally focused ones ("Fairy Tale," and the first two books in this series,) it was great to be back in a well-spun story with an evil, supernaturally powered plot. I liked how the villain in the first book makes an encore appearance with a far more malicious, fantastical and entertaining plan. The relationship among the core trio of Bill, Holly and Jerome is deepened in surprisingly emotional ways. While the technology which drives the suspense is far-fetched and the origin of the "superpowers" isn't fully explained, overlooking these details in the service of enjoying a fast-moving plot isn't hard to do. The ending was thrilling and satisfying. And once I finished this audio-book (read by the outstanding journeyman actor Will Patton) I was ready and eager to put "Holly" into my ears (although I was disappointed that a far less engaging narrator than Patton reads it.)
I enjoyed this last installment of the Bill Hodges trilogy. I wasn't fond of the paranormal elements of the story but the characters and wonderful storytelling won me over.
I can't really talk about this book without spoiling the hell out of it. So spoiler tags it is.
I really liked the first two books in the series. I thought that Mr Mercedes was a great detective story and that Finders Keepers was a thriller ride as well.
For this one, I was truly disappointed. I know that a lot of readers didn't like Finders Keepers but liked this one a lot, so I will tell you why I didn't:
- After making Brady go bye-bye and introducing a new baddie, King does what King does best and goes for comfort. Brady is back. Why? Laziness. There's no reason to bring Brady back.
- While the first two were straight up detective stories that take place in the real world, SK does the most lazy SK thing ever and introduces supernatural powers. This is always one of the biggest criticisms of King. He's a vegetable but starts controlling people on an app? Come the fuck on. That was beyond any sort of suspension of disbelief anyone should be expected to maintain.
- The title. End of Watch is a little on the spoilery side if you know the meaning.
The story was well-written however. And Holly comes into her own quite a bit, which is nice. I can see why she's amassed a following. The ending was a downer for reasons pertaining to the above but the epilogue was nice and appropriate.
4.5/5 Stars
This book. Ok, so Stephen King is a genius. But I'm pretty sure most people know that by now, amiright? End of Watch was such a well-crafted, twisty/turny psychological thriller/sci-fi mix of a book. AGAIN, I chose a book that I found out after-the-fact, is part of a series. This one in particular is part of a trilogy. Anyway, this book was a page-turner. Honestly, when I started off reading it I was a bit skeptical and everyone kept telling me how amazing this book was so I powered on despite my skepticism (OK, so I was skeptical only after the first three pages but STILL) and I'm so glad I did. I just started a new job in the city so that means a lot of commuting time on the train back and forth, so I have plenty of time to read (yay!). I finished this book within in four days of commuting! I couldn't put it down.
Brady Hartsfield, donned the “Mercedes Killer” comes out of a vegetative state after a world-renowned doctor starts giving him experimental medication over the course of a few years - years after his mass killing in City Center. Although when Brady emerges from this comatous state, he has special abilities: he has the power of telekinesis and the ability to take control of other peoples' bodies and minds. Sounds crazy, right? I did say that this had some sci-fi to it. Brady Hartsfield is also known as the “Suicide Prince,” which is a bit morbid TBH but that's what he's notoriously obsessed with. I feel like if I even give a bit of info about Zappits - this old-school handheld game console - and his relation to them that I will give away some twists and turns, but know that these Zappits are directly linked to Brady and these mysterious suicides that are a recurring theme throughout the book. Despite efforts from both he and his partner Holly, Detective (Kermit) William Hodges will stop at nothing to take Brady down for good. My boyfriend is a die-hard Stephen King fan and I love me some Stephen King myself, and when I read this synopsis one day at Barnes & Noble I immediately took note of the title, and promised myself that I had to read it! It for sure did not disappoint. Like I said, I read roughly about 100 pages a day, before I finished. I would highly recommend this book. I'm not too much of a sucker for sci-fi or fantasy, but there are a few books that I love that have the element of fantasy weaved in, and this 100% makes the cut. I wish this was a movie, honestly. But I would assume the ongoing theme of suicide would limit this to a book-only story. Just know that Stephen King never disappoints.
Just to be succinct, this is one of the most disappointing books I have ever read. The supernatural bent is some of the worst King has written and going that direction in what has been a grounded series just feels like he didn't have any good grounded ideas. If that were the case I wish he had left Hodges till he could write him a story he deserved. From the tablets and the fish to and out of the blue climax resolution that hack filmmakers would say no to. King can do much better and Hodges deserved better.
I really can't overstate my dislike for this book.
So this book was fine, I really like the scenes of suicide, those were really powerful, showing how a little drop of doubt, of insecurity, can spread through your whole mind. A little voice that whispers hate and disgrace into your head... It's not easy to shut it down and every time the little voice starts to win volume and its grows and stretches, so you listen to it. It starts making sense, it hijacks your thoughts, so you listen to it. Each time more and more. It screams at you, so you listen, and realize it does make sense. It is the only thing that makes sense. A way to take away all your pain and worries. It sugarcoats your decision until you succumb to it.
Even though there were some supernatural elements to this story, they didn't bother me. In the previous book, we are already told that this story will contain supernatural elements, so it's not annoying. We already know that it's going to be that way.
The only thing I didn't like was the ex maquina ending. If it wasn't for Jerome, everyone would be dead
So... SK really threw a curve ball for this final chapter of the trilogy. Instead of finishing with another detective story, He took a totally different direction and brought in more familiar SK themes. I honestly would have preferred for him to stay closer in story style to the first to books, but I guess he followed story and that's where it went. Anyway, there are still many things to like: the writing style is the same dry detective story style that I enjoyed in the first two books, the characters are now fully mature and the story is creative enough. Good enjoyable book, just not one of major points in his amazing bibliography.
3.5 stars. I liked the premise of all three books in the series, and loved the main characters. They were easy to root for, but IMO the narrative doesn't spend enough time with them. Pacing is a little off for me also. Enjoyable series tho!
A mixed bag... I enjoyed one last adventure with this crew of characters but I wish the series didn't turn supernatural. I think it thrived in the grittiness of the real world and just ended a bit silly.
Great ending though
