End of Watch

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.