Holly

Holly is one of the prominent recurring characters in King's books. Hollyberry is neurotic and inventive. She now takes center stage with a book that bears her name as the title. By the way, do not read this book if you don't want spoilers for the Bill Hodges trilogy, The Outsider, and If It Bleeds.

Stephen King actually employs the same setup as in Mr. Mercedes; the reader delves into the minds of both the ‘perpetrators' and the detective. It is absolutely not a who-dunnit. Everything is known from the first page. The cat-and-mouse game in Mr. Mercedes is better developed than in this book, but the right pace keeps your attention. The bad guys are an elderly couple. Both academics, which is a refreshing dynamic. And for the first time in a long while, I felt slightly nauseous reading certain passages. It's not true horror, but sometimes you just have to switch off your imagination...

This book is set in 2021, during the COVID period. King has a clear opinion on COVID, political policies, especially Trump, and vaccinations. Some readers may find this bothersome. Not me. If Stephen King wants to express his opinion (and to some, he may come off as preachy), he's entitled to do so in his own books. The theme is clearly present but, for me, doesn't overshadow the story. King is engaged, and I can only appreciate that.

Outside of the COVID theme, this is a fairly typical King book in terms of tension, pace, and size. In that regard, he doesn't surpass himself with this book, but the question is whether he needs to when he has published more than 75 books and still produces a bestseller every year. King's writing style is smooth, and it reads like a train.

4 stars