Mr. Mercedes

Stephen King is usually praised for his supernatural horror. I may be a bit of an odd one out here, but I prefer King when he stays away from the supernatural. Mr Mercedes is atypical King in that it is ultimately a police procedural type story. There is no supernatural horror (although psychological horror is used) and that gives this story a horrifying believability that cuts through.

Mr Mercedes is a mass murderer. He drove a car through a crowd just to feel what it feels like and got away with it. The policeman who was assigned to his case (Bill Hodges) has since retired, leaving the killer feeling unfulfilled - he wanted the chase and now he is not getting it. He now tries to lure the detective out of retirement - with deadly and dangerous repercussions.

This is a very good crime novel. It really grasps the importance of the psychological battle between the perpetrator and the detective. The cat and mouse really is played with to a superb degree. At this stage this is probably my favourite King novel!