The Outsider

I found myself sitting offshore on an oil rig in a storm running out of things to read whilst we waited for the weather to improve. Searching around a bit I found a copy of this book in the rec room and decided to give it a go - King is one of my partners favourite authors and I have only read a couple of his works. I wasn't sure what to expect of this one but was pleasantly surprised.

The book starts off as a police procedural, with the murder of a young child and a lot of evidence that the local little league baseball coach was to blame. After his arrest, his alibi proves stronger than expected and it becomes increasingly hard to explain the contradictory evidence in the case.

The Outsider effectively builds suspense through this procedural element before gradually moving into the more typical King supernatural horror realm. It was a really intriguing crossover between the genres that was executed with style and aplomb. Reading it was definitely a good way to wait out a storm offshore!