Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King (The Bill Hodges Trilogy Book 1)

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The case goes unsolved, and ex-cop Bill Hodges is out of hope when he gets a letter from a man who loved the feel of death under Mercedes’s wheels…

Several months later, an ex-cop named bill Hodges, still haunted by the unsolved crime, contemplates suicide. When he gets a crazed letter from someone claiming credit for the murders, Hodges is shaken and returns from his retirement, believing another l attack w l come and intends to prevent it.

Brady Hartsfield lives with his alcoholic mother in the house where he was born. He loved the feel of death under the wheels of the Mercedes, and he wants that rush again but plans that next time he’s going big, with an attack that would take down thousands.

From the book’s front flap, we learn: “Mr. Mercedes is a war between good and evil from the master of suspense whose insight into the mind of this obsessed, insane killer is chilling and unforgettable.”

Note from Spring 2021: This trilogy was made into a TV series. Was the series as good as the books? The series gave some deeper insight into the characters and was well done. The books were a little better, of course.

Bill Hodges Trilogy

Finders Keepers #2

End Of Watch #3

If It Bleeds by Stephen King

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Stephen King’s book is four new novellas: Mr. Harrigan’s Phone, The Life of Chuck, Rat, and the title story If It Bleeds.

The title for "If It Bleeds” comes from the newsroom axiom “If it bleeds, it leads.” In this story, Holly Gibney, who appeared in Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers, End of Watch, and The Outsider, is now a private investigator at the Finders Keepers detective agency. She was working on the case of a missing dog when she saw a report of a school bombing on TV. When she tunes in again to the late-night news, she realizes something is not quite right about the correspondent who was first on the scene. Soon, she finds out that she is not the only one who suspects the reporter, Chet Ondowsky. A little background research suggests that Ondowsky’s being first on the scene at incidents of horrific carnage is no coincidence, and Holly wonders if the reporter might be deliberately causing the atrocities that have taken place.

The “Life of Chuck” is three separate stories linked to tell Charles Krantz’s life story in reverse, beginning with his death from a brain tumor at 39 and ending with his childhood in a supposedly haunted house. This might be worth rereading because it seems odd and takes some getting used to.

Rat” is about a writer and a rat. The main character is Drew Larsen. We get to experience him bringing a book together, and King’s insights into that process make it very real; of course, we get to meet eventually the Rat, who asks some deep, thought-provoking questions about the price we’re willing to pay for personal success, and whether an old, sick person’s life is worth less than that of someone younger.

“Mr. Harrigan’s Phone” uses an Apple phone to set the stage for retribution from the grave. The question is whether the ghost is in the grave or the phone is connected to how supernatural forces set in-play events that punish those who have done wrong and reward kindness.

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Stephen King sits down to read the first chapter of “If It Bleeds” for a YOU TUBE presentation and he refers to this Edward Hopper painting, “Room in New York” and he references the painting saying, Edward Hopper is known as the “Patron Saint of Social Distancing” see more in Art Review Section.

Also see more on Stephen King in Favorite Author Section

Cell a novel by Stephen King

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“The event that came to be known as The Pulse” began at 3:03p.m. eastern standard time, on October 1st and within ten hours, most of the scientists capable of understanding what happened were either dead or insane”

The Pulse was a signal that comes through an international cell phone network into those listening to their phones and it turns everyone who hears it into mindless maniacs referred to as phoners.  Some who didn’t have cell phones are still normal, but it is unclear how many are left. The world has become a battleground between two visions of the future.

The story starts in Boston Common with Clayton Riddell getting ready to celebrate his new novel’s release by buying an ice cream cone. He is surrounded by several people talking on cell phones. A man hangs up his phone and turns on the ice cream salesperson and tears his throat out with his teeth. Anyone who was on the phone at that time changes into a mindless monster.  The phones signal has erased their minds.

Tom and Clayton get away and decide to go to Maine to find and rescue Clayton’s son. Alice, and Jordan both teenagers and team up with them.

Stephen King got his idea for this book when he observed a woman walking out of a hotel. The Cell is the 53rd book published by Stephen King and was his 44th novel.

Quotes

“Man has come to dominate the planet thanks to two essential traits. One is intelligence. The other has been the absolute willingness to kill anyone and anything that gets in his way.” 

“This is how a man looks when he's deciding that the risk of death is better than the risk of change.” 

“He said the mind can calculate, but the spirit yearns, and the heart knows what the heart knows.

 
Source: https://connectedeventsmatter.com/blog/201...

Elevation, a Novel, by Stephen King

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Stephen King, when discussing this book, said it was “a riveting, extraordinarily eerie, and moving story about a man whose mysterious affliction brings a small town together—a timely, upbeat tale about finding common ground despite deep-rooted differences.” The book is only 146 pages long and has no blood or monsters.

Scott Carey, the main character, is a big guy who weighs 240 pounds, but when we meet him, he begins losing a few pounds every day. After 28 pounds, he tells his doctor friend about it. His body size and appearance don’t change, and no matter what clothes he puts on or what weight he is carrying in his hands or pockets, his weight doesn’t change.

His outlook doesn’t suffer, and he reaches out to help his neighbors, two lesbians whom he has been trying to make friends with. He also wants to help his town. He is just a nice guy. Oh, yes, and a couple of political sidebar comments are in the dialog for no real reason.

So, how do you write a review of this book without adding spoilers? The answer is you don’t. Interesting plot. You don’t want to put it down well written.