68. Mr. Mercedes
Rating: ☆☆☆1/2
Recommended by:
Author: Stephen King
Genre: Fiction, Crime, Thriller, Suspense
436 pages, published June 3, 2014
Reading Format: Audio Book
Summary
Mr. Mercedes, the first book in the Bill Hodges Trilogy by Stephen King, tells the story of a psychopathic serial killer nicknamed Mr. Mercedes after he intentionally plows through a crowd of people waiting for an unemployment fair to begin in a stolen Mercedes. He escapes after killing eight people and wounding fifteen more. Months later, retired cop Bill Hodges, who is still haunted by this unsolved crime, receives a crazed letter from someone who self-identifies as the “perk” and threatens more attacks. Hodges takes the bait and starts conversing with Mr. Mercedes. It soon becomes apparent that only Bill Hodges, with a couple of highly unlikely allies, can apprehend the killer before he strikes again in a bigger way.
Quotes
“Never tell a lie when you can tell the truth.”
“Every religion lies. Every moral precept is a delusion. Even the stars are a mirage. The truth is darkness, and the only thing that matters is making a statement before one enters it. Cutting the skin of the world and leaving a scar. That’s all history is, after all: scar tissue.”
“Hodges has read there are wells in Iceland so deep you can drop a stone down them and never hear the splash. He thinks some human souls are like that.”
“It’s easy—too easy—to either disbelieve or disregard someone you dislike.”
“Imagination is a good servant, and a bad master.”
“You know the three Ages of Man, don’t you?” Hodges asks. Pete shakes his head, grinning. “Youth, middle age, and you look fuckin terrific.”
“Any system created by the mind of man can be hacked by the mind of man.”
My Take
Stephen King, the master of suspense, delivers again with Mr. Mercedes (the first book in the Bill Hodges Trilogy. The second, is Finders Keepers and the third is End of Watch). In this tale of the war between good and evil, King gives us the compelling characters of retired cop Bill Hodges and Mr. Mercedes, a serial killer who enjoys the cat and mouse game with Detective Hodges. Not the best Stephen King book that I have read, but eminently readable.
