Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King is a crime thriller. Mr. Mercedes is the start of Stephen King’s crime fiction writing. His writing has always had a pulpy quality and was influenced by hard crime mysteries. Mr. Mercedes is the first book in the Bill Hodges trilogy. Mr. Mercedes is also the first time Holly Gibney is introduced. Holly Gibney has been in a novella and 5 novels so far with another coming this year. Holly is a standout in Mr. Mercedes but you wouldn’t think in this story that he would become so obsessed with the character. The lead characters are all interesting and so is the villain. The villain, Brady Hartsfield, is a young killer who gets off on causing misery. His latest kick is getting people to commit suicide. He is a good villain in the shadows with a horrible backstory. The story is good but it could have been better. Stephen King’s writing sometimes gets in the way during this story. Stephen King loves to over explain and go on a tangent explaining the background of a hero and villain. In this story, he does both. I liked all the background work he does on all the characters. It doesn’t always serve the story. We know the killer of the horrible opener in 3 chapters. There is no mystery as to who he is. His goal of suffering is clear. I was very upset because it revealed Brady drives the ice cream truck. They could have had a big surprise at the moment they realize he has been watching them. Mr. Mercedes is not a mystery it is a story of can the good guys catch up to the bad guy. The narrative still has twists and turns but could have had a lot more. The opening scene is brutal and heart-wrenching. The setup works very well. This is the only time we do not know who the killer is. The pace of the story flows very well. It has great beats at the beginning, middle, and end that carry the story. Mr. Mercedes is a reread for me it is the only book in the Bill Hodges trilogy that I have read. I plan to finish the trilogy this year. Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King was published on June 3, 2014.

Plot Summary: Bill Hodges is a recently retired cop. He left the force with an unopened case. In this case, the killer stole a Mercedes and mowed down a crowd, killing 9 and injuring dozens at a job fair. The Killer, dubbed “Mr. Mercedes,” remains unknown to Hodges. Little does he know, the killer has been stalking him. The killer wants to play a dangerous game. The plan is for Hodges to commit suicide. Bill receives a letter from the killer. In the letter, the killer gives details on the Mr. Mercedes case that were not released to the press. Bill has been barely hanging on and instead of driving him to commit suicide, it gives him a purpose. He starts investigating the case again while being a citizen.

What I Liked: The killer is not perfect, his plan goes wrong a couple of times. The opening scene is one of my favorite Stephen King openings. The opening is one of the best sets up for a story. It makes you care for the victims while you instantly hate the villain. The villain’s backstory is tragic. The story of his little brother is messed up. It also shows why he is the person he is today. I liked the first mystery of whether the owner of the stolen Mercedes was responsible or not. Did she leave her keys or leave the car unlocked? Holly is a fun character, I love the way she finally stands up to her overbearing mother. The way they unlock the villain’s computer is clever. I did like the way Bill plays mind games against Brady. The novel shows that the economy was bad at the time. The USA was still building back after the housing crisis.

What I Disliked: Too much was revealed about the killer’s grand plan. It added a little tension. However, it could have worked better with a surprise element. Jerome did not need to talk “slave talk” as an inside joke with Hodges. It was unnecessary and insulting. In the end, I don’t know why no one called the ticketing agency. This should have been done after realizing he bought a ticket to an event. This could have told them where he was sitting. I hate that it was revealed so early that Brady was an ice cream truck driver in Hodges’s neighborhood. However, I know some of the paperback books featured the ice cream truck on the back cover.

Recommendations: Mr. Mercedes is a good crime fiction book. It is not a good mystery book. The sad fact if this was not a Stephen King book I would probably rate it higher. I still get excited when I read a Stephen King book. Mr. Mercedes falls in the good but not great Stephen King. I will barely recommend you check out Mr. Mercedes for the awesome but brutal opening scene, and the great character work.

Rating: Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King I rated 3.4 out of 5.

Ranking: I have read over 30 Stephen King novels but only read 14 for my blog. I will rank where Mr. Mercedes fits into the 14 I have read and fully reviewed. The ranking is from best to worst 1) The Shining, 2) Misery, 3) 11/22/63, 4) On Writing, 5) IT, 6) The Outsider, 7) Fairy Tale, 8) Later, 9) If it Bleeds, 10) Elevation, 11) Joyland, 12) Mr. Mercedes, 13) Billy Summers, and 14) The Dead Zone.