Holly is the latest book in the Holly Gibney series (Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers, End of Watch, The Outsider, If It Bleeds).  We first met Holly as a minor character recruited to help Bill Hodges in Mr. Mercedes.   Over the course of the books Holly grows from a self-doubting, unemployed, harangued woman into the owner of a investigative agency that finds missing persons.    In this book she is contacted by a distraught mother who wants Holly to find her daughter.

The book does not follow the standard mystery format, but this is also a horror story.    We know the killers and their victims right from the outset.    Other writers may have moved to a fast-paced thriller format, but Stephen King gradually develops the characters of the victims, the predators and the investigative team.  The mystery-thriller-horror tale follows the procedural investigative format.   King also places the tale in its time – Covid 19, MAGA-extremist politics, Black Lives Matter, and other themes explored by the media of the times.

Stephen King does not protect the reader from the horror, taking us on a dark journey:

“Just when you think you’ve seen the worst human beings have to offer, you find out you’re wrong….There’s no end to evil.”

Whereas many writers of horror fiction do not provide an adequate sense of redemption, King’s books have a recurring theme of the search for truth and justice.      We return to his books over and over again because we can count on his master storytelling, but also his connection to hope, reconciliation, and humanity.    Holly is not one of Stephen King’s top stories, but it is a good one.

Recommended, as expected – 4.5 out of 5.0 stars4.5

Afternotes:

• I have read all of the books noted above and have a vivid memory of each of the books.
• Stephen King has written many books over 50 years, including short story collections, non-fiction, and novels.    I have read 49 of them.  
• My favorite book is IT.