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 … Continue reading →
Gwendy’s Button Box is a novella written by Stephen King and Richard Chizmar. It is a coming-of-age story about a young girl who meets a stranger who gives her a strange box (beware of strangers bearing strange gifts). Most of the story follows Gwendy’s teenage years in Castle Rock and her interactions with the effects of the Button Box. The … Continue reading →
Near the end of her life Shirley Jackson had become homebound and felt isolated. Her last novel was published in 1962 and instead of another Gothic horror story she created a story about the unusual Blackwood sisters living in a rural home, away from town, but isolated because of the mistrust and hate of the villagers. Constance, Mary Katherine (Merricat), … Continue reading →
Duma Key takes the reader into a deep dive into the protagonist Edgar Freemantle’s life of pain and partial recovery. Stephen King himself was critically injured and spent part of his recovery time on a nearby key. Some of the themes and motifs of the books Misery and IT are wound into a story of a man trying to … Continue reading →
The Mist is a novella first published in 1980 and also included in the short story collection Skeleton Crew. It is a horror story complete with horrific creatures, exciting encounters, savage killings, and a desperate attempt to escape. Characters are well-developed (though most don’t survive). Stephen King is adept at setting up the “What if” scenario in which he inserts … Continue reading →
The Mist is a novella first published in 1980 and also included in the short story collection Skeleton Crew. It is a horror story complete with horrific creatures, exciting encounters, savage killings, and a desperate attempt to escape. Characters are well-developed (though most don’t survive). Stephen King is adept at setting up the “What if” scenario in which he inserts … Continue reading →
I watched the movie when it was first released and I was surprised and a bit horrified by the story. The movie was a well done, but I decided I couldn’t read the story and I stuck with that choice for 31 years. Over the last decade, I have become an avid reader of Stephen King, so I wanted to … Continue reading →
