Welcome to another Crawford’s Mysteries and More! Book Club Novel Review. Novels read in book club will fall into the following categories: Detective (crime is solved by a detective/police officer), Cozy (no violence), Caper (told from the criminal’s POV), and More (not strictly a mystery)! Mysteries will be reviewed based upon the crime taking place, the intrigue of the information that gets revealed, the relative success of red herrings, and the satisfaction of the ending.
We all know Stephen King, the master horror and mystery novel writer. Well, Mr. Mercedes is a Detective/Caper novel whose hook sucks you in and won’t let you go. It’s like a demon that has sunk its claws into your arm and is sliding you slowly down into hell. I tried to think about reading something else, but my mind kept slipping back to those mysterious notes the detective received in his mail and the seemingly normal life the killer led.
Told in semi-alternating chapters between the killer and the retired detective trying to hunt him down, you will cringe through Mr. Mercedes sexualized reminiscing of his murdering spree, and you will barely breathe as you follow the detective’s clues to catch the killer. King reveals information to you at the perfect rate. Not enough that you can figure out where he’s going, but enough to feel like you’ve got the upper hand with the detective. There aren’t any red herrings, in the traditional sense, since you know who the murderer is the entire time. But you will put yourself in the detective’s shoes and wonder if you would have figured it out any sooner. The ending reaches the ultimate climax where the killer is about to strike again, he’s in a room full of people that include all the characters you have come to love, and you’re really not sure if the detective will make it in time.
If you need a story that will make you forget you are reading, consider Mr. Mercedes. If you’re looking for a murder mystery that is unlike anything else you may have read, choose Mr. Mercedes. If you want to study how to write characters that millions of readers identify with, look to Mr. Mercedes.
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