I waited for months for this to come out, spent another month on the on-hold list at my library, devoured the whole thing in 48 hours and insisted on returning it immediately for the next Stephen King fan. So…you’re not going to get an unbiased review here.
“It’s about how some people carelessly squander what others would sell their souls to have: a healthy, pain-free body. And why? Because they’re too blind, too emotionally scarred, or too self-involved to see past the earth’s dark curve to the next sunrise. Which always comes, if one continues to draw breath.”
Spoilers for the first two books ahead!
When we ended Finders Keepers, Bill Hodges and Holly Gibney have a little detective agency, and a decent grasp on life. Serial killer Brady Hartsfield had his brains bashed in by the fantastic Holly, and remains in care at the Traumatic Brain Injury Clinic. But there are…rumors about Brady’s abilities. Hodges refuses to believe that Brady’s as brain damaged as he claims (he’s avoided a trial so far), and nurses on staff claim to witness supernatural occurrences in his presence. When Hodges catches wind of a new case that might have even a slight connection to Brady, he leaps on it — despite what it might do to his own health and happiness.
I love the character growth over these three novels — Holly in particular. I just wish Jerome had more of a role here, but he does show up a bit. While I didn’t like the ending, I agree with it and believe King ended it how he needed to. I love how he tackled a fairly new genre for himself here, and twisted it to suit his own purposes. I just can’t wait to see what he does next.