This was a fun mystery with a lot of magical elements thrown in. First in a new series.
Read in January.
Fantasy. Feb. 1, 2022. Print length: 256 pages.
The colors don't show up on this, but it is quite colorful on the black.
Final installment of the Between series, which has been building characters throughout. Some surprises, one that made me happy!
Gingell has had fun with the series, and so did I. ; )
Urban fantasy. Dec. 31, 2022. Print length: 273 pages.
Although I read End of Watch, the third in this trilogy several years ago, only now have I gone back to read the first book.
A crime thriller (not horror) featuring retired detective Bill Hodges and a couple of interesting helpers.
The book opens with a man driving a Mercedes into a crowd of job seekers, killing eight people and grievously injuring fifteen others; the reader experiences empathy with the folks gathered in hopes of finding jobs. Then...the devastation of lives lost and damaged when the murderer plows into the crowd.
It was the last case of Bill Hodges before retirement, and a case that remains unsolved. Now retired, bored, and depressed, Bill gets a letter from the Mercedes Killer that taunts him, encouraging him to commit suicide.
The effect is the opposite of what the killer wants, the smug and sinister letter galvanizes the retired detective and now Bill Hodges want to get to Mr. Mercedes for personal reasons as well as fear of another massacre.
Definitely creepy, but with fascinating characters, three of whom you end up liking a great deal and cheering on. This is the third Stephen King I've read: End of Watch some years ago, Billy Summers recently, and now Mr. Mercedes.
Mr. Mercedes was an audio book that allowed me to work on the poor apron I spilled bleach on and have been slowly covering with embroidery.
"Read" in February.
Hammett Prize (2014), Edgar Award for Best Novel (2015), Goodreads Choice Award for Mystery & Thriller (2014)
Audiobook narrated by Will Patton. 2014. Print length: 437 pages.
Love that preying mantis! And both The Raven Spell and the Gingell series look like books I would really enjoy.
ReplyDeleteThat preying mantis and the book made me cackle! I enjoyed both The Raven Spell and the final book in the Between series--a little magic and fantasy. :)
DeleteThe apron is looking fancy!
ReplyDeleteI haven't read a King novel in years. His book will be a special read.
Thank you
I never read any of his early books or saw the movies, but I did like Mr. Mercedes. :)
DeleteI haven't read any of these. I do like the apron. It has a crazy-quilt feel to it :)
ReplyDeleteAt first, I was just covering the bleach spots on the apron, but then it did get a little crazy-quilt feel. I'm not much of a planner, but I love keeping my hands busy if I'm listening to a book or watching a Netflix series. :)
DeleteThat praying mantis is priceless! I read my first Stephen King book (Billy Summers) last year and I definitely want to read more. I'm putting Mr. Mercedes on the list.
ReplyDeleteThat preying mantis is the kind with which I'm familiar, but some are absolutely gorgeous. You've probably seen some of the beautiful ones, but they fascinate me.
DeleteMantis Photography
I was an early King convert when he first began writing back in the last Ice Age. Since then, I've gone through stages where I don't read his books for a decade, then read a couple, then don't read 'em for a decade...lather, rinse, repeat. Mr. Mercedes brought me back to the fold. I enjoyed the entire trilogy and have since read The Institute and Billy Summers. The man certainly knows how to tell a tale.
ReplyDelete:) I actually liked Mr. Mercedes better than Billy Summers, but King does know how to tell a tale!
DeleteBetween Kings! I had a lot of fun with that series too. I'm eager to find out who the spinoff series will center around. :)
ReplyDeleteI didn't know there was to be a spin-off! I wondered what Gingell would come up with next, then saw that she has one called Cinderella Must Die to be realeased at the end of February.
DeleteThe Raven Spell sounds like an interesting read. And that apron looks great with embroidery! :)
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed The Raven Spell, and it made a nice interlude in my reading. :)
DeleteThe photo of the apron bleaches the colors, but I'm happy with the result so far.
I haven't read any King in many years, but I would like to try his Bill Hodges trilogy. Crime fiction is more my jam than horror for sure. I also want to read the Kennedy book 11/22/63 some day. So little time, so many books?
ReplyDeleteThe Bill Hodges trilogy kept me engaged, for sure! I may give the Kennedy book a try, but I've never been able to accept time travel--which is really funny because I can believe in vampires and werewolves and ghosts and witches and magic and space travel and aliens and...
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