Mr. Mercedes (Bill Hodges Trilogy #1)
By Stephen King
Unlucky unemployed civilians of a midwestern town line up at a local job fair. In the cool hours of the morning a lone driver in a stolen Mercedes barrels through the crowd of people, killing eight and wounding fifteen. It was Bill Hodges’s (played by Brendan Gleeson in the series) last case that went unsolved before his retirement. Months later between thoughts of suicide and old case work he receives correspondence from Brady Hartsfield (played by Harry Treadaway) identifying himself as the driver in the horrific murders, but with plans for a much bigger attack. As the chase unfolds the reader is brought into the minds of Bill Hodges, a retired cop with a vengeance, and Brady Hartsfield, a psychotic serial killer, and both are just as crazy as they believe the other to be. Now an AT&T Audience Original Series.
“Every religion lies. Every moral precept is a delusion. Even the stars are a mirage. The truth is darkness, and the only thing that matters is making a statement before one enters it. Cutting the skin of the world and leaving a scar. That’s all history is, after all: scar tissue.”
Thoughts
One of Stephen King’s newer trilogies starts off with a strong first book in Mr. Mercedes. Despite this being a new TV series, I picked this up for the simple fact that I was in the market for a new trilogy and all the books were already out by the time I found them (what the hell is AT&T Audience anyway?). King wrote this series with a trilogy in mind, and I think that makes a huge difference here. This first installment, the best in the series in my opinion, draws you into the world of the crazy old cop Bill Hodges, but makes you want to hang around for all of the other side characters that float in and out of the plot. King is a master world builder and although he’s known for the scary old timey ones like The Shining, he built something with modern problems with technology and yes, even boy bands. The narrative through Bill’s eyes lends itself to King’s real views in his older age now, but it makes it that much more enjoyable to dig into. Although each a beefy 500 pager, this trilogy reads fast like most King books, and is a real treat. You might not be head over heels, but you will be captivated while the pages are open. Definitely worth checking out and if you do finish this one, you have to read the whole trilogy.
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