Name: Mr. Mercedes
Rating: 3.91015625 (256 reviews)
ISBN: 9789021026237

Stephen Edwin King

Mr. Mercedes

The start of a trilogy that I don't plan on finishing ever.

I don't find Bill Hodges or Holly Gibney to be characters worthy of a trilogy. Holly would go on to be in more books than just these; I'd read her in "The Outsider" years prior, where I was also unimpressed with her performance as a character. Stephen King clearly loves her and we all get to suffer for it.

I didn't think the Mercedes massacre was a very thrilling way to start a story. The crime would be horrible in real life, but as a major plot point in a book it feels very tame and uninteresting. I am convinced King just liked the alliteration of "Mr. Mercedes" and likely based the entirety of this book upon that fun sound -- a challenge to see if he could.

The initial crime failed to interest me and Bill Hodges continued this lacking interest. I actually find the sidekick, Jerome Robinson, to be the best character of the book. It was easy to perk up a bit whenever he said or did anything; he's a comedic voice of a reason. The villain, Brady Hartsfield, is a bore. He seems like someone who would be caught (or killed) by the end of an episode of "Law and Order: SVU" and undeserving of the position bestowed upon him by this book's plot. He has some funny, sardonic lines, I guess, but they're infrequent and nothing worth remembering.

Something happens about halfway through and I was quite surprised by it. It was an interesting twist and majorly changes the pace of the killer's goals. I liked this and felt like it began to breathe life into a book that was almost flatlining. Unfortunately, this second wind fades as the book goes on towards its final page, and by the end I was just happy it was over.

I went with two stars because of course King is competent enough to write a story that doesn't hurt you or anything. You won't be completely wasting your time with "Mr. Mercedes", but I do have to consider this among the lower tiers of books (especially of King's that I've read). Again, I did like that twist, it definitely bumps up the score -- too bad it couldn't keep that momentum going.

I won't be reading the other two books -- I checked their synopses out and I'm good, actually quite glad, to be passing on them.

Evan

The start of a trilogy that I don't plan on finishing ever.

  

I don't find Bill Hodges or Holly Gibney to be characters worthy of a trilogy. Holly would go on to be in more books than just these; I'd read her in "The Outsider" years prior, where I was also unimpressed with her performance as a character. Stephen King clearly loves her and we all get to suffer for it.

  

I didn't think the Mercedes massacre was a very thrilling way to start a story. The crime would be horrible in real life, but as a major plot point in a book it feels very tame and uninteresting. I am convinced King just liked the alliteration of "Mr. Mercedes" and likely based the entirety of this book upon that fun sound -- a challenge to see if he could.

The initial crime failed to interest me and Bill Hodges continued this lacking interest. I actually find the sidekick, Jerome Robinson, to be the best character of the book. It was easy to perk up a bit whenever he said or did anything; he's a comedic voice of a reason. The villain, Brady Hartsfield, is a bore. He seems like someone who would be caught (or killed) by the end of an episode of "Law and Order: SVU" and undeserving of the position bestowed upon him by this book's plot. He has some funny, sardonic lines, I guess, but they're infrequent and nothing worth remembering.

Something happens about halfway through and I was quite surprised by it. It was an interesting twist and majorly changes the pace of the killer's goals. I liked this and felt like it began to breathe life into a book that was almost flatlining. Unfortunately, this second wind fades as the book goes on towards its final page, and by the end I was just happy it was over.

  

I went with two stars because of course King is competent enough to write a story that doesn't hurt you or anything. You won't be completely wasting your time with "Mr. Mercedes", but I do have to consider this among the lower tiers of books (especially of King's that I've read). Again, I did like that twist, it definitely bumps up the score -- too bad it couldn't keep that momentum going.

  

I won't be reading the other two books -- I checked their synopses out and I'm good, actually quite glad, to be passing on them.

I do not recommend "Mr. Mercedes".

Sonia Grgas

Dennis Jacob Rosenfeld

Among King's weaker works. Mostly due to the story being predictable, unoriginal and derivative of several other serial killer stories.

Briar's Reviews

Okay. Just... Wow. 

Wow, wow, wow!

Stephen King has been hit and miss for me. It was incredible and Carrie was meh, so I wasn't sure how I would like this one. I've heard great things, but you never know. I heard this book was more thriller than horror, and that was right. And man, was it one intense thriller and it was so good!

This book is long, but it's worth every page. The book slowly but surely ramps up until you get to the insane action of the end. Plus, that bloody cliffhanger that DROVE ME INSANE. Now I need to finish this series, which will definitely be a while. 

Hodges is a retired cop, and he is haunted by the Mercedes crime. Some crazy dude ran over people at a job fair, and he really wants to solve this mystery. Lucky for him, Mr. Mercedes is still up to his old tricks and wants to commit more crimes. He really liked teasing his victims and Bill Hodges. Bill ends up teaming up with Jerome and Holly to try to solve this mystery, and he faces some real tough losses along the way.

I'm impressed. Thrillers in general can be hit and miss for me, so having this one pull me in so tightly and keep me hooked was awesome! 

There are definitely parts of this book that seem unrealistic or seem dumb, but I don't care. This book was a great thrilling read that pulled me in and kept me. Sure, it was dumb Bill didn't try to get some of his buddies from the force to help, but that was half the fun. Some of the racism in this book was rough, but it is what it is. I definitely don't recommend speaking like some of the characters in the book.

Overall, this is a great book by Stephen King. It's not supernatural, it's a crime thriller with splashes of horror. Stephen King has done a great job crafting this story and I can't wait to grab the remainder of this series.

Four out of five stars.

It's always unusual to read a true crime novel by Stephen King. Without horror, without the supernatural. But he does that very well, too.

Nick Bicko

Celeste Richardson

Full review now posted!

Rating: 2.5/5 stars

I’m not going to lie; I’m disappointed. This was my seventh King book, and was the first that left me feeling let down. Was it horrible? No. It was simply bland. Unrelentingly bland. The only thing that kept me reading was my enjoyment of King’s writing style. But the plot was never surprising, the reveals were heavy handed, and the characters were mostly flat and cliche. There were a couple of exceptions, of course, especially in the forms of Jerome and Holly, but for the most part I was just let down and quite honestly a bit bored by what I read.

I don’t generally harp on characterization choices made by authors, but the sexist and racism that raged through the veins of King’s antagonist in the novel were just too overblown to be convincing. Yes, I’m sure there are people in the world how harbor such a vehement hatred for anyone who looks different than them or urinates in a different position than they do, but that level of venom would be nearly impossible to hide 24/7, as Mr. Mercedes does. I know that nearly impossible isn’t the same thing as actually impossible, but I just couldn’t find him a believable character.

Bill Hodges, after whom this trilogy is titled, was a bit of a disappointment, as well. Here is a man who served is city for 40 years as a cop, and has earned his place at the “good ole boys” table. I understand how with his age and former profession he could be a bit of a backwards thinker. But every time he was able to view a woman as more than whatever cliche King used to define her as a character, that alteration of viewpoint completely blew his little mind, which gets annoying after a while. I hate when guys can’t see women as more than props or a pair of boobs or a motivation for a man’s deeds or a stereotype at which to roll their eyes and elbow each other knowingly. Men not viewing women as actual people is super frustrating, but I understand that some authors use that as a character’s weakness. Unfortunately, in this particular novel, that view was so prevalent that it didn’t feel attached to any particular character as much as it felt like the view point of the author. I’ve read enough King to know that isn’t the case, but I can see where it could be a deterrent to other female readers who pick up the book.

Besides the rampant sexism and heavy handed use of racism to paint the antagonist as evil, I also had issues with the plot itself. There were no surprises. Every time a twist took place, I could see it coming from a mile away. Also, whenever one of the protagonists figured out what the antagonist was up to, or vice versa, the way they came to those conclusions seemed way too convenient. This game of cat and mouse felt less like a chess match and more like students cheating off each other’s tests. Also, as I said previously, I was bored, which has so far never happened to me while reading a King novel. But this book felt like an episode of Criminal Minds or a similar show, except that it didn’t know when to end. As I discussed with my friend Mary as we buddy read this book, I can dedicate an hour to a predictable crime show, but asking me to devote 14 hours to one is just too much.

Long story short, I won’t be finishing this trilogy. I just have no interest. It felt juvenile and clunky and unlike writing I’ve become accustomed to when reading King. Does this mean it was a horrible book and that you should stay as far away from it as possible? Of course not! I know a lot of people who loved this trilogy, and I still found it readable even when I was bored. Just because it didn’t work for me doesn’t mean you won’t love it if you decide to pick it up.

Stephen King

Months after a crazed hit-and-run driver kills several attendees at a Midwestern job fair, a depressed retired cop and two unlikely allies join forces to find and stop the killer, who has sent a letter threatening another attack.

Cams Campbell

A crime novel by Stephen King. I don't know why I keep persevering with SK's novels. Somehow I keep going till the end even though I'm not really enjoying it. It's easy listening I suppose (audiobook). This one was two stars, barely.

it was a while since I read a King book, this is not his typical horror but I thoroughly enjoyed it all.

Won’t make any spoilers but it arrived a point where I could not stop reading.

Piero Mamberti

Could not put this book down.

it was a while since I read a King book, this is not his typical horror but I thoroughly enjoyed it all.

Won’t make any spoilers but it arrived a point where I could not stop reading.

allie

4/5⭐
⬇️
Esta es la primera novela que leo de Stephen King y ha sido una gran descubrimiento. Una muy buena lectura que he disfrutado de principio a fin.

En esta historia nos encontramos al inspector de policía ya retirado Bill Hodges. Bill junto a su compañero, fue el encargado de llevar la investigación de Mr Mercedes, un hombre que embistió un Centro Cívico matando a varias personas. Ahora, un año después, con nuevas pistas y nuevos sucesos, Bill investigará con un par de buenos amigos a Mr Mercedes e intentarán por todos los medios detenerle al fin.

Los personajes me han gustado mucho. Nuestro protagonista principal, el inspector Bill, ha sido un muy buen personaje. Es una persona con ganas de descubrir quién es el culpable. Me ha gustado mucho esa tenacidad y fuerza. Un gran personaje también, que ha sido muy importante en la historia es Jerome, un adolescente que me ha encantado y ha sido muy necesario para Bill y la investigación.
Por otra parte, "Mr Mercedes" también me ha parecido un gran personaje. El villano de esta historia es astuto, siniestro y con ideas y actitudes muy macabras.

Esta novela me ha gustado mucho. Es una historia entretenida, adictiva que no puedes parar de leer. Es una novela policiaca estupenda, con la parte de tensión por saber qué ocurrirá, la emoción de descubrir nuevas pistas y cómo se va solucionando todo. Ha sido una muy buena historia, también con partes siniestras y duras que forman parte de la trama y que le han dado un toque adictivo y muy atrayente.
Como punto negativo, diría que el final me ha resultado muy precipitado, creo que ha ocurrido todo muy deprisa y me hubiera gustado que hubiese estado más desarrollado. Durante el libro me ha parecido que ha habido partes algo aburridas, que no me han aportado demasiado al conjunto de la historia y después el final lo he sentido muy rápido, sencillo y sin mucha tensión. 
Eso sí, el último párrafo y conversación del libro es brutal porque el autor nos sorprende con una noticia sobre un personaje que te deja con muchas ganas de más.

"Mr Mercedes" es un libro que me ha gustado mucho y lo he disfrutado. Me ha parecido un libro entretenido, interesante y con una pluma increíble y que atrae al lector. Una novela policiaca estupenda y con muchos momentos sorpresa.

Originally published: New York: Scribner, 2014.

A Novel

Sabetha Danes

Holly is 100% the reason I picked up this book. Her appearance in The Outsider / If It Bleeds made me want more stories about her.

I was on edge for the entire wrap up of this plot. Knowing Stephen King, it could end in a tragedy or happily and it was a ride to find out which way all the way up into the last sentence. 

These characters are flawed in the best way. Every one of them as their own story they are dealing with, coming together by chance to work through a case with a retired cop. 

If you love thrillers, especially from both the detective's point of view, and the culprits point of view. Plus a bit of family drama/we're all connected to each other by a thin thread type symbolism, you'll love this book.

Richard Binder

Strikes me as comparatively minor King, but still one hell of a tense run-up to a very satisfying ending.

Patti Reinheimer

I like this trilogy very much and enjoy the trio of main characters, but I found this first book very difficult to get through because of the chapters told from the villain’s perspective. Brady Hartsfield is a horrid excuse for a man, and King conveys that so brilliantly that it was just too unpleasant to spend that much time in his head.

Mr. Mercedes

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