by Stephen King

A Horror, 2023 by Scribner, 449 Pages 

What I Didn’t Like:

• Content warning, of sorts. If you aren’t in the mindset to read about current topics affecting our world (COVID, US political divide, etc) amidst your horror, keep this one on a back burner until you’re ready. King pulled no punches here and clearly makes his opinions known. 
• The solution to this one felt a bit anticlimactic. I was expecting something bigger, perhaps something similar to previous Holly escapades. Compared to the rest of the series, this felt too easy. 
• Some of the events, while fun, are a bit of a stretch. It’s not even the crimes I’m referring to but, instead, windfalls of sorts that come to characters. There’s a lot of them for different people and it just feels … unbelievable.

What I Did Like:

• Holly remains a fantastic character. From her first introduction to now it’s been great to watch her grow and change as a character. I love when characters can learn and adapt to surroundings and Holly has done that. 
• The “bad guys” here are well written. The juxtaposition between who they are in their lives, which could easily be any number of people we know, and who they are when they’re doing bad things, is believable and terrifying.
• The language and descriptions are, as always, well written. King proves why he is the biggest name in fiction by describing everything perfectly.

Who Should Read This One:

• Finders Keepers fans, obviously.
• If you’re someone who enjoys a good mystery, a solid main character who you root for at all times, and twisted bad guys getting up to unspeakable crimes, you’ll love this one.
• As a note, you don’t have to read these in order. Holly would work as a standalone. But if you love the character, there’s more of her out there! 

My Rating: 4 Stars