[books 2015] New Stephen King
Jul. 28th, 2015 09:36 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
inulro32. Finders Keepers by Stephen King
This book is a sequel to his recent thriller, Mr Mercedes.
It starts with the robbery and murder of a great American author in the 1970s, a man who wrote three acclaimed novels and retired, by an obsessed fan, who really wanted not his money but his safe full of notebooks. He kills his accomplices and stashes the lot for later consumption in a local waste ground. He goes out to celebrate and promptly lands himself in jail for 35 years.
Fast forward to the current recession. A boy whose family is in dire straits because his father was injured by the villain in Mr Mercedes finds the "treasure". He uses the cash to help out his family (the issues that cash from the 70s is unlikely to still be accepted is never commented upon), but he is also a big fan of the author whose work he uncovers. Eventually the money runs out and he needs to sell the notebooks.
At the same time as the original thief gets out of prison...
Up to here the story is well told but not that exciting. However, when the boy gets himself into trouble and, through a circuitous route, the detective and his friends from Mr Mercedes get involved, and it becomes a race to see who gets to the notebooks first, the pages just turn themselves. It help that I really liked those characters.
So it's a decent thriller, but I'm not convinced he successfully does whatever he was trying to do about fandom and the nature of obsession.
This book is a sequel to his recent thriller, Mr Mercedes.
It starts with the robbery and murder of a great American author in the 1970s, a man who wrote three acclaimed novels and retired, by an obsessed fan, who really wanted not his money but his safe full of notebooks. He kills his accomplices and stashes the lot for later consumption in a local waste ground. He goes out to celebrate and promptly lands himself in jail for 35 years.
Fast forward to the current recession. A boy whose family is in dire straits because his father was injured by the villain in Mr Mercedes finds the "treasure". He uses the cash to help out his family (the issues that cash from the 70s is unlikely to still be accepted is never commented upon), but he is also a big fan of the author whose work he uncovers. Eventually the money runs out and he needs to sell the notebooks.
At the same time as the original thief gets out of prison...
Up to here the story is well told but not that exciting. However, when the boy gets himself into trouble and, through a circuitous route, the detective and his friends from Mr Mercedes get involved, and it becomes a race to see who gets to the notebooks first, the pages just turn themselves. It help that I really liked those characters.
So it's a decent thriller, but I'm not convinced he successfully does whatever he was trying to do about fandom and the nature of obsession.
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Date: 2015-10-18 08:34 pm (UTC)