Feb. 2015's SK Flavor of the Month - Mr. Mercedes

First in a purported trilogy, this is what King calls his first hard-boiled detective book.

It took a long time for me to figure out how to enjoy this book. On page 400 of the 436 page book I figured it out. Stephen King writes about monsters. The biggest monster in this book was the lead character, Bill Hodge

You know I really enjoyed this one. Sometimes King feels the need to inject a monster into a story that isn't a monster story and he resists the temptation here. The bad guy is just a bad guy. Don't get me wrong, I like the monster stories but not every story calls for a monster. I was overjoyed that the Mercedes wasn't haunted, even after the horrific part it played.

I enjoyed the book. I think I have read too many King books (like that's possible) and I kept waiting for the monster, alien, freak.......I liked the detective hero and his sidekicks but at the same time I expected...um....something. It took away from my enjoyment of the book slightly but that is not the book's fault.