Mr. Mercedes

Warning: this review contains spoilers

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Stephen King has managed to do what I don't usually consider possible: write a book that spends a lot of time in the serial killer's head without creeping me out too much. The titular serial killer gets his name from his one and only spree: a hit-and-run in which he plowed a Mercedes-Benz through a crowd of job seekers at a downtown job fair, killing several people and evading justice. His arch-nemesis, if you will, is retired detective Bill Hodges, who is frustrated by the fact that they never caught Mr. Mercedes and would dearly love a chance to nab him for good.

Mr. Mercedes is a real piece of work: he is cunning and clever, knowledgeable about covering his tracks in all possible ways, but he show more has vulnerabilities, and the reader is privy to these. Sometimes you want to shout "DON'T DO IT!" or "HE'S RIGHT BEHIND YOU!" or similar things to Bill Hodges and his cohorts on the case, and sometimes you know that something terrible is going to happen and you can't do a thing about it. It is a gripping story, and the pages go by very quickly.

One particularly horrifying scene for me was the scene where Brady comes home to find that his mom has eaten the poisoned hamburger he intended to feed to a dog. The hamburger meat was laced with strychnine, which is easily one of the more terrifying poisons in terms of how it attacks your system. If you were unsettled by the strychnine poisoning scene in The Mysterious Affair at Styles (which I was, having read it at the tender age of eight), then this one is ten times as unsettling.

On a lighter note, I enjoyed the dialogue between the protagonists, the portrayal of preteen girls and their crushes on boy bands, and the chapter that contained references to both Christine *and* It.

I will definitely be reading the sequel, Finders Keepers. show less

After a long hiatus due to a mild disenchantment with Stephen King’s works, I found my way back to his novels through The Outsider and the more recent - and for me far more successful - The Institute. So I decided to retrace my steps and see what other good stories I missed in those “years of disappointment” and settled on the Bill Hodges series, starting with Mr. Mercedes: this trilogy marks a change of pace from King’s usual offerings, since it’s a crime/thriller novel with no elements of horror or supernatural activities, but as I’ve often found out we hardly need monsters to inspire dread, when the darkest depths of the human soul offer more than enough material in that sense…

Mr. Mercedes proves this theory from the show more very start: in 2009, as the world suffers in the grip of widespread recession, a sizable crowd forms around a stadium where the next morning a job fair will open its doors. Hundreds of hopefuls queue up in the chilling nighttime fog waiting for an opportunity, when a high-end Mercedes sedan plunges at full speed over the crowd, killing eight innocents and maiming twice as much. Roughly one year afterwards Bill Hodges, one of the detectives working the case of the Mercedes Killings, finds himself in a deep depression brought on by his retirement and the ghosts of the cases he could not solve: he spends most of his days drinking, sitting in front of the TV watching trashy shows, and at times contemplating suicide. All this changes when he receives a letter from the killer, calling himself Mr. Mercedes, and urging the detective to put an end to his life. Forced out of his inertia, Hodges engages in a progressively more dangerous game of cat and mouse with Brady Hartsfield, the killer, teaming up with some unconventional helpers like Jerome, a tech-savvy teenager; Janey Patterson, the sister of the Mercedes’ guilt-ridden owner, driven to suicide by the killer himself; and finally Holly Gibney, Janey’s niece and a character I met in The Outsider, making her first appearance here.

Much as I enjoyed this novel, which turned out to be a compulsive read, I ended up being of two minds about it: on one side the story moved along at a fairly relentless pace and with the stakes getting progressively higher I found it practically impossible to put the book down, on the other, once all was said and done and the proverbial dust settled, my “inner nitpicker” surfaced and started pointing out several inconsistencies that I was able to overlook while I was engaged in reading, but came back to bother me afterwards.

What I liked: as usual, Stephen King’s main strength comes from characterization, and Mr. Mercedes offers many opportunities for the detailed creation of outstanding figures, starting with Bill Hodges himself, who might look like something of a cliché in that he’s the classical former detective, overweight and lonesome, who gave his all in the course of a long career paying the price in terms of family ties, and now feels useless and adrift, but ultimately shows unexpected resilience once he’s presented with the opportunity of getting closure on a case still preying on his mind for several reasons. There is a kind of twisted humor in the way Hodges evolves along the way, because the action that in the killer’s intentions should have driven him over the edge is exactly the one that revives the ex-detective’s interest in life and compels him to get out of the well of melancholy and lethargy that had enveloped him up to that point. This unexpected outcome works well within King’s overall tendency toward dark humor, which is evident both through some tongue-in-cheek references to his previous works (like IT or Pet Sematary) and through a few unexpected developments that keep frustrating the killer’s plans in a way that is, at the same time, dramatic and reminiscent of poor Wile E. Coyote’s major failures.

Brady Hartsfied stands at the opposite end of the spectrum, of course, not only because he’s the villain here, but because he’s the worst, most despicable kind of villain one could ever imagine: a person with a history of abuse, granted, but also one who is a completely abominable creature filled with the need to make his own mark on history, to be seen beyond the drab anonymity of his life, and who chooses to do so by hurting people - not just physically hurt them, but to torture them psychologically as he does with the owner of the stolen car he used for the massacre, or with Hodges himself. There is a well of hate in Brady - directed both inward and outward - that seeks release by striking toward those he sees as more “fortunate”, and he does so with such a gleeful abandon that wipes out any trace of compassion one might feel for the damaging experiences of his past. There is a chilling, inescapable consideration that comes to mind when reading his sections in the novel: that there are, and have been, many Brady Harstfields in the real world, that a substantial number of them have doled out death and pain, and that any one of them might do so again…

Where the characters and the story-flow worked quite well for me, there are however some narrative choices that did not: for example, Hodges’ dogged determination to solve the case without involving the police. If there is a believable reason, in the beginning, to keep the new evidence and the killer’s missives to himself, and if it’s understandable how Hodges might want this “last hurrah” for himself, this rationale stops being credible once Brady raises the stakes in an… explosive way (pun intended, sorry…) and shows that the theory of the dangerous wounded animal is more than sound. The reasoning behind Hodges’ decision, that the police department is busy dealing with a huge weapons raid, sounds far too convenient to be completely believable and looks like an aberrant deus-ex-machina created to allow the “heroes” to shine on their own.

Still, the final part of the novel is such a breakneck run against time and impossible odds that it’s easy to momentarily set aside any misgivings and to let oneself be carried away toward the ending. While I might not completely appreciate the method, I enjoyed the thrill of the ride and that’s what ultimately mattered. And of course I’m now curious to see where Stephen King will take his characters in the next two novels of the series. show less

Stephen King's "Mr. Mercedes", is a brilliant example of what an amazing writer he is even if he isn't writing horror or supernatural. He gets you to care about characters in just a few simple paragraphs, which is why when bad things happen to them (and it's an SK book, so you know they will) it hurts so much. Mr. Mercedes is a brutal killer. Retired detective Bill Hodges didn't catch him before retiring. A year after, Hodges is contemplating suicide when Mr. Mercedes reaches out, taunting him. With a renewed sense of purpose, Hodges is determined to catch this maniac and put him away for good. It was taunt and suspenseful and just plain *good*. This is the sort of book he writes occasionally that makes me sad that he's labeled a show more "horror" writer. Although it doesn't seem to matter too much these days, he's pretty universally popular. show less

I picked this novel and its sequel, Finders Keepers, up at the Thrift Store, as I was intrigued to see what Stephen King would do with detective fiction. Although I am really fairly well done with spending time inside the head of a psychopath, King kept me engaged with Brady Hartsfield, turning some of the things we think we know about such people sideways (for instance, Brady is a single guy living at home with his Mother, and their relationship is downright icky, but he is fairly self-aware; he isn't driven by either abnormal obsession with or hatred for Mommy). And, mercifully, the Brady sections of the novel do not predominate. Mr. Mercedes was a page turner, and the suspense is palpable---King set me up a couple times for a really show more nasty thing that didn't happen, but something else nasty happened instead. Knowing that there are two more books in this trilogy gave me some confidence that King wasn't going to bump off Det. (Ret.) Hodges in this one. But the last book is called "End of Watch", which suggests he might be saving that wallop until his faithful readers are REALLY invested in the character. I just don't trust the man, who also likes to sneak damned clown masks in to so much of his fiction. (He understands our/my fears too well.) Still, there's no question about his ability to get and keep a reader's attention, so he's got me hooked on Hodges and company now. show less

King is on more of a mystery/thriller outing here than a horror one. Or, I suppose you could say he's gone the direction of portraying the everyday horrors rather than the supernatural type. The title character is a guy who drove a car into a crowd of people waiting for a job fair to start, and got away with it. Bill Hodges is a cop who worked that case, and now that he's retired and without other ties to the world, he spends a lot of time looking down the barrel of his own gun, considering.

Then Mr. Mercedes reaches out to him, and Hodges is determined to find him and make things right. Hodges is a pretty good main character - he doesn't have any superhuman strength, he doesn't make stunning leaps of deduction. He plods through the show more case, making connections eventually, although sometimes not soon enough. In other words, he comes across as a regular guy. The people who end up coming along with him on the case are less regular, but every book needs some quirk, and these secondary characters provide that. I wasn't entirely enthralled with the young man who does Hodges' yard work; he just rang false to me overall although I did like him at times.

I just nailed King's son Joe Hill for referencing multiple Stephen King works in his book NOS4A2, and then King referenced his own works a few times in this one. I guess I have to give him a pass on at least one of them, though - mentioning that when Hodges looks at the killer car, he is reminded of the movie about that Plymouth Fury that came alive. It must be a strange position King finds himself in at moments like that - it's entirely believable that someone would be reminded of Christine, but you're also an author who's become notorious for being self-referential. Ah, dilemmas.

Bottom line: a fast read with nothing but the horrors that can lurk in the human psyche.

Recommended for: mystery readers who normally shy away from horror, someone looking for a travel read to finish on the plane.

Quote: Rich people can be generous, even the ones with bloodcurdling political views can be generous, but most believe in generosity on their own terms, and underneath (not so deep, either), they're always afraid someone is going to steal their presents and eat their birthday cake. show less

A pesar de lo mucho que me gusta Stephen King nunca lo tengo cerca en mi radar a la hora de buscar un libro para leer, pero invariablemente cuando uno de sus libros cae en mis manos me sorprende, me atrapa y me encanta.

Este libro lo tenía en lista de pendientes desde hace muchos años, pero por algún motivo lo había ido dejando atrás, no se porque me tarde tanto, este libro es muy pero que muy bueno.

Ya se que King es conocido como el Rey del terror, pero para ser honesta sus libros de Thriller e intriga me gustan mucho más, es verdad que el estilo de King es muy minucioso, puede no gustar a algunos por su estilo descriptivo, a pesar de que no soy fan de las grandes descripciones, me encanta en este autor, no me aburre y al final show more logra situarme perfectamente en el momento y en la acción.

Tiene a un gran personaje como asesino, me parece a mi que ha caído en algunos clichés, pero es inevitable, me ha encantado como King ha logrado mostrarnos el tipo de relación que Harsfield tiene con su madre, todo ha sido implícito, entre líneas y eso, en mi opinión ha sido mucho mejor que si hubiera sido explicito; jugar de esa manera con la mente de cada lector es una genialidad, cada quien llega hasta donde su mente le da, aún así, me parece que a pesar de que King ha intentado mostrar la psicología del asesino, explicar los comos y los porqués, no lo ha terminado de lograr del todo, me he quedado como si me faltara algo ahí, no puedo evitar que implícitamente, a pesar de las explicaciones, también se da a entender que ya es algo desde el nacimiento, así que, fue como una pregunta en la parte detrás de mi mente de ¿es culpa de la madre o él ya era así?

Hodges me ha gustado como protagonista, pero ahí me ha faltado algo y aun no se qué es, más allá de los personajes este ha sido un gran thriller, fácil de leer y de digerir, creo que podría haberse contado con menos páginas, pero aun así me gusta.

Holly y Jerome han sido el mejor acompañamiento para Hodges que es es un boomer el pobre que no podría haber hecho nada sin estos dos.

A por el siguiente de esta trilogía. show less

Penso che questo romanzo mi sarebbe piaciuto se fosse stato un racconto di duecento pagine in meno e se King avesse eliminato tutte le sottotrame inutili. È chiaro che il suo obiettivo era di scrivere un romanzo thriller ad alta tensione, una lotta contro il tempo e una silenziosa guerra fredda tra due avversari che finiscono per distruggersi a vicenda, ma... non ci è riuscito.
Hodges è un personaggio francamente odioso e me ne auguro la morte; Hartsfield aveva tutte le carte in regola per essere un ottimo villain ma con l'avanzare del libro diventa una macchietta; Janey non dovrebbe esistere ed è pressoché inutile; i personaggi secondari sono gli unici ben caratterizzati.
In effetti ciò che più sorprende di questo libro è che i show more personaggi restano sempre monodimensionali, non cambiano, non evolvono, semplicemente sono delle creature, dei pupazzi che King muove a proprio piacimento, senza darsi il disturbo di svilupparli.
Ad esempio Hodges: il suo unico tratto della personalità è essere un poliziotto Buono TM, e poiché è buono buono buonissimo buono come il pane tutte le cose che fa, anche le azioni illegali, vengono giustificate. E poi, perché decide di dare la caccia a Brady da solo? Perché non informa i suoi ex colleghi e coinvolge dei civili? Risposta: boh. Hodges non è credibile perché non ha motivazioni, semplicemente decide che Hartsfield dev'essere catturato e che lui deve farlo da solo (perché la narrazione ci tiene a informarci che l'ex detective è un genio, anche se per tutto il romanzo fa la figura del cretino). Se King avesse tagliato la storyline di Janey, oppure se l'avesse introdotta all'inizio come amante di Hodges che Hartsfield ammazza per spingerlo al suicidio, oppure se ci venisse detto che Brady ha ammazzato la moglie di Hodges, o la figlia, o il cane di Jerome, allora Hodges avrebbe avuto un motivo per volerlo catturare da solo. Così, invece... no. Agisce senza motivazioni, ed è semplicemente incoerente, irreale, idiota.
E poi Hartsfield: nella prima metà del libro è convincente, un cattivo spaventoso nella sua normalità, squallido, crudele. Poi però King decide che non gli va bene, e Brady diventa una macchietta, una caricatura idiota. Poiché Hodges è buono, Brady dev'essere Super Cattivo TM, ma in maniera esagerata, ridondante e irritante. Hodges ha il migliore amico nero (e l'atteggiamento del white supremacist che prende a cuore i neri per dimostrare di non essere razzista)? A Brady fanno schifo i neri. Hodges è paladino dei diritti delle donne? Brady dà della troia a tutte le donne con cui ha a che fare. È come se, non riuscendo (o non volendo) a dargli un'adeguata caratterizzazione, King abbia deciso che il modo giusto per rendere il suo coprotagonista un villain spaventoso fosse renderlo ridicolo.
In conclusione, questo è il settimo romanzo di King che leggo, e il primo che mi delude. Spero solo che nel resto della trilogia il nostro smetta di identificarsi in maniera tanto patetica in Hodges. show less