Mr Mercedes

No primeiro volume da Trilogia Bill Hodges, Stephen King introduz personagens que rapidamente encantam o leitor. O detetive aposentado Bill Hodges, entediado com o rumo que sua vida tomou após se aposentar, busca solucionar o caso do 'Assassino da Mercedes'. Trata-se, nada menos, do feito de um maníaco que atropela dezenas de pessoas em uma feira de trabalho. King descreve a cena com um realismo estarrecedor, fazendo transparecer ao leitor um ambiente de absoluto horror e carnificina. Logo no início, o autor norte-americano deixa claro quem o assassino é (aspecto que me surpreendeu positivamente, uma vez que esse tipo de revelação precoce é pouco comum em romances policiais). O criminoso é analisado de forma psicológica, e nos são reveladas as inúmeras causas da loucura e do cinismo que o assola. Cheio de cenas emocionantes, Mr. Mercedes traz um componente investigativo à obra de Stephen King e demonstra que o autor não precisa recorrer ao sobrenatural para escrever um bom livro.

話の展開が快い速さです。

I don't like horror and I have not read Stephen King's books or stories before. I was sure that I did not want to read Carrie or The Shining but someone recommended this book as a psychological thriller. I absolutely loved it. Stephen King has the gift of drawing you into the book from the first sentence. With most other books, there is a breaking in period when I really need to get used to an author's rhythm and pace but with King, it happens immediately. The book is about a notorious serial killer and psychopath who is known as the Mercedes killer, who kills a lot of people in a job fair. Bill Hodges, the cop who failed to catch Mr. Mercedes, retires and is still tormented by the case he never solved. Brady Hartsfield who is the Mercedes killer knows this and sends Hodges a taunting letter and Hodges decides to go after him. An absolute thrilling ride from start to finish. Also - I love Holly Gibney! Such a great character from King.

Available Now A cat-and-mouse suspense thriller featuring a retired homicide detective who’s haunted by the few cases he left open, and by one in particular – the pre-dawn slaughter of eight people among hundreds gathered in line for the opening of a jobs fair when the economy was guttering out. Without warning, a lone driver ploughed through the crowd in a stolen Mercedes. The plot is kicked into gear when Bill Hodges receives a letter in the mail, from a man claiming to be the perpetrator. He taunts Hodges with the notion that he will strike again. So our Mr King does straight up Crime Fiction (something which has already parted the King crowd down the middle in a very Red Sea kind of way) and does it with plenty of va va voom (sorry couldnt help it). As far as I’m concerned, the style and magic we all (mostly) love is there - but if you are awaiting a supernatural twist you’ll be waiting a while. This is a thriller, a rollercoaster ride of pure adrenalin especially as we head into the last part of the story, when I was done I had to lie down for a while and wait for my heart to stop attempting to hurl itself from my chest. Bill Hodges is retired and contemplating in a rather quiet manner, ending his life. Before he can do that however, he receives a letter from the claimed perpertrator of the case that haunts him, that of the Mercedes Killer. The letter, it turns out, is the beginning of - in some ways – very typical King good versus evil tale but grounded firmly in reality. As first one then the other of these two gladiators takes the upper hand it will have you on the edge of your seat, probably doing a bit of yelling if you are prone to that sort of thing, and keep you on your toes as you wonder just who is going to win this battle. Because that is far from clear. This author makes no promises. The thing I am ALWAYS in awe of is how the characters pop. With a few paragraphs at the beginning of this book I could see a whole lifetime for two of the characters (I’m not going to think about how THAT turned out), within a few pages I felt like I’d known Bill Hodges my entire life and every single person whether peripheral to the story or right in the middle of it was brought to absolute life. Not new, its what Mr King does best, but each time it happens it is magical once again. I’d like to have a Holly in my life – although sometimes it has to be said I worry that I AM the Holly in my life. I’m sure a few people who know me will smile wryly if they read this then read Mr Mercedes. Tightly plotted, a fascinating villain and a truly thrilling and breathtaking cat and mouse tale, whilst this is not my favourite of Mr King’s body of work it sure was a heck of a ride. No I couldn’t help that one either… I loved it. Ok I always do but that doesnt make it any less fantastic. Happy Reading Folks!

I'll start off this review with what this book is not. It is not a horror story,although there certainly are disturbing scenes. It is not a supernatural story, although ghosts are referenced in the book. So what is it? A detective story, plain and true. It starts off with a retired cop receiving a letter from a mass-murderer he never was able to catch. It then turns into a cat and mouse game where one tries to get the other (the cop to catch him, the murderer to get the cop to die). It's hard to discuss details without ruining the plot, so I'll try to stick to basic details. It's generally realistic and reminds me of a modern Rockford Files episode. As is true for most King novels, the characters are quick to grow on you. King's still a master of character development and the cast of characters is interesting and keeps growing as the book goes on. Some die, some stay on, but the plot keeps moving forward at a relentless pace. The real strength of any detective story is the quality of the detective work. And it's quite high here. Nothing really implausible, just solid logic combined with the odd bit of luck here and there. I quite enjoyed reading about how Bill Hodges (the retired cop) profiles and starts closing in on Brady Hartsfield (the killer). King does a very good job with Brady, painting him as a very realistic psychopath. It might appeal to fans of shows like Criminal Minds, even though I don't like them (and King makes fun of them in his book). So in some ways, this isn't a typical King book as the content is very mundane. But it is a typical King book in that it shows off the skills of a really good author (he even gets in a solid AC/DC reference or two). I read all 425+ pages in less than two days, which means it dominated my free time, which means it was a pretty darn entertaining book! If you are a fan of King's writing, or of detective stories in general, then this book is very easy to recommend to you. If you're looking for supernatural horror, then you're probably better off with some of his other books. Five stars.