Title: Holly
Author: Stephen King
Type: Fiction
Page Count/Review Word Count: 449
Rating: 4.5/5
Holly Gibney is a fan favourite Stephen King character, especially when it comes to his more recent releases, and there are plenty of good reasons why. She stole our hearts in Mr. Mercedes and has continued to develop from there, and she feels much more alive than most characters you’ll come across whether reading King or turning your focus elsewhere.
This book, though, really puts Holly centre stage and gives her a platform to shine in a way in which she hasn’t been able to before. We learn a lot more about her troubled relationship with her mother, and we also see how Holly deals with grief due to the fact that her mother passed away before the book began and left her having to deal with her estate. That’s complicated by the fact that her mother had much more money than she’d let on.
This is also happening against the backdrop of COVID-19, which King handles brilliantly. It was always difficult for writers to tackle COVID and so it was fascinating to see how easily King balanced it all. It’s there in the background of the novel, but it doesn’t feel forced. It just seems natural, something that’s happening out in the wider world and which has a minor impact on the story like current events always should for a writer who sets their books in the real world.
Now, then, let’s take a look at the plot. Basically, Holly finds herself investigating a serial killer that no one even knows exists. She’s tasked with investigating a disappearance, and it soon becomes clear that she’s stumbled on to something bigger.
Interestingly, we get to see who the killers are right at the start, and so we’re able to follow things from the points of view of both the protagonist and the antagonist at the same time. King has a knack for using this as a way to build pressure until it feels like the book is about to explode in your hands, and just as you can’t take it any longer, everything comes to a head.
The payoff is just as good as the build-up, which is good news for King fans because he’s not always known for nailing the landing. Fortunately for us, he does so here, ensuring that this is the sort of book that keeps you gripped from start to finish.
And there’s one other thing to mention, too. He plays with our expectations, setting up a magical element to the story and then shooting it back down at the end. That works well with gritty crime.
