Mr. Mercedes(Bill Hodges Trilogy, #1) – Stephen King

Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

“…Very Truly yours,
The Mercedes Killer”

Ever thought about driving your car, specifically a Mercedes, into a crowd of people lining up looking for jobs? Probably not because you’d have to have some serious mental problems to do so. The idea for this novel came to King when hearing the on the news that this exact situation happened after a fight broke out at a Mcdonald’s Job Fair a few years back, killing four people. This novel isn’t based on that exact events, but built in King’s mind from that event; the difference being, the killer in this novel hasn’t been caught, and start terrorising a retired cop who was lead investigator for the case.
This novel is read in the perspective of Bill Hodges and the notorious Mercedes Killer , switching between the two and following their paths to the breathtaking ending.
Another goodie from the King himself!

Bill Hodges, overweight retired lonely cop who spends most nights watching tv, eating unhealthy food and occasionally putting the tip of his gun in his mouth, to get the feel of it, is showing all the signs of a retired cop turning to suicide after a life serving under the badge.
Still tormented by the unsolved Mercedes Massacre , Bill gets his spark of life back when he receives an anonymous letter from a person claiming to be the Mercedes Killer himself, stating specific classified information, his excitement over what he did and taunting Bill that he would never be caught cause he never plans to do it again, once was enough to relive for a lifetime- Bill is unconvinced that this merciless killer wont strike again, even worse he could be watching Bill even now. Mr Mercedes convinces Bill to hop onto the Under Debbie’s Blue Umbrella website, where people can communicate anonymously leaving no breadcrumbs behind to follow, and from there Bill finds himself hunting down clues, antagonising this crazed killer and putting not only his own life but those closest to him in danger.

I think my favourite character was Bill Hodges for sure, although im not a fan of cops i find Bill to be sweet, kind and alittle sensitive. His suicidal ways at the start of the book show he is the kind of person that needs to have something to do, having served under the badge most of his life its understandable. Although he is in the early 50’s, and i dont have nearly enough life experience as Bill has, i still found a way to connect with his character, being so kind and caring towards others as well as he struggle with being overweight and not feeling good enough for his love interest.

This novel was well written, being written by Stephen King- of course it was! This isn’t a favourite of mine, although i did enjoy it alot. I accidently read the second book to this trilogy ‘Finders Keepers’ a while back not realising it was part of a trilogy, but the books aren’t really connected besides the main lead being Bill Hodges, although the Mercedes Killer is mentioned in the second book. Its easy to read, easy to follow and the slow paced build up of events made it captivating. Unlike alot of Stephen King’s other novels with a supernatural element this book is mainly about solving a crime and following the detective at work, which was different but still enough thrill to keep me wanting to read the last book of this series “End of Watch” although i need to buy it first.