Mr. Mercedes (Bill Hodges Trilogy #1)

Author: Stephen King
Rating: 4​ Stars
Review By: Shana

​This isn't King’s best book, but then he sets the standard so high it isn't really fair to hold him to it.  It is a very solid mystery, with nicely realized characters (both in terms of its heroes and a singular villain), and he lets those characters interact naturally, be entertaining, and make mistakes. 

You always have the feeling things will turn out all right in the end, so you don't get that existential dread that many of King's supernaturally adjacent books have.  That might be a negative, as you don't feel things as keenly, or a positive, as you can just enjoy the snappy dialog and climactic encounter.

​This book could easily stand alone, but knowing it continues and concludes as a trilogy (and knowing the third book is supposed to bring in that classic King-sian horror/supernatural twist) definitely drove me to swiftly pick up the next two books in the series (and they did not disappoint).  Definitely recommended for those who like their King in doses smaller than a doorstop, who are not TOO creeped out by mother/son romance, and who can handle blue language.