Book: Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King

Genre: YA Crime Fiction

Mug Shot: The cover of the book gives insight o the gruesome story between the pages of Stephen King’s Mr. Mercedes.  The blood raining from the sky down on represents the horrible crimes committed throughout the book.  The blue umbrella represents a sole form of communication between Retired Detective, Bill Hodges and his “perp”. The small smiley face represents the Mercedes Killer and how he is so confident in his work and not getting caught by anyone that he brags about it by leaving small clues for the police and writing letters to the Ret. Det. about his crimes. The cover holds a lot of symbolism that the reader will understand as they dive deep into the pages of Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King.

Does It Go To Court? Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King focuses mainly on Bill Hodges, a retired police detective whose life can only be described as “even less than boring”. Before Hodges retired he worked a case about a man who stole a Mercedes Benz from a richer part of town and drove over numerous people standing outside of a job fair very early in the morning. Hodges, who was credited with solving every case brought to his attention, never solved the case for his retirement came too soon, but remembers it all too well. Brady Hartsfield has been keeping an eye on Hodges since the day he plowed down the ambitious people at the job fair so early in the morning a couple years before. Hartsfield is waiting for the inevitable day where Hodges meets his undeniable fate, as most retired cops do. When Hartsfield begins to send Hodges letters telling him how he felt while running over innocent people and taking their lives on that horrible day, Hodges beings to reopen the case on his own despite the legal trouble he could get into. Hodges, now on the hunt for Brady Hartsfield, gains help for his yard boy, Jerome, conspiracy theorist neighbors, and from others whom he never thought he would come in contact with. In this story full of affairs, innocent lives being taken, explosions and inappropriate sexual humor, King makes it clear that “The Mercedes Killer” in Mr. Mercedes definitely takes this book to court.

Who Would Commit This? This book is perfect for anyone looking to say up all night nose deep in an action packed mystery. The gripping story will hold you captive until you reach the very last period. Stephen King does an excellent job of incorporating different views on such things as modern technology, police work, criminal minds, and love affairs. King uses a wide variety of diction and word choices to explain the story thoroughly while expending the reader’s vocabulary all at the same time. In Mr. Mercedes, King writes in both the view point of the protagonist, Retired Detective Bill Hodges, and the antagonist also known as “The Mercedes Killer”, Brady Hartsfield. This insight on both character’s lives keeps the reader on the edge of their seat while reading because they know the inner working of each one’s mind and what the next step will be to stay one step ahead of the other character. Anyone who loves action and mystery while staying one step ahead of the characters in the book will want to go to their nearest book store and get their hands on a copy of Stephen King’s Mr. Mercedes.

Word Count: 581 words