Book Review: The Outsider, by Stephen King

Genre: Horror/thriller
Date Published: May 2018
Publisher: Scribner
# Of Pages/Listening Time: 561 pages/18 hours 40 minutes

Goodreads | Audible

Synopsis: An unspeakable crime. A confounding investigation. At a time when the King brand has never been stronger, he has delivered one of his most unsettling and compulsively readable stories.
An eleven-year-old boy’s violated corpse is found in a town park. Eyewitnesses and fingerprints point unmistakably to one of Flint City’s most popular citizens. He is Terry Maitland, Little League coach, English teacher, husband, and father of two girls. Detective Ralph Anderson, whose son Maitland once coached, orders a quick and very public arrest. Maitland has an alibi, but Anderson and the district attorney soon add DNA evidence to go with the fingerprints and witnesses. Their case seems ironclad.
As the investigation expands and horrifying answers begin to emerge, King’s propulsive story kicks into high gear, generating strong tension and almost unbearable suspense. Terry Maitland seems like a nice guy, but is he wearing another face? When the answer comes, it will shock you as only Stephen King can.

My Rating:

 ★★★ 1/2

.....For being a decent King novel

My Thoughts:

I'm definitely not one of Stephen King's biggest fans. I've had a love-hate relationship with his books for years (at least a decade). I loved Bag of Bones and The Shining, liked Needful Things and The Green Mile, found The Gunslinger weird, hated Cell, and never bothered finishing Dreamcatcher. Depending on what I'm reading, I either respect Stephen King as an iconic writer, or I think he's an overplayed author who loves his own writing. (Like I said, it's a love-hate relationship.)

With this book, I think I find myself somewhere in the middle.

This is a pretty standard King thriller. It follows a plot outline that he's used many times before: something bad happens, the bad thing becomes scarier, the heros of the story start to figure out what the bad thing is, the heros confront the bad thing, the end (pretty formulaic). And, just like other King novels I've read, he's managed to take something we already think of as at least a little scary, and make it creepier.

One thing that I really liked about this story was how it felt a little like a mystery novel, in addition to being a thriller/horror. I've been in the mood for mystery lately, so this novel certainly hit the spot.

Pace-wise, this is one King's better novels. Because I'm trying to fulfill a bunch of book club requirements this month (BOTM's, reading challenges, etc.), I made myself a reading schedule and I assigned myself a week to read this book. This book drew me in so much that I ended up finishing this book two days early. There certainly was never a dull moment in this story, and, of course, there were a couple of eerie scenes that you might not want to read at night when you're home alone!

The characters were another plus in this novel. I found I could relate with a lot of them; there was a lot of character depth and development that I found to be well-done (good job, Stephen King). I'd say that if I had to pick favorites, I think I would choose Holly Gibney and Claude Bolton. Claude, because he overcame a very difficult addiction and lifestyle and committed to staying clean; Holly, because she's quirky, strong, and really good at her job (I'd say she was the strongest character of the bunch! Thanks again, King, for making a strong female character).

(By the way, if some of you King fans think that Holly Gibney sounds familiar, you are right! I discovered that Holly is one of the characters in the Billy Hodges trilogy-Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers, End of Watch-Unfortunately, if you're like me and haven't read this trilogy yet, Holly's appearance in this novel contains major spoilers. Ah well, but it's still always fun to find little surprises like that when you're reading!)

If I had to complain a little, I'd say the climax wasn't what I had expected. It works, I guess, and I appreciate how it all went down, but I feel like the buildup was bigger than the actual end. Plus, while it answered questions, it created a few more (view spoiler). It makes me wonder if there will be future books that will take place in Flint City, and if we're seeing another trilogy in the works. But if that's not going to happen, I'm not complaining too much; this book works pretty well as a standalone.

So, overall, this is one Stephen King's better (but not best) works. You get hooked pretty early on, and you get sufficiently creeped out and disturbed by the scary outsider. Stephen King didn't take any huge risks with this story, but he still did a decent job I feel.

It goes without saying that King fans will definitely read this book (do we really need to tell them to?), but what about for the rest of us who didn't jump on the Stephen King bandwagon? To them, I would say that if you like creepy thrillers, or supernatural mysteries, then you'll probably find this story pretty enjoyable. (Although if you're obsessive about reading books in chronological order, then maybe read the Bill Hodges trilogy first, so that you know where Holly Gibney comes from.)

Enjoy!