Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King

Schneller, gefährlicher, tödlicher – Mr. Mercedes Ein Mercedes S 600 – »zwei Tonnen deutsche Ingenieurskunst« – rast in eine Menschenmenge. Es gibt viele Todesopfer, der Fahrer entkommt. Der Wagen wird später gefunden. Auf dem Beifahrersitz liegt eine Clownsmaske, das Lenkrad ziert ein grinsender Smiley. Monate später meldet sich der Massenmörder und droht ein Inferno mit Tausenden Opfern an. Stephen King, der Meister des Schreckens, verschafft uns in Mr. Mercedes beunruhigende Einblicke in den Geist eines besessenen Mörders bar jeglichen Gewissens. Eine wirtschaftlich geplagte Großstadt im Mittleren Westen der USA. In den frühen Morgenstunden haben sich auf dem Parkplatz vor der Stadthalle Hunderte verzweifelte Arbeitsuchende eingefunden. Jeder will der Erste sein, wenn die Jobbörse ihre Tore öffnet. Im Morgendunst blendet ein Autofahrer auf. Ohne Vorwarnung pflügt er mit einem gestohlenen Mercedes durch die wartende Menge, setzt zurück und nimmt erneut Anlauf. Es gibt viele Tote und Verletzte. Der Mörder entkommt. Noch Monate später quält den inzwischen pensionierten Detective Bill Hodges, dass er den Fall des Mercedes-Killers nicht aufklären konnte. Auf einmal bekommt er Post von jemand, der sich selbst der Tat bezichtigt und ein noch diabolischeres Verbrechen ankündigt. Hodges erwacht aus seiner Rentnerlethargie. Im Verein mit ein paar merkwürdigen Verbündeten setzt er alles daran, den geisteskranken Killer zu stoppen. Aber der ist seinen Verfolgern immer einen Schritt voraus.

I haven't read a lot of Stephen King, but I do like mysteries. He has mastered the formula and included a few surprises along the way. This one is just for fun.

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Okay, so going into Mr Mercedes, I was very excited. I'd read more good reviews than bad and, well it's Stephen King, so it was bound to be great right?

Well it most certainly was.

I loved every second of this read and loved the characters especially. I wasn't quite ready for it to end. But at least there are another two books in the series for me to read.

Bill Hodges is a retired police detective and sits at home every day watching bad afternoon TV and contemplating suicide while playing with his fathers old gun. He only has one regret from his entire 40 year police career and that's not being to catch the Mercedes Killer - a lunatic who stole some lady's Mercedes and drove it into a crowd of people outside a job convention, early one morning. He killed 8 people - including a baby - and injured many more. Bill gets a letter in the mail one afternoon from the Mercedes Killer and makes it his life's ambition to catch him.

My favourite thing about Mr Mercedes, was getting into the head of the killer. Brady Hartsfield, is one the creepiest, most disturbing characters I've read. I've read books before where certain chapters are from the killers point of view, but this one was just downright disturbing. And I love every second of it.

My favourite character was Holly. I loved her personality and her willingness and determination to help catch Mr Mercedes, even though she has so many things holding her back. She is severely mentally ill and that's obviously a challenge for her and Bill to overcome but her obsessive tendencies end up working out for her.

Over all, I really enjoyed Mr Mercedes and can't wait to read the next in the series, Finder Keepers.
Stephen King did what Stephen King does best. He had a great plot, a very realistic bunch of characters and the writing skills to pull off his first detective/crime novel.

Stephen King is usually praised for his supernatural horror. I may be a bit of an odd one out here, but I prefer King when he stays away from the supernatural. Mr Mercedes is atypical King in that it is ultimately a police procedural type story. There is no supernatural horror (although psychological horror is used) and that gives this story a horrifying believability that cuts through.

Mr Mercedes is a mass murderer. He drove a car through a crowd just to feel what it feels like and got away with it. The policeman who was assigned to his case (Bill Hodges) has since retired, leaving the killer feeling unfulfilled - he wanted the chase and now he is not getting it. He now tries to lure the detective out of retirement - with deadly and dangerous repercussions.

This is a very good crime novel. It really grasps the importance of the psychological battle between the perpetrator and the detective. The cat and mouse really is played with to a superb degree. At this stage this is probably my favourite King novel!