Rose Madder

Not sure where this was written in the sequence of his other books in the Dark Tower universe but it does include the spider and the spider's baby from the last 1 or 2 books in the series. And most importantly, it has the wonderful mix of you not being sure if this is in the land of time-space that we know, or if it's somewhere between known and some alternate reality.

I also enjoy that the main character is a woman pulling her self up out of physical and mental abuse and making a new life for herself.

One of my favorite works from my favorite author. Preternatural events aside, this woman's journey – a woman so utterly broken mentally, physically, and emotionally from years of systematic, and totally random domestic violence – to leave her situation with nothing but a bus ticket and restart her life in a strange city where she knows no soul and change her life no matter what, is POWERFUL. You don't have to be a Stephen King fan to appreciate this book, and it is inspirational to those who have experienced abuse. There is no “horror” in this book, aside from the very sick and demented behavior of her husband, a respected police officer. It IS, however a thriller and you won't be able to put it down.

This is the first Stephen King book I´ve read. I don´t usually read horror and tend to only read realistic fiction. My husband recommended I read this book and I was skeptical but I´m very glad I did. This story is amazing and I tore through it. He took an idea that is very real for a lot of people, being trapped in an abusive relationship, and he crafted that idea into something that you don´t just read but absorb. This story isn´t just a story, it is something to mentally chew on. It is full of symbolism and interesting little connections. It does have a lot of bad language so this book isn´t for everyone.

The story is told from two different points of view, Rosie´s and his. As the book goes on he becomes obsessed with finding her and slips more and more away from reality becoming a murderous monster.

The story is told from two different points of view, Rosie´s and Norman. As the book goes on he becomes obsessed with finding her and slips more and more away from reality, becoming a murderous monster.

The story starts with Rosie sitting on the floor in the corner of their living room losing her baby. Her abusive husband (understatement of the year) has beaten her, punching her in the stomach several times. He calls 911 but then he moves her to the bottom of the stairs and tells her what to say when they arrive. If she doesn´t say what she is supposed to he will kill her. She does not doubt that for a minute either. She can´t tell anyone what really happened anyway because they wouldn´t believe her. Her husband is a cop and cops back each other up. He´s part of a brotherhood and he´s a detective. Finding people is what he does.

Rosie stays with him several more years until one day she notices a single drop of blood on the sheet by her pillow. He punched her in the nose the night before and although she thought the bleeding had stopped that one drop had seeped out during the night. She had gone numb and was just living from moment to moment but this single drop of blood was pulling her back. She finally got the nerve up to run out the door. She takes his ATM card and uses it to get some money to help her get away. She is terrified because she knows he will come for her and he will kill her.

This book had everything I like in it:
- A good storyline
- Good characters who can create an emotional bond with and that are relatable.
- A thrilling page turning writing style.

Everything was amazing for me for half of the book. Then the supernatural elemenent was introduced and that's when Stephen King lost me.
I went into this book with loads of expectations and with an idea of a more realistic book but, unfortunately, that wasn't the case.
I guess that's entirely my fault for asking the book to be something else than what it is. However, I think that if King would have committed to a “normal” resolution to the problem, I'd like it a lot better.