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 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.