The Outsider

3.5/5 Stars

I feel as though Stephen King books are either a solid hit or a solid miss. The Outsider, however, was the first Stephen King book I read where my overall thoughts & feelings on the story were just very...neutral. Let me break down what I enjoyed and what I was not so much enjoyed:

Likes:
The idea of the “Outsider” was a really cool, unique idea that really only Stephen King could concoct.

The characters - I like how well-liked men of their communities were the main target, and were the ones that stood trial.

I liked the connection between Heath Holmes and Terry Maitland, one that came deep in the story.

The element of sci-fit that Stephen King can so tastefully intertwine into a thriller. The characters themselves were acknowledging the fact that the supernatural is unbelievable, which made this seem more realistic as opposed to a far-out-there idea.

I always enjoy how Stephen King weaves in characters and little “Easter Eggs” that are a nod to his past work. In this case, Holly Gibney is a character that comes into play about halfway through the book - she is actually a main character in the End of Watch book I reviewed (read that review here!).

Now that I have discussed some positives that really stuck with me throughout, let's pinpoint some dislikes, which ultimately drove the review from a 5-Starrer to the 3.5 mark (which, by the way, is above average!).


Dislikes:
The book started to drag about 3/4 of the way through, as Detective Anderson, Holly and crew worked to find this perpetrator before he gets ahold of victim #3. I felt as though some parts were unnecessary and wordy.

Too many characters. There is a good host of characters in this story, but there's too many to really follow and get to know. I usually enjoy books with less characters and more time/info/mannerisms to get to know them as if he or she is real.

Some unacknowledged “leads”. I swore swore swore that Bill Samuels was going to have something more to do with the murders, because there were notes here & there of his odd mannerisms.

Overall, I would recommend this book to those who enjoy Stephen King, as you folks have a greater love for his lengthy, character-dense stories. However, if this book would be your first Stephen King novel, I would suggest maybe starting off with something smaller. I really loved End of Watch and I heard Elevation is great.