Back to the King after a long time. I have read only a handful of his books. However, I was always impressed by his writing style and the stories. Recently I came to know there is a series based on the same. I bought this book almost two years back and had to read it before trying out the series. Also, horror has always been my favorite genre and for the past year, I have never ventured into the genre and hence the read.
One of the most popular Flint City residents and Little League coach Terry Maitland is being arrested for the rape and gruesome murder of Frank Peterson. The Flint City detective Ralph Anderson finds overwhelming witnesses and DNA evidence pointing to Terry. This was enough for the police to arrest him in front of a fully packed stadium in front of his wife and two daughters were terrified. Meanwhile, Terry's friend and lawyer find a strong alibi for his friend. He was miles away in another city attending a conference and even a TV clipping is present showing his presence. On the way to court, Terry gets killed by Frank's brother. A devastated Ralph tries to get to the bottom of this with his friends as a sort of redemption for what happened. What is in wait for them? Who is the foe? Is it a doppelganger or a shapeshifter? Or was it really Terry Maitland?
I loved the way Stephen King came up with a story each time. It comes with all the usual traits of his - the wordplay, elaborating the story, conversations among people and within oneself, etc. What other writers write within 200 pages, when it comes to Stephen King it can easily turn out to 500 odd pages. That is how elaborate the author's settings can be. What I like in his books is that detailed conversations are happening between people and also within oneself. This book is no different. All the conversations give us a sense of involvement and keep up the tempo of the story. The engagement keeps us from drifting away. I liked the handful of characters and the depth and emotions that each of them carries. Terry, even though sort of an extended cameo appearance, did make a mark on the reader. Equally wonderful was the character of Ralph who blames himself for what transpired in the Maitland and Peterson families. It was impressive how the investigation was happening along with the drama and not separately. Holly came halfway in the book and she had a wonderful role in this. Some of the characters or places might cross over in Stephen's world and Holly is one such character. She has appeared in a few other books of King and I guess she is introduced as an independent investigator here. Even though I love the elaboration part, one issue is that it always stressed me out. King is not an author who just has things happening on every page and it takes a few pages for an incident to happen and we will be left biting our nails as to what is going to happen. As usual, King doesn't shy away from throwing a few characters under the rock for the story to proceed. And finally, the antagonist was interestingly written. I loved the way he was playing a silent part in all the hullabaloo happening around. The final confrontation was bittersweet but interesting enough.
In short, yet another good read from the King. It's been more than a year since I have read him, but he never fails to impress me like before. Horror fans can surely go for this read. It seems that there is a Netflix series on the same and it has some rave reviews. I will have to definitely check out the same as well.
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