Mr. Mercedes

A Novel

By: Stephen King

Narrated by: Will Patton

Length: 14 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

2015 Audie Award Finalist for Fiction and Solo Narration—Male

In a mega-stakes, high-suspense race against time, three of the most unlikely and winning heroes Stephen King has ever created try to stop a lone killer from blowing up thousands.

In the frigid pre-dawn hours, in a distressed Midwestern city, hundreds of desperate unemployed folks are lined up for a spot at a job fair. Without warning, a lone driver plows through the crowd in a stolen Mercedes, running over the innocent, backing up, and charging again. Eight people are killed; fifteen are wounded. The killer escapes.

In another part of town, months later, a retired cop named Bill Hodges is still haunted by the unsolved crime. When he gets a crazed letter from someone who self-identifies as the "perk" and threatens an even more diabolical attack, Hodges wakes up from his depressed and vacant retirement, hell-bent on preventing another tragedy.

Brady Hartfield lives with his alcoholic mother in the house where he was born. He loved the feel of death under the wheels of the Mercedes, and he wants that rush again. Only Bill Hodges, with a couple of highly unlikely allies, can apprehend the killer before he strikes again. And they have no time to lose, because Brady's next mission, if it succeeds, will kill or maim thousands.

Mr. Mercedes is a war between good and evil, from the master of suspense whose insight into the mind of this obsessed, insane killer is chilling and unforgettable.

©2014 Stephen King (P)2014 Simon & Schuster

One of best from Stephen king

One of king's better books and all the way through. wish more of his stories were as consistent.

Cops vs crazy again

What made the experience of listening to Mr. Mercedes the most enjoyable?

Will Patton does an excellent job of assuming the characters and adds just the right amount of personality to each one. The story is fluid and holds your attention from the start.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Holly was delightful as you "watched" her emerge from her cocoon and take charge.

Which character – as performed by Will Patton – was your favorite?

Brady came to life through Patton.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The anticipation of the disaster looming at the concert was especially nerve-wracking.

This is a great read. Also a great listen!

Loved it! Will be added to my favorites list. Hope there will be more to come. I will move on to Finders Keepers now.

Pretty good and entertaining

Would you listen to Mr. Mercedes again? Why?

Yes, I would. After 1 or 2 years. It was very entertaining. I'm sure I would pick up on things throughout the story that I may have missed the first time around.

Which character – as performed by Will Patton – was your favorite?

Brady! Gave him that hidden crazy person feel.

Another expertly written page-turner from the King

Any additional comments?

Great characters that I really came to care about and clockwork plotting made this a great read. King is known for his supernatural work, but apparently he also knows how to hook the reader into a straight-up tale of suspense, and how to ooog you out with a very very creepy bad guy. Made me wish he'd write more in the "police procedural" genre. Also have to give another huge thumbs-up to the wonderful Will Patton who seems to be born to read for Stephen King.

Excellent

I loved this book. I looked forward to my drive to work so I could listen.

Absolute King! No Paranormal required!

Would you listen to Mr. Mercedes again? Why?

Yes, I would listen again to catch what I missed the first time.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Hodges was my favorite good guy, Brady the main protagonist.

What about Will Patton’s performance did you like?

Will Patton's use of voices for each character was excellent. Mr. Patton's accent worked very well especially with Hodges and with Holly.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

What they did to little Frankie haunts me now weeks after I finished the book. I have a new respect for the true horror humans are capable of inflicting on the innocent. Shocking! The scary thing is... that I'm sure it happens somewhere everyday somewhere in the world.

Any additional comments?

As always, Mr. King's descriptive account of what is happening allows the reader to hear each sound, feel the pain, and smell the odors good and bad. Excellent writing!

amazing book and narrator

I really enjoyed this book and loved the suspense and witty banter and clever writing.

Good book!

A good read as most of King's books are. Have already downloaded the 2nd one. Felt the narrator could have put a little more "drama" into it but overall was very good.

Atypical Stephen King

If you could sum up Mr. Mercedes in three words, what would they be?

A true thriller! This is not a supernatural, monster laden,alien riddled classic Stephen King. This is truly a terroristic, psychotic, modern day thriller.