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

anything he does is gold

this guy's is an evil genius and can pull fear from the bottom of my soul

Slow Catching

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

Intense, thrilling, twisted

What did you like best about this story?

Once the thrill is built, it keeps you there

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Non

If you could rename Mr. Mercedes, what would you call it?

Wouldn't call it anything else

Any additional comments?

The story starts quite slow and very informative. At some point, I got the fear of getting bored of a Steven King novel. However, once you have the storyline, facts, and characters in place, it becomes very intensive and I would not stop reading.

Steven has done it again! will put this as another collection item in my library.

Different, but one of King's best

I've read a lot of King. I liked this because there is no supernatural, the characters were interesting, and the resolution was not entirely expected. Also, unlike a lot of King's books, he must have had an editor that removed the typical King deadwood. Refreshing.

My Review

I really like this new style of Stephen King's. It really shows where the true horror is.
I have always seen his books as the struggle between good and evil.
The horrors that human beings inflict on each other is the worse kind of horror there is.
Will Paton did a very good narration;' there were a couple of places I felt he fell short. These were when he was doing the women's voices. The overall performance compensated for this difference.

great reading

the story is typical king the reading performance makes the story cant wait to listen to the follow ups with the same orator

Great book (listen)

I am a long time reader of Stephen King's books...and this as good as any that I've had the pleasure of reading (listening) to. Will Patton does an amazing job of conveying these characters to the point I can almost see what they look like. I am ready to listen to the next book!

Great Story!

I enjoyed this book. kept.me on the edge of.my seat for days. another great Stephen King story.

Another excellent King Audiobook

From the start, the story grabbed me and pulled me in. I can't wait to read the next two. The narrator seemed a little off to me at first but he grew on me big time. He was great, and played the roles perfectly.

A Slight Departure

Stephen King is known as one of the masters of the horror fiction genre, as deservedly so. His recent books such as Cell, Under the Dome and Doctor Sleep proves that he has not let the edge dull. This book was, to me anyway, unlike his usual style. Yes, there is suspense and even a couple of horrific scenes. It is even a very good listen. But not scary and no supernatural tint. I measure the scare factor of his books against "It". This is more like a fairly decent detective novel.

Not Classic Stephen King, but still not bad

I'm a Stephen King fan from way, way back, when I used to read everything the man wrote. Honestly, most of King's recent work just isn't up to the standard he set with Christine, Carrie, The Shining, etc. Mr. Mercedes seems to be a big departure from the traditional horror genre that King has always dominated. I describe the book as more of a crime thriller with plenty of Stephen King flavor and flare; it has more in common with Misery than anything else of his I've read.

You can read about the plot in the Publisher's Summary, so I'm not getting into that here. Suffice it to say that the story is well told, with solid characterizations (particularly of the more twisted players). In anyone else's hands, these people would be stock characters, thinly drawn and not compelling. The psychopath from the messed up family and a murderous streak; the retired copy with a messed up life and suicidal thoughts; the trusted teen sidekick ... etc. But King is able to make all of that work by giving us believable relationships and scattered moments of genuine emotion and personal insight.

There is nothing supernatural going on here. This is about evil and psychological pathology. The central focus is on the way certain relationships can push us well over the edge or, in other cases, pull us away from the brink.

As a straight forward crime drama, Mr. Mercedes would fall short. As a true horror novel, it doesn't come close. As a psychological thriller, it's a little thin. But as a hybrid of all the above, Mr. Mercedes works and works quite well.

A final remark on the work of Will Patton as the narrator. His performance is simply the best thing about this audiobook. While I recognized Patton's name, it wasn't until I heard his voice that I was able to place him. The man always does good work, mostly in film. But here, he does great work, nailing every single detail to near perfection. Hyperbole? Maybe. But damn, Patton knocks this right out of the park.