Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Mr Mercedes by Stephen King

38 reviews

amysalwaysreading's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Incest, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Death of parent, Child abuse, Child death, Violence, and Suicidal thoughts

michaelavictoria's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Racial slurs, Child death, Child abuse, Racism, Alcohol, Death of parent, Mental illness, Murder, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Death, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Vomit, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Incest, Emotional abuse, Stalking, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, and Cursing

Minor: Medical content, Sexism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Ableism, Torture, Chronic illness, Police brutality, Body shaming, Dementia, Eating disorder, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Slavery, Bullying, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, and Infidelity

crystal689's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Child death, Violence, Misogyny, Death of parent, Death, Murder, Stalking, and Racial slurs

sydgolt's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is why Stephen King gets the hype he does. This book was dark and twisted but also full of love and friendship and bravery. writing from the perspective of both the hero and the villain was so fascinating and, no doubt, challenging. Getting into the mind of someone as unstable as Brady Heartsfield is a testament to the dedication King puts into his books. 

I had so much fun listening to this. I went in blind and, to be quite honest, with low expectations. In my experience, over hyped authors with the number of books that King has tend to disappoint me (with some exceptions of course). But i was beyond pleasantly surprised by this book! It’s not one I’ve heard any reviews about and I’m shocked, because it was just so good. 

I have some issues with how he wrote about the women (making unnecessary comments about their breasts). While those comments are a little icky, they didn’t take away from the quality of the writing or the plot. 

Overall, I love this book, I love King’s writing, and I can’t wait to read more from him!!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Rape, Death of parent, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Incest, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, and Sexual content

Minor: Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, and Animal death

nightstitch96's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child death, Classism, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Child abuse, Blood, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Fatphobia, Murder, Mental illness, Incest, Cursing, Death, Misogyny, Violence, Death of parent, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Grief, Dementia, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcoholism, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Medical content, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Transphobia, Vomit, Xenophobia, Medical trauma, and Suicide

readerofdafuk's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I'm always a stephen king fan, but this is the first crime novel I've read of his that wasn't tied to anything really supernatural. Wow am I blown away. I was so tense and terrified over what was gonna happen next. Like I was able to guess what some of the plot foreshadowing stuff was but then I would be forced to read my worse fears come to life. It's dark, gritty, horrifying, a brilliant cat/mouse game by a smart but pathetic man that felt like a crime drama episode. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Child death, and Death

Moderate: Incest and Suicide attempt

thematicaudience's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

One of my absolute favorites of Stephen Kings novels, especially due to its introduction of one of my favorite characters of his, Holly Gibney. Not only that, but the mass murderer is very well written, and realistically at that. Not to mention how many twist and turns kept me engaged and loving every second of the chase.

That being said, there were a couple too many slurs being thrown around by Brady Hartsfield for personal comfort, even though they had purpose in showing his character, especially aimed at poc throughout, and disabled people later on in the novel. Holly Gibney also does not show up until about 2/3rds of the novel is done, and female love interest leading up to her arrival I did not find nearly as remarkable. Her character was bland and while I was surprised by her sudden death, I could not say I was necessarily upset by it.

 
I also am in general not a fan of sex scenes, and the ones in this were particularly hard to sit through, though skimming helped, however that may be personal preference, and they at least served a purpose.
However, ultimately, the whole thing was incredibly enjoyable and a favorite of mine. Definitely a great start to a trilogy.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Car accident, Blood, Racial slurs, Fatphobia, Death, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, and Incest

Moderate: Child death, Racism, and Grief

Minor: Alcohol, Abandonment, Addiction, and Alcoholism

Almost all horrific acts, ableism, racism, etc are done by the main antagonist or those related to him, though there are minor instances of ableism and fatphobia put forward by who we are rooting for.

westernsunshine's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Racial slurs, Incest, and Violence

Moderate: Mental illness, Homophobia, Death of parent, Racism, Vomit, Ableism, Suicide, and Grief

sgordon00's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

it took me a while to finish because the first part started out so slow to build the world we were in. crazy for stephen king to use the n word the way he did tho lmao

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Cursing, Fatphobia, Xenophobia, Sexism, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Suicide, Stalking, Blood, Sexual content, Death, Racial slurs, Child death, Death of parent, Gore, Incest, and Mental illness

violetturtledove's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I'll keep this fairly short, because what can I say about Stephen King that hasn't been said before? I'm more familiar horror books and less with thrillers, but this is a perfect example of the genre as far as I'm concerned. Totally gripping, so well paced and plotted, and some great characters. I know it's a cliché but I honestly didn't want to put this one down.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Murder, and Incest

Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Grief, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Incest, and Racial slurs

Minor: Alcoholism