Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'

Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King

17 reviews

idk_indigo's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

1.75

Okay, guys... hear me out but... I think the character Jerome might be black... I could be wrong though, please don't cancel me

Mr Mercedes was my first finished Stephen King novel, and I think maybe a combination of the very white author constantly using racial slurs and the very white narrator constantly saying them, just turned me off so much. I felt like Jerome could not be mentioned once in the entire book without reference to the fact that, yes, he's black. But wait, guys, it's okay that he's black cause he's applying to Harvard and Yale. Like, everyone who meets him points this out and it's constantly brought up as, like, part of his character and I genuinely don't think "Jerome" was ever alone in a sentence without "black." Like, girl... 

Sort of similar to Hodges being fat, though there weren't so many comments about weight, but like I don't think I've heard so many fat jokes in a single book before. Like, Hodges fucking hates himself and cannot even talk to his girlfriend without being like "Woe is me, I'm so fat, how could you ever love me?" Or to his neighbor Jerome without a couple self-deprecating jokes about needing to lose 50 pounds. And like how old he is, too, but then he mentions being 62 at some point and I'm like, where is the old?? I felt sort of like Hodges was meant to be a grumpy old man character-turned heartfelt fatherly figure bc of the love from his community, which we all know I love <3 Maybe this trope doesn't work too well with the genre because I was like, girl shut up, you're ugly. And fat too, apparently. Don't care. I hated his character, he drove me nuts & was hella sexist and even openly admits to not taking women seriously because they're "crazy" and women. Then at the end he

fucking has a heart attack, probs because he's so fat

The villain/antagonist/perp (not too familiar with the genre, so what's the correct term here?) was I think influenced by like Ted Bundy and other serial killer types, complete with killer Freudian mommy issues. He was very unlikable, which I guess is one thing King did right bc I am sick and tired of these characters being "undercover misunderstood good guys." 

Overall.... idk what to tell you. I'm glad I tried out a King novel. However, I believe I will stick to girly horror from now on. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Incest, Death, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Suicide attempt

Minor: Death of parent, Homophobia, Mental illness, Sexism, and Stalking

eadrianschmitz's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

I don't like the way he writes about the female characters, and if you can get over the unrealistic progression of the plot, it's a pretty good story. Two minor things from the first scene that drove me crazy: Costco doesn't have bags, misuse of the term "baby mama". Can recommend audiobook. Great narrator.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Deadnaming, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Gore, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Homophobia, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Sexual content, Addiction, Body horror, Classism, Genocide, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Stalking, Fatphobia, Medical content, Blood, Biphobia, Chronic illness, Gaslighting, Body shaming, Bullying, Car accident, Child death, Cursing, Medical trauma, Animal cruelty, Police brutality, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Mental illness, Murder, Sexual violence, and Vomit

I don't like the way he writes about the female characters, and if you can get over the unrealistic progression of the plot, it's a pretty good story. Two minor things from the first scene that drove me crazy: Costco doesn't have bags, misuse of the term "baby mama". Can recommend audiobook. Great narrator.

fkshg8465's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I love the Holly Gibney character so much, and she’s brilliant here! The trio team she supports has great chemistry. Love the intergenerational relationship between Bill, Jerome, and Holly. Her mom is a bit too much to handle, and Janey needed more story, but overall, a disgusting villain and a lot of great cat and mouse.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism

Minor: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Stalking, Grief, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Pedophilia, Abandonment, Ableism, Gaslighting, Incest, Sexual harassment, Addiction, Blood, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Trafficking, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Vomit

jonssweater's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, Violence, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Alcohol, Grief, Death, Gun violence, Incest, Blood, Cursing, Suicide attempt, Child death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Child abuse

Moderate: Classism, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Body shaming, Body horror, Chronic illness, Dementia, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Animal cruelty, Homophobia, Misogyny, Bullying, Lesbophobia, Fatphobia, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Antisemitism, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, and Vomit

itsheyfay's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Blood, Car accident, Incest, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Mental illness, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Vomit, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fatphobia, and Suicide

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!!

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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

yodamordecai's review

dark emotional 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? Yes

4.5

This was a nice easy read. The last 50 pages were some of the most tense and enthralling I have ever read, which  bumped this up from a solid 3.5 to a 4.5. There is some stuff that doesn’t really make sense, like why is this seventeen year old with a healthy social life spending so much time with his elderly neighbor? Stephen King also doesn’t really understand computers and it show. If you can overlook some of that stuff, you’ll have a really good time with this.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Racial slurs, Child death, Mass/school shootings, Car accident, Incest, Murder, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Sexual content

readerofdafuk's review

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. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Child death, and Death

Moderate: Incest and Suicide attempt

theimposter's review

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Alcoholism, Blood, Fatphobia, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Vomit, Medical content, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Alcohol, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Murder, and Racism

Minor: Animal cruelty

nicole_cob_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful mysterious reflective 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Murder, Racial slurs, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Mental illness, Cursing, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Fatphobia, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Car accident, Hate crime, Suicide, and Vomit