Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King

15 reviews

brendontyler's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Child death, Death, Hate crime, Violence, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Cursing, Gore, Incest, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Vomit, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Alcohol

eadrianschmitz's review

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

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.

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

jonssweater's review against another edition

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

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

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

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

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Content Warnings

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

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

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Content Warnings

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

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

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

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.

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Child death, Racism, and Grief

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Abandonment, and Alcohol

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.

theimposter's review against another edition

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

Minor: Animal cruelty

jakirby's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Child death, Death, Incest, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol

ruthypoo2's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad 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? No

5.0

From the start, this book kicks off with a bang and act of sheer depravity. This opening scene of this story hits so viscerally because in just a few paragraphs, characters are introduced in a way that makes them so easy to care for even if they won't be part of the narrative beyond the first chapter. This is possible because, in my opinion, Stephen King is able to so reliably create authentic characters for whom the reader will immediately feel either an affection or loathing.

There are several distinctive characters in this story and it's a great ensemble with the story told from multiple points of view. The primary narrator is retired police detective Bill Hodges who finds himself bored and frequently despondent as he sits daily in his armchair watching TV and without the feeling that his life serves any serious purpose since leaving law enforcement. Bill is isolated with only a handful of people to interact with from time to time. This all changes when he's contacted by the villain whose crime is described in the opening pages of the book. The killer wants to remind Bill that he failed to catch them and let him know they may have a new plan to surpass the body count achieved in their last murderous act.

The book is about a twisted cat and mouse game between Bill Hodges and an intelligent sociopathic killer, each narrating their own chapters to tell their respective stories. Throughout, the reader learns about the people that Bill and the killer encounter in their daily lives. In fact, those who end up joining Bill on his quest to subvert the killer are a pure delight and where the SK sense of humor comes through load and clear. The storytelling in this book is very rewarding, giving the reader a complex character study for both of the primary characters. There's a lot of tension in the story, especially in the ending, and it was a definite page-turner for me. Constant Readers will find little SK Easter Eggs planted here and there and a joy to come across.

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Will Patton who did a magnificent job voicing all the characters and bringing each to life. Mr. Patton is a stellar actor and brings his finely honed skill to create a unique voice and emotional range for each character. I'll be continuing with the next two books in this series, and I'm thrilled to see that Mr. Patton is the narrator for all the Mr. Mercedes books.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Fatphobia, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Grief