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A review by booking_along
Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King
adventurous
dark
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
4.5
first read: 2016 - 3⭐️ a bit slow and unevenly paced and i didn’t love it.
second read: 2023 - 4.5 ⭐️
it’s still a bit bumbling in some places for me - i can see what i disliked in my fist read BUT i was in the right mood this time apparently because this was great!
i really enjoyed this!
after that rather brutal start, the book slowly builds up and up and up and ends in such a fantastic way and even ends in a way that the reader can decide if the want to continue on with this series or not because this book actually closes in a way that works as an ending.
i really enjoyed the characters - how dislikable the bad guy was (who gets a point of view so it’s not a “who dunne it!”) and how i slowly throughout this book i started to like Hodges.
but i really loved the side characters in this! Jerome? great characters! and Janey was fantastic and i really love Holly!
what i disliked was the strange sexualisation that happens in some strange moments in this book.
the stuff with the bad guy was just …. yuck but okay he’s clearly not a good guy anyways and it adds to the whole character of how horrendously unlikable and disgusting he is. but i just didn’t need to read about it.
the character would have been just as disgustingly unlikable and horrible without those unnecessary moments!
but is it necessary to point out the breast of women and how they look? or how someone wouldn’t expect to have a sexual relationship with someone because they are heavier or even fat simply because they are that body type?
why even include those things then?
also there is a tone throughout this story that has a good amount of racist and fatphobic comments - mostly done by the bad guy but they are there.
so i can see why i had issues with this book before because there a things in this book that are noticeable and can be grating outside of the actual main story plot and could have easily be done differently and be done better with those changes.
but i still enjoyed this book and what the actual main plot done here! i liked how the story build up to the big finally and how it ended!
it’s a good story, it has flaws and is not for everyone but i really enjoyed it this time around and can’t wait to continue and get more from those characters -especially the side ones!- in the next one!
second read: 2023 - 4.5 ⭐️
it’s still a bit bumbling in some places for me - i can see what i disliked in my fist read BUT i was in the right mood this time apparently because this was great!
i really enjoyed this!
after that rather brutal start, the book slowly builds up and up and up and ends in such a fantastic way and even ends in a way that the reader can decide if the want to continue on with this series or not because this book actually closes in a way that works as an ending.
i really enjoyed the characters - how dislikable the bad guy was (who gets a point of view so it’s not a “who dunne it!”) and how i slowly throughout this book i started to like Hodges.
but i really loved the side characters in this! Jerome? great characters! and Janey was fantastic and i really love Holly!
what i disliked was the strange sexualisation that happens in some strange moments in this book.
the stuff with the bad guy was just …. yuck but okay he’s clearly not a good guy anyways and it adds to the whole character of how horrendously unlikable and disgusting he is. but i just didn’t need to read about it.
the character would have been just as disgustingly unlikable and horrible without those unnecessary moments!
but is it necessary to point out the breast of women and how they look? or how someone wouldn’t expect to have a sexual relationship with someone because they are heavier or even fat simply because they are that body type?
why even include those things then?
also there is a tone throughout this story that has a good amount of racist and fatphobic comments - mostly done by the bad guy but they are there.
so i can see why i had issues with this book before because there a things in this book that are noticeable and can be grating outside of the actual main story plot and could have easily be done differently and be done better with those changes.
but i still enjoyed this book and what the actual main plot done here! i liked how the story build up to the big finally and how it ended!
it’s a good story, it has flaws and is not for everyone but i really enjoyed it this time around and can’t wait to continue and get more from those characters -especially the side ones!- in the next one!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Fatphobia, Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Stalking, Death of parent, and Murder