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A review by melodyseestrees
Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
If there is one thing Mr. King excels at it is writing absolutely unlikable characters. Even characters that should be likeable largely have aspects that can make the reader dislike them. In some chapters this worked well and framed the event how each character saw them clearly. In other chapters the reader became enmeshed in a slog of diatribe that was a true chore to get through, even in the audiobook format.
If you are fond of Mr. King's other works and characters you will probably like this. If you are coming in expecting a typical thriller you will not enjoy this as much. For me, despite my casual familiarity with several of King's works I found it difficult to get up to the 40% mark in the book. To the story's credit the pace does pickup upon the changing of a key character or two somewhere around the 50% mark.The pace picks up after the death of Janey.
If you are fond of Mr. King's other works and characters you will probably like this. If you are coming in expecting a typical thriller you will not enjoy this as much. For me, despite my casual familiarity with several of King's works I found it difficult to get up to the 40% mark in the book. To the story's credit the pace does pickup upon the changing of a key character or two somewhere around the 50% mark.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Incest, Racial slurs, Murder, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Fatphobia, Sexism, Car accident, Death of parent, and Classism
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Excrement, and Vomit
There is an adult/minor relationship between Brady and his mother. He claims to have been a victim of a different adult/minor relationship during his psychological torture of Olivia.