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A review by joshkiba13
End of Watch by Stephen King
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
3.5
Pretty solid conclusion to the Bill Hodges trilogy, though certainly the weakest of the three. I think like many other reactions I've read online, I was a little put off by the sudden introduction of supernatural elements into a story that for 800 pages was completely grounded in reality. Didn't ruin it for me, but I found myself a lot less compelled by Brady's psychic powers than I was by his outright sadism in the first book.
What I did appreciate about this one was that unlike Finders Keepers, Bill is actually a prominent character in the narrative. Watching him continue to pull threads and investigate as he actively dies of pancreatic cancer was really painful and interesting. Such a stark contrast from the suicidal version of him we first met in Mr. Mercedes. Instead of calling it quits, he fought hard to the very end.
As always, I adore Holly Gibney and her relationship with Bill and Jerome. I think the trilogy did great setting her up for her own standalones, which I'm really excited to read after a little Stephen King break. She is stellarly written and I'm excited to be more rooted in her experience.
The one thing that was almost too much for me in this book was the presence of suicide. It was a big deal in Mr. Mercedes because Brady's thing was trying to goad them into taking their own lives, but it was either at a distance, or the point of the story was Bill fighting against that. In this one, there are several scenes written from the perspectives of kids and teens that either attempt or fully take their lives, and I found that too be too much. At the end there's an author's note that provides help resources for those considering suicide which was nice, but describing it so up close so many times felt too far in my opinion. King's books are meant to be dark and twisted, yes, but outlining reasons and means of suicide in a novel multiple times just felt like too much.
I did overall enjoy the story, though, and I'm glad I finished it. While I did enjoy the return of Brady in this book from the first one, I do hope this is the end of his story, and that Holly will face completely new threats in the stories to come.
What I did appreciate about this one was that unlike Finders Keepers, Bill is actually a prominent character in the narrative. Watching him continue to pull threads and investigate as he actively dies of pancreatic cancer was really painful and interesting. Such a stark contrast from the suicidal version of him we first met in Mr. Mercedes. Instead of calling it quits, he fought hard to the very end.
As always, I adore Holly Gibney and her relationship with Bill and Jerome. I think the trilogy did great setting her up for her own standalones, which I'm really excited to read after a little Stephen King break. She is stellarly written and I'm excited to be more rooted in her experience.
The one thing that was almost too much for me in this book was the presence of suicide. It was a big deal in Mr. Mercedes because Brady's thing was trying to goad them into taking their own lives, but it was either at a distance, or the point of the story was Bill fighting against that. In this one, there are several scenes written from the perspectives of kids and teens that either attempt or fully take their lives, and I found that too be too much. At the end there's an author's note that provides help resources for those considering suicide which was nice, but describing it so up close so many times felt too far in my opinion. King's books are meant to be dark and twisted, yes, but outlining reasons and means of suicide in a novel multiple times just felt like too much.
I did overall enjoy the story, though, and I'm glad I finished it. While I did enjoy the return of Brady in this book from the first one, I do hope this is the end of his story, and that Holly will face completely new threats in the stories to come.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt
Moderate: Fatphobia, Transphobia, Murder
Minor: Body horror, Gore, Racial slurs