Finders Keepers by Stephen King
This is the second in the Bill Hodges trilogy, which began with Mr Mercedes and ends with End of Watch.
I didn't reckon much to Mr Mercedes. It was a really light crime thriller, nothing much to it, just a readable story of cat and mouse between a retired detective and a deranged killer. It felt disposable and trashy, not something to spend much time on.
Out of curiosity, I watched David E. Kelly's TV adaptation of Mr Mercedes, and it was brilliant. Fantastic acting, really well written, taking its time and making it all believable rather than throwing a ton of flashy events into the first half hour in a bid to make it exciting. It was one of my favourite TV shows of 2017.
So I decided to finish reading the trilogy. Finders Keepers is set after Mr Mercedes, and it's more of the same - light crime thriller featuring a nutty killer. The insane crime that kicks off the trilogy is still affecting the victims and their families, which is a realistic touch - acts of violence have far-reaching repercussions, so it's admirable to see that's recognised by Stevie King, who got knocked down by a van in 1999 and is living with the pain still.
I just wasn't that engaged with the story. I skimmed it. It felt like King had rushed it off. The characters weren't bad, it seemed believable, but it still felt like he'd not really been trying. Then again, they say easy reading is hard writing, so maybe I'm missing the point.
It left me thinking, "Is that it?"
Roll on season 2 of David Kelly's adaptation. It's not often the TV show is better than the book.
