I’m still on my Stephen King Holly Gibney odyssey, and this is one of my favourite so far.
SPOILER ALERT – don’t read this review if you haven’t read the other books in the series yet.
Holly is still reeling from the death of her partner Bill Hodges, and has to come to terms with the death of her mother, with whom she had a very complicated relationship (I know of several people, myself included who can identify with the mixed and chaotic feelings aroused by the death of a ‘difficult’ mother figure). Her feelings toward her mother are further wrenched by discovering that her mother had lied to her in a pretty big way.
The mystery in this novel is not supernatural, but it is horrific – a series of abductions and murders by some very twisted people.
The book was very much set during the height of Covid, and the pandemic is almost one of the main themes or even a character in itself. Some people say this will date the book, but it is a valid historical period and no less interesting a setting as a book set during a war or other huge happening.
This book has a female narrator, and I was glad to get a way from the weird Holly voice that the male narrator in the other books in the series does.
Sarah Wray Writer 