Holly

_Holly_ is one of the best stories Stephen King has churned out in at least the past 30 years. I bought it as soon as I learned of it, because I had fallen in love with the character of Holly Gibney via the Mr. Mercedes Trilogy. I was delighted to hear (on a podcast) that the author had done the same. He finally felt obligated to give the gal her own book. And this is a book with real guts. Not many modern writers dare to focus their strongest opinions into their art. Whenever I would hear an uproar over something King "tweeted", or even something that J.K. Rowling posted on social media, that caused a different flavor of outrage, I would think: I love hearing their opinions, but that isn't the right format for people who have their incredible way with words. And while I had enjoyed some of King's recent books (especially _The Institute_ and his most recent short story collection, _The Bazaar of Bad Dreams_), I felt like he had fallen victim to the digital era, like basically all the rest of us, and lacked the heart and the grit that he had back in the 1980's or the 70's, when he got started and was still using a manual typewriter (and a lot of substances that I'm glad he left behind . . . simply because I'm glad he is still with us). This novel proved me wrong, and I loved every minute of being thus put to shame. For one thing, it's a good horror story. Forget that Netflix special about Jeffrey Dahmer. This is the story of a couple of old fogeys who think cannibalism is the fountain of youth and the key to immortality. I don't care who you are, that's unsettling, right there. It's also an interesting take on a detective novel, as we, the readers, are often privy to information that the detective Holly and the other major characters are oblivious to. There are some incredible moments of suspense because of that. I also enjoyed the format of the story, how it jumps from time frame to time frame so easily, and how those flashbacks and "jumps" work well, so that the story flows smoothly. I found this to be as much a page-turner as some classics I've recently been delving into by Richard Matheson and Cornell Woolrich. For those who are often turned off by King’s tendency to overwrite, never fear: His new editor has no time for such nonsense. The writing here is concise and tight. And I enjoyed the change of pace. Even though I’m one of those twisted souls who loves his epic-length efforts. Where a lot of people see tangents, I see subtleties of story that other people could appreciate if they only had attention spans. Moving right along . . . The reason this book has been so controversial among Stephen King fans is what the author addresses in an afterword, how Holly Gibney's view of the coronavirus outbreak and associated politics happen to jibe with his. He protests that he was not soapboxing. Frankly, I don't give a damn if he was. Dean Koontz has had some definite "soapbox" moments in several of his novels, not only recently, but going back decades. And I don't hear a lot of bitching and moaning about that. In _The Other Emily_, Koontz reserved the most severe beating of the story for a relatively harmless character who was wearing a "RESIST" T-shirt. If he can promote conservative views with such a vengeance, then Stephen King has every bit as much right to promote his more liberal worldview through what he writes. It's not like he does it all the time, and actually, he has consciously tried to avoid it throughout his career. Even in a book like _The Green Mile_, he largely left the readers to think about the social issues he brought up for themselves. I love the way King does it here, because it reminds me of some of the classic science fiction and horror, that did more than just provide a few cheap thrills. Once in a while, it served as a splash of cold water in the face that the world desperately needed. I think of Rod Serling's classic teleplay "The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street." I'm not sure anyone before or since has lampooned the McCarthy scare as eloquently as that 30-minute story did. And someone really needed to write a book that did justice to what we all went through with "COVID." _Holly_ delivers on that. And I say that even though I don't fully agree with all of Holly's (or King’s) views. I personally think one vaccine is enough for most people, and I'm skeptical as to whether they are necessary for children. My views are nuanced. But this is the first novel I've read that does justice to what this four-year ordeal felt like. There were times it truly was hellish, both the virus and the social issues that it exacerbated. My favorite chapter of this book is also one that shook me to the bones. Just when I was feeling like a wimp, I found that the author's wife had to comfort him through the writing of it, as he mentions in the afterword. Let's just say that just as a pandemic virus has its human impacts, so do serial killers. This story is opposite in tone from the sensationalism of the Dahmer series from Netflix. It forces the reader to slow down and think about what it's like for the victims and their families. Holly is quite a character, and I can see why she eventually had to have her own book. Some have said you should read all the others before reading this one, but I disagree. I read the Mr. Mercedes Trilogy a few years ago, and I did read _The Outsider_. But I still haven't read the story "If It Bleeds", which is referenced several times here. And after only a few months, I've forgotten the details of any "spoilers" that were included. I feel confident that when I get around to the Holly story I skipped, I will still thoroughly enjoy it. King has said that Holly reminded him of Carrie from his debut novel, except that she was able to have some kind of a life despite dealing with the same sorts of issues. I partly agree with this. Though I did go into reading this novel during one of my more cynical frames of mind. And when I pondered how Holly still didn’t have a man in her life in her 50’s, and had to be content with drooling over hot guys from TV shows, I reflected that maybe Carrie White was the more reasonable of the two characters, going out in a blaze of glory. The only spoiler I’ll give is a counterfeit one: Jerome and Hollyberry never hook up in this book. Sorry to spoil your day. But on a serious note, she is beloved by Jerome and just about everyone who knows her. And just like Sherlock Holmes had his vice of the cocaine bottle, I found it endearing how Holly can never quite manage to kick her cigarette habit. Even as she says nightly prayers for same. Perhaps it takes a comically neurotic female detective to bring some humanity back to the forefront. Because even as I rolled my eyes at Holly’s habit of saying her prayers every night, I also loved her for her quirks and her sincere intentions. Even as I groaned in disbelief at Holly’s mother refusing to believe she had the coronavirus, saying that it was only the flu, I also felt the deep tragedy of it. After all, I knew someone who thought this virus was a total hoax until he got it; then, as he told me, he would never wish anyone to have to suffer through it. The last several years have often felt (speaking for myself) like petty cruelty and a complete lack of heart were the new normal. People get so caught up in righteous causes now (more like self-righteous causes) that they forget what makes life worth living in the first place. This book captured that theme in the culture beautifully, in the thinking behind these killers, and the extremes they go to. And as I say, it portrayed the pandemic and other social issues realistically. Show me another novel that has done as good a job, and I’ll be very impressed. That’s why my least favorite chapter of this book became my favorite, after I’d recovered from it. (I didn’t find this book an easy read. It wasn’t just a thriller or shocker, not at all, and a lot of the humanity it brought back, while valuable, was also painful.) It is a brief chapter with no fancy words, that describes a hellish situation with as much decency and tact as possible. And it will bring a tear to anyone’s eye – the good kind, the kind that heals. Bottom line, this is a book with guts and a book with heart. Read it if you dare to rediscover your own.

The book 'Holly' is the sixth SK story to feature the character of Holly Gibney. I've read them all. The character has grown more interesting to me over time. Here, she is more of a Prime character, working more on her own. We see all of her odd behaviors, positive and negative, sometimes contradictory. The story focuses on her investigation into a missing person case that gradually morphs into something much larger and creepier. There is no mystery for the reader to solve, as we find out very quickly who the perpetrators are and what they have done. There are no supernatural elements here, but plenty of horror, disgust and suspense. I found both the characters and the investigation to be very interesting. Also, the ending is pretty strong, not always the case for SK's works. And yes, there are numerous mentions of COVID, vaxxing, masks, elections, Trump, etc. It seemed to me to be a realistic reflection of the timeframe of this novel. SK notes in the afterward that his previous Holly Gibney story, 'If It Bleeds', was set in December 2020, but written much earlier. Therefore, COVID was not mentioned at all, and couldn't be added without a major rewrite. COVID is a huge part of our history, whatever one's specific views are. I would hope that people can agree or disagree with an author's views or their works without resorting to review bombing, but that's the world we live in right now.

As usual, King delivers thrills, scariness, worry about Holly, and omg what is wrong with these very old people. Rodney reminds me exactly of the kind of cult people that love a certain politician for some reason. Aside from criticisms from people who like the said politician, and cannot stand the most famous author in the world dissing him and his policies, who knows why they love him, the rest of us consider them crazy, but Mr. King handles that part very well, and states opinions that MOST of us share and shared during that time in history. The detective Holly is thorough, concise with her facts, and smart enough to draw the correct conclusions about the facts she comes across. The person Holly is trying to understand why people who are her relatives have treated her the way people who were supposed to love you never would. I don't think she will ever figure that one out. The only thing she did wrong was underestimate, but she learned from that error in the end, and hopefully won't underestimate any of her quarry again in the future. In the end, you hope she pulls through and gets the perps in this case arrested, and not allow them to go their own way. I just read that a TV series about this book is in the works and I certainly hope so, I would hardly be able to wait to see THAT!

Stephen King has finally figured out good endings as well as a good read and character development. Gruesome but recommended.

I enjoyed Stephen King's thriller, "Holly", immensely. I liked everything about it: the plot, the dialogue, the suspense, and the characters. I really liked Holly, Barbara, Jerome, and Olivia. I enjoy thrillers. I just finished reading all of them by Freida McFadden and Ragnar Jonasson. I think all of the nearly two dozen volumes were superb. In a tally of 1 to 10, I would give each a 10. They were gripping; I couldn't put them down, finishing each one in a single day. It took me two days to finish Holly because, despite my reading speed, the King book was 100 pages longer than the longest of these other books. But I liked Holly better than the others. I would give it a 10 plus. King puts more flesh on the bones and seasons the flesh with more than salt, pepper, and lemon. He adds a wide assortment of seasonings that enhance the flesh. They gave me fresh and enjoyable tastes. I liked his language.

Holly, dear? You’ve come a long way, baby! After about five years of (IMHO) “Meh” work (The last one I truly dug was “Revival! I hated “The Institute” and didn’t even bother reading “Billy Summers, or finishing “Fairy Tale,” an error that may quickly be rectified!), this was a true return to form for “Uncle Stevie.” I have struggled, over the past few years, since her inception into the King Multiverse, to warm up to the character of Holly Gibney. But I wonder if it’s because she very much reminds me of, well, me. I mean, what reader would like to read about their own most annoying traits in someone else?! I know I certainly wouldn’t frackin’ wanna read about me for nearly 500 pages! I can assure you, as far as fun and excitement goes, that’s right up there with watching someone else play a video game. I started this novel and, after “The Outsider,” (2018) where I saw a bit of growth, maturity and a quiet dignity in Holly that, hell, I kind of admired; and, well, if you thought she was a badass before, in the Bill Hodges Trilogy, you won’t think twice after this one!! One of the best King Kills™️!! Don’t miss it, kiddies! Additionally, I enjoyed that King finally wrote a crime/horror novel, without trying to eat his cake and have it, too, resorting to supernatural twists at the end (The entirety of the third novel in the Bill Hodges trilogy, “End of Watch” is just fracking ridiculous!). This was just a confident, tight-wound cat and mouse thriller that shows just how evil the world has become. One last quibble: I HATE the fracking’ Present-tense, “This is happening, RIGHT NOW!!”style of narration! It’s supposed to have that black-and-white noir vibe. I get it. I just don’t particularly care for that writing style; just ain’t my rhythm. Ya dig? That being said, welcome back, Uncle Stevie! This is your best book since “Revival,” nearly a decade ago! That’s a lotta long days and pleasant nights to wait for a nugget of gold like this, Constant Readers!!!! There have been a gazillion Bill Hodges-type detective characters, out there, in the Crime-Fiction world. But there is only ONE Holly. End of story. PS - A CASTING NOTE: While two separate actresses have played her character (Justine Lupe in “Mr. Mercedes” and Cynthia Erivo in “The Oursider”) there is no fracking justice in world if they don’t cast Mary Lynn Rajskub (Chloe on the classic TV show “24”) or Holly Hunter.

Great read. A novel that doesn’t have monsters or demons; just evil people. One of be my favorite King novels.

INITIAL REVIEW I’m through the first 75 pages of “Holly” and am enjoying it. So far, it’s classic Stephen King. He’s telling us the story of one of his favorite characters, Holly Gibney, a private eye who’s searching for a missing young woman. Did he run away or was she kidnapped? The prose is a pleasure to read, filled as it is with today’s vernacular. King does a great job of incorporating today’s culture into his narrative (including—fair warning--Trump, MAGA, Covid). Within his first 75 pages, King has managed to gross me out, make me laugh, and hook me into a fictional city and a variety of characters I want to learn more about. So far, it’s a solid four-star read. I’ll add more after finishing. Hopefully, four stars will morph into five. UPDATE Unfortunately, for me, “Holly” morphed into a three-star read. There are parts I liked a lot, especially the climactic scene involving Holly and her newest nemesis, an elderly couple engaged in some really heinous behavior. But I also found flaws which affected my enjoyment of this work First, I thought this was supposed to be a mystery. Strangely, although Holly and those working with her don’t solve the “who-done-it” until the latter third of the novel, we readers are told fairly early on what has happened and continues to happen, who is doing it, and why. Mr. King sacrificed possible tension and surprise, and, I thought, caused the novel to drag on in places. Additionally, readers have to rely on something else to compel them to turn the pages. Second, if it’s Holly we’re meant to rely on, unfortunately, she’s just not that interesting here (even if this tale is meant to be all about her). Yes, she has this case, and yes, she is dealing with her mother’s recent death and the death of her close friend and professional mentor. While those struggles may lead us to feel for Holly, they don’t cause us to fear for her. And while we eventually do come to fear for Holly, that doesn’t happen until the final quarter of the book. What occurs before that is kind of ho-hum, especially since Holly is something of a nerd and nerds can sometimes be boring. It doesn’t help that she spends most of her time alone throughout the story. She does interact with other characters professionally as a detective, but not much personally. Most of, if not all her friends are separated from her by illness or geography. She has no love interest, or even the hope of one, and she doesn’t seem to have any overarching dream that she’s working towards. That means there’s not a whole lot of conflict or passion to propel us through the novel. (She does keep reminding herself that she needs to quit smoking, but the smoking issue is so repetitive and overdone that it becomes truly tedious.) Nor are her investigative techniques particularly interesting, and certainly not unique. Her one mantra seems to come from author Michael Connelly’s “Harry Bosch” series: “Get off your ass and knock on doors [to interview witnesses],” which is the extent of what she does to solve what’s happening and who’s doing it. Third, the heinous conduct at issue in this novel was, for me, truly stomach-turning stuff. Others may well feel differently. Nevertheless, had I known about it, I probably would not have bought the novel. Fourth and finally, Mr. King has laced his story with a substantial amount of opinion on modern-day issues including Trump, vaccines, mask/no mask, LGBTQ, Me-too, Black Lives Matter, racism, sexism, etc. He takes progressive stances and that will appeal to many, many people. What’s not appealing is the condescension and virtue signaling with which those opinions are sometimes delivered. All that being said, there is an original story here. It’s well-written prose- and dialogue-wise. We do come to care about what happens to Holly and hope she’ll be able to vanquish her foes. The climactic scenes are well done. All in all, there’s good and not-so-good, earning it an overall rating of three stars.