Holly by Stephen King

 

About

“Sometimes the universe throws you a rope.” — BILL HODGES

Stephen King’s Holly marks the triumphant return of beloved King character Holly Gibney. Readers have witnessed Holly’s gradual transformation from a shy (but also brave and ethical) recluse in Mr. Mercedes to Bill Hodges’s partner in Finders Keepers to a full-fledged, smart, and occasionally tough private detective in The Outsider. In King’s new novel, Holly is on her own, and up against a pair of unimaginably depraved and brilliantly disguised adversaries.

When Penny Dahl calls the Finders Keepers detective agency hoping for help locating her missing daughter, Holly is reluctant to accept the case. Her partner, Pete, has Covid. Her (very complicated) mother has just died. And Holly is meant to be on leave. But something in Penny Dahl’s desperate voice makes it impossible for Holly to turn her down.

Mere blocks from where Bonnie Dahl disappeared live Professors Rodney and Emily Harris. They are the picture of bourgeois respectability: married octogenarians, devoted to each other, and semi-retired lifelong academics. But they are harboring an unholy secret in the basement of their well-kept, book-lined home, one that may be related to Bonnie’s disappearance. And it will prove nearly impossible to discover what they are up to: they are savvy, they are patient, and they are ruthless.

Holly must summon all her formidable talents to outthink and outmaneuver the shockingly twisted professors in this chilling new masterwork from Stephen King.

My Thoughts

Well, well, well.

As much as I read you would not believe that this was my first Stephen King novel that I read in it's entirety. I own quite a few of his books but never actually sat and read one. Last year I read about 30% of 11/22/63 and lost interest. (i will definitely be revisiting that one).

After reading Holly I am obsessed with King. I know to real Stephen King fans this is not maybe his best, but trust me I have been binge watching booktube for more suggestions.

Holly is a private investigator with a case that will blow your mind. What I loved is the complexity of the case because I kept wondering if she would ever figure out what the Harrises were doing....I would say no more. Read this you all.

Suggest another King book for me...

Book Review: The Arrangement by Kiersten Modglin

 

ABOUT

Ainsley Greenburg is a fixer.
It’s what she prides herself on.

So, when she realizes her marriage is at its breaking point, she makes a decision to repair it, no matter the cost. Approaching her husband to propose the arrangement is supposed to be the hard part, but Peter agrees to the salacious plan almost immediately.

The rules are simple:
They will each date someone new once a week.
They will never discuss what happens on the dates.

Soon, though, the rules are broken, turning terrible mistakes into unspeakable consequences.

When the only person they can count on to keep their darkest secret is each other, new questions and deceits surface. Can they truly trust the person they share a life with, or will the vicious lies that have mounted over the years destroy everything they’ve built?

Once, Peter and Ainsley vowed to stand together forever, but as they push boundaries of deception, suspicion, and temptation, each begins to wonder if ’til death do us part may come sooner than they’d intended.

MY THOUGHTS

I was up late last night reading this book because I was really anxious to get to the end, and the ending was EXPLOSIVE!!!!

Ainsley and Peter, upon hitting a rough patch in their marriage and after many failed attempts at reconciliation decides that the best thing for them would be an open marriage. So using a dating app that guarantees anonymity, this couple decides to "hook up" with strangers to somehow reignite a fire that they would have lost over the years. This arrangement set off a chain of events that would have you at the edge of your seat.

I came into this book thinking that it would be a very predictable story. But predictable it was not, the ending had me screaming in disbelief, now I HAVE to get my hands on the other two parts because I need to know what happened next. This is a quick read and very entertaining especially if you are a lover of psychological thrillers like me.

READ IT!!! I am trying to get my hands on the second and third book.