Holly
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4.4 • 188 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
#1 New York Times Bestseller * A New York Times Notable Book * An NPR Best Book of the Year
Holly Gibney, one of Stephen King’s most compelling and resourceful characters, returns in this chilling “exploration of grief and delusion, just pure undistilled evil” (New York magazine) as she uncovers the truth behind multiple disappearances in a midwestern town.
When Penny Dahl calls the Finders Keepers detective agency, hoping for help locating her missing daughter, Holly Gibney is reluctant to accept the case. Her partner, Pete, has Covid. Her (very complicated) mother has just passed away. And Holly is meant to be on leave. But something in Penny’s desperate voice makes it impossible to turn her down.
Meanwhile, 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 also harboring a shocking, 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…for they are savvy, they are patient, and they are ruthless. Now Holly must summon all of her formidable talents to outthink and outmaneuver these unimaginably depraved and brilliantly disguised adversaries in this chilling and unforgettable masterwork from Stephen King.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
An investigator with an unusual mind digs into a case that nearly buries her alive in this captivating thriller from the legendary Stephen King. The COVID pandemic is still raging when the reclusive but genius Holly Gibney takes on the case of a missing librarian. But the mystery proves more dangerous than Holly could have ever imagined, as the clues lead to the seemingly sweet, mild-mannered couple living nearby. Fans of Holly’s previous appearances in the Bill Hodges trilogy will appreciate seeing her take center stage. Through his brilliant use of dual narratives, King lets us in on many of the story’s gruesome surprises before Holly gets to them, amping up the tension and dread. This is a wonderfully creepy read.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
PI Holly Gibney returns after King's 2020 novella If It Bleeds to face off against a pair of deliciously wicked predators in this lurid if somewhat plodding thriller. It's July 2021, and the Finders Keepers detective agency is on hiatus, with Holly taking time off to mourn her mother, who recently died of Covid. She's lured back to work by a series of persuasive calls from a woman named Penny Dahl, whose preteen daughter, Bonnie, disappeared three weeks earlier. As Holly begins to poke around the neighborhood where Bonnie was last seen, residents alert her to the disappearance of 11-year-old Peter "Stinky" Steinman, who vanished from the same area three years ago. Additional conversations point Holly in the direction of former college professors Rodney and Emily Harris, whose veneer of elderly innocence is complicated by rumors that they may be connected to a slew of missing persons cases stretching back nearly a decade. At first, Holly investigates the Harrises as a matter of protocol, but it doesn't take long for her to realize she's facing down a pair of cunning foes with far darker secrets than she could've imagined. The narrative can dawdle, with things starting to feel especially padded in the middle stretch, but readers are likely to forgive the delay by the time the stomach-turning dénouement comes around. This pitch-black thriller ends on a high note.
Customer Reviews
I liked it!
Holly is a most beloved character and this book is such a masterful exploration of who she is and the strength she has in the face of all types of evil. Very satisfying and entertaining.