The Outsider
A Novel
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4.4 • 4.6K Ratings
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
Now an HBO limited series starring Ben Mendelsohn!
Evil has many faces…maybe even yours in this #1 New York Times bestseller from master storyteller Stephen King.
An eleven-year-old boy’s violated corpse is discovered in a town park. Eyewitnesses and fingerprints point unmistakably to one of Flint City’s most popular citizens—Terry Maitland, Little League coach, English teacher, husband, and father of two girls. Detective Ralph Anderson, whose son Maitland once coached, orders a quick and very public arrest. Maitland has an alibi, but Anderson and the district attorney soon have DNA evidence to go with the fingerprints and witnesses. Their case seems ironclad.
As the investigation expands and horrifying details begin to emerge, King’s story kicks into high gear, generating strong tension and almost unbearable suspense. Terry Maitland seems like a nice guy, but is he wearing another face? When the answer comes, it will shock you as only Stephen King can.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Stephen King doubles down on his successful mashup of police procedural and paranormal carnage. This thriller centers around a horrific child murder that appears to be an open-and-shut case. But there’s a confounding twist: the accused killer was in two places at once. The Outsider features many ingredients that will be familiar to King’s fans: a possessed cop, down-to-earth heroes, sadistic apparitions, and a backwater-set finale. But the master of terror’s true gift is to make the scares and suspense feel fresh. King pulls you in, tightens the screws, and keeps the spooky coming. Of course, there are also the worms. Shudder.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
MWA Grand Master King wraps a wild weird tale inside a police procedural in this nicely executed extension of his Bill Hodges detective trilogy (begun with 2014's Mr. Mercedes). Det. Ralph Anderson of the Flint City, Okla., police force appears to have beloved youth baseball league coach Terry Maitland dead to rights when he publicly arrests him for the grisly murder of an 11-year-old boy, since the crime scene is covered with Terry's fingerprints and DNA. Only one problem: at the time of the murder Terry was attending a teachers' conference in a distant city, where he was caught clearly on videotape. The case's contradictory evidence compels Anderson and officials associated with it to team up with Holly Gibney (the deceased Hodges's former assistant) to solve it. What begins as a manhunt for an unlikely doppelg nger takes an uncanny turn into the supernatural. King's skillful use of criminal forensics helps to ground his tale in a believable clinical reality where the horrors stand out in sharp relief.
Customer Reviews
Well written.
Couldn’t put it down.
“People are blind to explanations that lie outside their perception of reality.”
This was a fun read. Couldn’t stop reading. Didn’t want to stop.
It was fun to discover more of what this monster was with the rest of the characters. The monster was a take on the boogeyman. More so el cuco. At least that’s what it seemed since they were all relating it to el cuco. It was weird at times to think it’s a bunch of Americans taking down a Mexican legend. An old Mexican legend taken down a little too easily.
Besides that, I was taken back by Sablo, the Mexican officer. The way he spoke seemed weird and out of date. He called Anderson ese. He said ay caramba. Honestly, I would have believed he was Mexican American without the Spanish. He knew the lore of el cuco and even knew about the luchadoras. That would have been enough.
Holly and Anderson however were my favorite. I liked reading how they investigated and found out details. This makes me want to read the Bill Hodges Trilogy.
I recommend this book if you’re thinking about reading it. It was fast and fun. One thing I appreciate about King’s writing is how it reads like a movie. The visuals and sounds are there. And every ending has its cliff hanger that leads into the next part.
King still has it!
Awesome book reminiscent of older works yet wonderfully intertwined with his newer books! I read this book every free moment I’ve had over the past week! The twists and turns are Mr. King at his best. I absolutely loved this book!