Summary:
“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.”
From: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Holly/Stephen-King/9781668016138
Overview:
Stephen King’s approach to Holly is not unique. It is familiar. It does not waiver from that which he’s used in works such as the Bill Hodges trilogy (Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers, and End of Watch). In other words, his approach is the same as it has always been for works in which we find the character of Holly Gibney. As is the case with the Bill Hodges trilogy, there is a mystery to be solved for the characters in the book, but not for the reader. The reader is privy to everything, for the omniscient narrator holds nothing back. Able to see the story from the perspectives of both the protagonists and antagonists builds a different kind of tension. Rather than staying close to Holly, following along and waiting to find out the details as she does, the reader already knows the who, what, where, when, why, and how. The suspense, instead, builds from the question: Will Holly find out in time?
Thoughts:
King’s real talent has always existed in his ability to establish characters that are realistic in their complexity even in the most fantastical of situations, and with Holly, he is once again successful in this regard. For constant readers and established fans of Ms. Gibney, this book will not disappoint. The same awkward, quirky character first encountered in Mr. Mercedes lives within the pages, but she has grown and continues to grow with each new experience. Readers new to Holly Gibney, or King in general, will find endearing characters in both the titular protagonist and her supporting cast.
Looking for more Holly Gibney? Check out these additional titles available at Town Hall Library.
