Mr. Mercedes: A Novel

by Stephen King Narrated by Will Patton

Overview

In a mega-stakes, high-suspense race against time, three of the most unlikely and winning heroes Stephen King has ever created try to stop a lone killer from blowing up thousands.

In the frigid pre-dawn hours, in a distressed Midwestern city, hundreds of desperate unemployed folks are lined up for a spot at a job fair. Without warning, a lone driver plows through the crowd in a stolen Mercedes, running over the innocent, backing up, and charging again. Eight people are killed; fifteen are wounded. The killer escapes.

In another part of town, months later, a retired cop named Bill Hodges is still haunted by the unsolved crime. When he gets a crazed letter from someone who self-identifies as the "perk" and threatens an even more diabolical attack, Hodges wakes up from his depressed and vacant retirement, hell-bent on preventing another tragedy.

Brady Hartsfield lives with his alcoholic mother in the house where he was born. He loved the feel of death under the wheels of the Mercedes, and he wants that rush again. Only Bill Hodges, with a couple of highly unlikely allies, can apprehend the killer before he strikes again. And they have no time to lose, because Brady's next mission, if it succeeds, will kill or maim thousands.

Mr. Mercedes is a war between good and evil, from the master of suspense whose insight into the mind of this obsessed, insane killer is chilling and unforgettable.

Editorial Reviews

JUNE 2014 - AudioFile

Mr. Mercedes,” as he's been dubbed by the press, killed eight people by running them over in a large luxury car. He liked the feeling, and he wants more. Narrator Will Patton adds tension and a cinematic interpretation to this high-stakes race against time, featuring some of Stephen King’s most memorable characters in his first attempt at the hard-boiled detective genre. Patton takes long, dramatic pauses to heighten the suspense and allow the fear to play in the mind’s eye of the listener. King continues to document the horrors of everyday American life, and Patton brings those terrors to life as few narrators can. Here’s a “can’t miss” story in the best format available, the movie between your ears. R.O. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2015 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine

Associated Press Staff

"Classic Stephen King. Creepy, yet realistic characters that get under your skin and stay there, a compelling story that twists and turns at breakneck speed, and delightful prose that, once again, proves that one of America’s greatest natural storytellers is also one of its finest writers."

The New York Times - Megan Abbott

"Pays off exuberantly... Surprising and invigorating."

Library Journal

01/01/2014
Bill Hodges is bumping around, barely registering his retirement, when a maniac in a stolen Mercedes repeatedly drives into a line of unemployed folks waiting in the gray dawn of a gray Midwestern city for a job fair to open. Eight people are killed and 15 injured. Hodges immediately enlists two allies to help him find the killer, who so loved his little taste of death that he's planning to blow up thousands. The novel, described as King's first hard-boiled detective tale, has an unsettling ripped-from-the-headlines feel, though the author has said that he started work on it before the Boston Marathon tragedy.

JUNE 2014 - AudioFile

Mr. Mercedes,” as he's been dubbed by the press, killed eight people by running them over in a large luxury car. He liked the feeling, and he wants more. Narrator Will Patton adds tension and a cinematic interpretation to this high-stakes race against time, featuring some of Stephen King’s most memorable characters in his first attempt at the hard-boiled detective genre. Patton takes long, dramatic pauses to heighten the suspense and allow the fear to play in the mind’s eye of the listener. King continues to document the horrors of everyday American life, and Patton brings those terrors to life as few narrators can. Here’s a “can’t miss” story in the best format available, the movie between your ears. R.O. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2015 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170510122
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster
Publication date:	06/03/2014
Series:	Bill Hodges Series , #1
Edition description:	Unabridged
Sales rank:	325,941

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