Keep it lit! And go with Holly for another case of the King of Suspense

She is the main heroine of the new King movie Holly Gibney, a character known from several of his other novels – first appeared in the Bill Hodges trilogy beginning with Mr. Mercedes. She is somewhat neurodivergent, autistically different from most of her loved ones. But as a private detective, he applies his uniqueness to solving crimes. This time she returns to solve a multiple disappearance in a Midwestern town. In King’s new novel, Holly is left to fend for herself against a pair of unimaginably twisted and brilliantly disguised adversaries. When Penny Dahl calls Finders Keepers, a detective agency hoping to find her missing daughter, Holly is reluctant to take the case. Her partner Pete has covid. Her very complicated mother had just died.

And Holly is supposed to be on vacation. But something in Penny Dahl’s desperate voice makes Holly unable to refuse. Just a few blocks from where Bonnie Dahl disappeared live professors Rodney and Emily Harris. They are married in their 80s, devoted to each other and lifelong academics in semi-retirement. However, in the basement of their well-kept, book-lined house, they hide a sinister secretwhich may be related to Bonnie’s disappearance. And it turns out to be almost impossible to figure out what they’re up to: they’re shrewd, patient, and ruthless. Holly must use all of her prodigious powers to outsmart and outwit the twisted professors.

If you’ve ever thought your job was worth a (sorry) fart, try being Holly Gibney for a day. Especially when you’re a detective whose thinking is outside of any box in a completely unique package that may not even meet the outside world. As she drinks her morning coffee (or juice), her mind is already racing with thoughts that would have ruined any gray cell in the famous Poirot’s brain! The genius of the book lies not only in King’s typical horror (he probably would have won the thriller of the year award for the shopping list), but also in the dark humor with which he interwoven his text. Yes, you will laugh. Yes, sometimes very loudly.

For now, Holly remains as quirky, cute and complicated as her fans like her to be – finally at her own game. Stephen King mixes genres again as Grandmabut with Pohlreich’s results! Again, it changes the rules as it blends the suspenseful elements of crime fiction with the eerie, disturbing atmosphere of horror. You’ll bite your nails for a while, then hold your diaphragm againso that it does not fall on the floor. If you like mysteries, you will enjoy this one from the first page to the last. Just… You’d better keep it on. You never know…

Rating: 80%

Stephen King

Holly

In the original: Holly – 449 pages, Scribner, 2023 • Translation: Adéla Bartlová • Number of pages: 400 • Publisher: Beta-Dobrovský, 2024.