Mr. Mercedes: a novel (Bill Hodges, 1) - Tapa dura

The greatest popular storyteller of his generation returned to his finest form with this superb evocation of a psychopath who kills by driving an enormous Mercedes into hundreds of people queuing for the chance of a job. -- Geoffrey Wansell Daily Mail With John Updike dead and Philip Roth retired, Stephen King might just be America's greatest living novelist ... THE BEST THRILLER OF THE YEAR ... It is by far his best and it is recommended to crime buffs and King fans alike. Sunday Express When it comes to grabbing an audience by the throat and giving them no choice but to keep reading, King has no equal Guardian A thrilling cat and mouse game Mail on Sunday, Ireland Rrichly layered, technologically savvy story ... is uncomfortable, yet riveting, to read ... A creepy, ripped-from-the headlines climax, a showdown between good and evil that characterizes the best of King's work ... Excellent addition to King's growing list of mystery-thriller titles; there's even a small hint that the Mr. Mercedes show may go on - a scary thought indeed. L. A. Times A tightly plotted crime novel that retains that essential, instantly recognizable flavor that has distinguished King's fiction for more than 40 years ... On one level, MR MERCEDES is an expertly crafted example of the classic race-against-the-clock thriller. On another, it is a novel of depth and character enriched throughout by the grace notes King provides in such seemingly effortless profusion. It is a rich, resonant, exceptionally readable accomplishment by a man who can write in whatever genre he chooses. Washington Post

A cat-and-mouse suspense thriller featuring a retired homicide detective who's haunted by the few cases he left open, and by one in particular - the pre-dawn slaughter of eight people among hundreds gathered in line for the opening of a jobs fair when the economy was guttering out. Without warning, a lone driver ploughed through the crowd in a stolen Mercedes. The plot is kicked into gear when Bill Hodges receives a letter in the mail, from a man claiming to be the perpetrator. He taunts Hodges with the notion that he will strike again. Hodges wakes up from his depressed and vacant retirement, hell-bent on preventing that from happening. Brady Hartsfield lives with his alcoholic mother in the house where he was born. And he's preparing to kill again. Only Hodges, with a couple of misfit friends, can apprehend the killer in this high-stakes race against time. Because Brady's next mission, if it succeeds, will kill or maim hundreds, even thousands.