Thursday, July 26, 2018

Two Bloggers One Book - Stormi and I Are On a Roll!


Well, after Stormi and I had a bad run of it with "The Hunger," I can honestly say they last few months have hit it out of the ballpark.  And needless to say, both of us had high expectations when we picked Stephen King's newest book , "The Outsider" as this month's buddy read choice.  So hope down below to read my thoughts and then make sure to hop over to Stormi's @  Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh My! for her thoughts as well!


TITLE: The Outsider
AUTHOR: Stephen King
PUBLISHER: Scribner
PUBLISHING DATE: May 22, 2018

FROM GOODREADS:  An unspeakable crime. A confounding investigation. At a time when the King brand has never been stronger, he has delivered one of his most unsettling and compulsively readable stories.

An eleven-year-old boy’s violated corpse is found in a town park. Eyewitnesses and fingerprints point unmistakably to one of Flint City’s most popular citizens. He is 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 add DNA evidence to go with the fingerprints and witnesses. Their case seems ironclad.

As the investigation expands and horrifying answers begin to emerge, King’s propulsive 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.


MY THOUGHTS:  So it's kind of hard to review this one without giving much away.  A horrible crime is committed in Flint City and the popular baseball coach and teacher, Terry Maitland, is arrested.  But as convinced as the cops are that Terry is their culprit, there is also overwhelming evidence that there is no way he could be responsible.  Evidence they chose to ignore.  This arrest sets a lot of different things in motion and before long, not only do readers find themselves in the middle of a legal mess, but also in a supernatural one as well.  

I really fell in love with this book and it was a great one to pick up while on vacation.  I found King's writing to be informative and fast-paced and once again focused heavily on character development.  The mystery really had me going for a while and although I did think the police made some really critical errors, I still found myself feeling badly for some of them when it all blew up in their face.  I've heard it said that many think King has a difficult time with the endings of his book but I have to admit, I was pleased with how this one wrapped up.  

Without spoiling things, there is a character that appears in "The Outsider" which is a crossover character from the Bill Hodges trilogy.  I knew that going in and even though I've not read those books, I had seen the first season of the Audience series so I decided to dive in.  I have to admit that the character that appears is easily my most favorite in the book and one of the main reasons I loved it so much.  I also see that Goodreads is now calling this "Finders Keepers #4."  Is that really a thing?  I think it may have been mislabeled.    

So it's been a while since I've read a book by my favorite author but this most definitely reignited my love affair with all things King. In fact, I'm hoping to pick up several more from him before the year is out.  I know some people have become hesitant to pick up King's newer works, claiming they don't measure up to his older stuff and hey, to each his own.  However, I loved "The Outsider" and hope more people give it a chance.

RATING: 5 PAWS

26 comments:

  1. Oooh, you have upped my anticipation for this so much Barb! Especially as it's reignited your love for King.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Most definitely. I hope you love it too.

      Delete
  2. I really want to make time for this, I feel like I'm so behind with King's recent books. So glad you loved it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm really glad I made time for it which was a plan doing the buddy read. It was soooo good.

      Delete
  3. I’m glad you liked it! I’m on a waitlist for this book, so hopefully I’ll be able to read it soon.

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hope you get it soon. I'm curious what you think.

      Delete
  4. Alright, I'm going to the library right now...on my Kindle. :-)
    sherry @ fundinmental

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sounds like you enjoyed this as much as I did. The reviews have been mixed but I loved it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know. I think so many people love his old stuff and he writes differently now. I'm anxious to read the Bill Hodges trilogy now.

      Delete
  6. I am so happy that you enjoyed this one as much as you did, Barb. I think that I am going to try to get a copy of it from the library and give it a try as wel.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Go for it. Maybe you won't have to wait too long because I know my library gets 5-6 copies of King books.

      Delete
  7. This review is exactly what I wanted to hear. I love King, but apart from 11/22/61, his stuff in recent years have been disappointing or uninteresting to me. I need something to reignite my love for his work again too, and this sounds perfect.

    ~Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I loved 11/22/61 and I actually didn't mind "Doctor Sleep" although I still say "The Shining" didn't need a sequel. "Revival" wasn't too bad either. I'm afraid to read "Sleeping Beauties" but did like "Gwendy's Button Box" which I think was too short.

      Delete
  8. I definitely want to read this one - thanks for the great review.
    Lynn :D

    ReplyDelete
  9. You both loved this so I know I will too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I can't wait to hear your thoughts.

      Delete
  10. If you go by what Stephen King has said, this is not Bill Hodges #4. Having read The Outsider, I can't help but feel like this is Bill Hodges #4. I only read 1.5 of the trilogy, though. I was meh about them, and I was too anxious for The Outsider to finish them. I wish had made myself finish them because it will be even harder to read them now. I loved The Outsider.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think this book actually made me more excited to read Bill Hodges now (I already own them all anyway). I had watched the first season of the series already anything so I kind of already spoiled myself.

      Delete
  11. I have only read It and Salem's Lot. I would like to read The Green Mile, and the two The Shining books. 📚

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, definitely read the two Shining books. Loved them both, although I still am not convinced that The Shining needed a sequel.

      Delete
  12. The only Stephen King book I've read is his book On Writing, which was great but not a typical King work of fiction. Where would you recommend starting for someone new to his work?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I say start with his old stuff. The Shining is still my fave of all time. Pet Sematary is good too. If you don't want something too scary, try Gwendy's Button Box. It's newer and it's also a novella so you can read it more quickly. Also 11/21/63 is also great for that same reason but it's HUGE!

      Delete
  13. YAY!!! I CANNOT wait to start this one!!

    ReplyDelete