Mr. Mercedes and Thinner




Mr. Mercedes Journal #3

I'm loving Mr. Mercedes.  It's a different style and tone than King usually employs.  I think one reason I respect him as an artist is that he is not locked into one form of story telling.  When it comes to King and genre, he's quite versatile.

I had a long drive the other night to get my wife; and that meant lots of time to listen to Mr. Mercedes.  It's pretty cool, driving down long stretches of moon lit desert highway listening as King's story unfolds.

There is genuine mystery involved here.  King keeps me guessing -- how did the killer steal the car if the key wasn't in the ignition?  And, there's a great mid-novel plot twist.  I can't say a lot about it, except that it reminds me a lot (A LOT) of the ending to Thinner.  But in Thinner, King was just messing with readers.  In Mr. Mercedes, King is down to the serious business of story telling.  Where King ended Thinner, he is just getting started with Mr. Mercedes.  It is the sign of a more mature writer. This isn't just a Twilight Zone twist, it's a defining moment in the book and will be a driving force for the plot here on.

Anyone want some strawberry pie?


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