Stephen King, though regarded by many as the master of horror, recently dipped his toes into crime and/or detective fiction, and then plunged in head first with what has come to be known as "The Bill Hodges Trilogy," which includes the novels "Mr. Mercedes" (2014), "Finders Keepers" (2015), and "End of Watch" (2016). This June, Uncle Steve published the final installment, "End of Watch," via Scribner. I’ve always been a bigger fan of Uncle Steve’s horror novels and, to a lesser extent, his mainstream fiction. When I first heard about "Mr. Mercedes" in 2014, Stephen described the novel as his “attempt at hardboiled fiction.” I thought that I would enjoy the novel on some degree, but I assumed that it would be somewhere mid-pack for me. However, that changed when I read the book. I quickly fell in love with the characters of Bill Hodges, Holly Gibbney and Jerome Robinson, and I was ecstatic to find out that the novel was the first in a trilogy.

The following year saw the release of "Finders Keepers," which I thought was just as good as "Mr. Mercedes" and reminded me a lot of a crossbreed between that novel and the classic Stephen King novel, "Misery." I related well with the main characters, as the story focused around two characters who were obsessed with the unfinished Jimmy Gold Trilogy written by the Salinger-like reclusive writer, John Rothstein. The novel was very thrilling and ended on a note that set up the final novel in the series.

Now we have "End of Watch." To be honest, while I loved the first two novels in the series, I was reluctant at first with this, mostly because of how Stephen hinted heavily at the end of "Finders Keepers" that the novel would contain supernatural elements. I love Stephen’s supernatural horror novels, but I was enjoying his straight crime novels too, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about Stephen falling back onto his supernatural crutch. When I started the book, it moved extremely slowly for about the first 50 pages. I just wasn’t buying what he was selling early in the book. However, after those first 50 pages, the novel takes off on a thrill ride much like the two before it.

What impressed me the most about the novel was Stephen’s ability to blend the supernatural with the hardboiled detective story. He took an idea and made it seem real. The supernatural element that is in novel is not at all the focus of the novel, and it isn’t like the typical paranormal ghost, haunted house or giant ant gods (if you’ve read "Revival," you know what I’m talking about) that Stephen King uses in most of his novels. Rather, the supernatural element he uses has a science to it and is almost Michael Crichton-like rather than Lovecraftian.

But mostly what made me enjoy "End of Watch" were, again, the characters of Hodges, Holly and Jerome. It was great to see them together again trying to once again tackle the psychotic Brady Hartsfield before he could conjure up the greatest suicide pandemic in history. The Hodges character never seems to dull, and reading this book felt like visiting an old friend I haven’t seen in a while. Much like the first book in the series, Hodges is given a physical problem that may just hinder his ability to stop him. The novel had me take a rollercoaster ride in terms of suspense and emotions, which led to one of the most heartbreaking endings of a Stephen King novel in recent years. (I’m not one to cry at the end of a book, but this one had me on the edge of tears in the novel’s final pages.)

All in all, "End of Watch" is a damn good novel and a great ending to the Bill Hodges Trilogy. Mr. King masterfully blended the supernatural and hardboiled genres and played a great deal with my emotions. I’m looking forward to whatever Mr. King has in store for us next. Rumor has it that King’s next book “scares him to death.” You’ve got me salivating, Uncle Steve. Until next time…

Rating: 5/5