Before I start talking about Mr Mercedes, I want to make it clear that this is not a normal review; it's more like a dedication. Firstly, I have absolutely no right to review Stephen King. With over 50 novels under his belt, many of which have been turned into films and television series, as well as too many awards to count, there's no denying his talent. He even challenges his skill by writing under pseudonyms, most famously Richard Bachman. I have been reading his books since I was in my early teens (basically, when my mum said it was okay) and have always admired him, not just as an author, but as a fellow grammarian. As weird as it sounds, King's novels are always the ones that I turn to as my 'breather novels', the ones that give me a break from reading about the gruesome elements of real life, from aspects of war to life-threatening illnesses.
Secondly, Mr Mercedes is nothing like any other Stephen King novel. Usually, I'm met with possessed cars, rabid dogs, vampire towns and electricity that can wake the dead; extreme situations that you can convince yourself could never happen in real life (though seem really vivid when you dream about them later!). Mr Mercedes, on the other hand, is a crime novel. A crime novel like no other, of course, but a crime novel nonetheless. Though not fitting into King's typical horror genre, the novel is still frightening, and unfortunately, could definitely happen. Retired detective Bill Hodges is finding life dull and pointless since leaving the force, until a letter arrives that gives him a meaning to live. The letter is from a killer he failed to catch, a man nicknamed Mr Mercedes, who taunts Hodges in the hope that he will commit suicide. The opposite occurs, as Hodges decides to investigate the case again unofficially, putting his life and the lives of others potentially in danger. Though Mr Mercedes, aka Brady Hartsfield, writes that he has no intention to repeat his crime, could he be lying? If he is, can Hodges catch him in time?
There's no denying it; not content with being the king of horror (excuse the pun), Stephen King dominates yet another genre with this novel. Where Joyland was a crime novel with a supernatural twist, Mr Mercedes is pure crime, and it's brilliant. It remains to have King's signature traits; the shameless plugging of fellow authors (which I can't help but appreciate and admire), the subliminally inserted hatred of mobile phones, the numerous mentions of his own various works (which help to bring them to life outside of their pages), and the use of music taste for character building, as well as his own (perhaps slightly twisted) sense of humour creeping in. It is quite obviously a Stephen King novel.
Despite all of these resemblances to other works by the author, Mr Mercedes is something fresh and altogether different at the same time. Stephen King is known for playing around with various styles of writing, toying with different voices, tenses and experimenting with everybody's worst nightmares. Mr Mercedes is a different sort of nightmare, though; instead of vampires, ghosts and zombies (when the infection is, of course, caused by mobile phones), the nightmare is one that comes particularly as a result of the 9/11 tragedy, one that is far too believable and therefore as equally chilling as any of his horrors. He has taken the mass fear of a person without a conscience killing multiple people in one incident, someone who does not care of the consequences, even if it results in their own death. After all, the common saying goes 'it's not the dead you should fear, it's the living'.
Does Stephen King get away with it? Of course he does. We know who the killer is from the start, but the suspense of catching him is still present, because with King, you never know which will prevail; good or evil. The ending is always a surprise (unless you have gone out and bought the sequel released this week, Finders Keepers) and the characters are always pushed to their limits. It is through King appearing to know his characters as though they are close friends that makes this work so perfectly and I look forward to reading the next instalment. If you love Stephen King, you'll love this.
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