I have always been a fan of the creepy. In fourth and fifth grade, I absolutely devoured the Goosebumps series and was a big fan of Are You Afraid of the Dark? on Nickelodeon. Few things have changed over the years; If anything, my palette for the inexplicably weird and grotesque has broadened. Shockingly, it’s only over the last year and a half that I’ve begun reading the king of all things spooky, Stephen King (I know, what is wrong with me). King’s writing is a thing of nightmares. From IT to End of Watch, King’s imagination creates the darkest, scariest places reader’s minds are afraid, yet compelled to wander.
The Outsider certainly does not drop the ball:
In Flint, Oklahoma a horrific and world-shattering murder has happened. An eleven-year old boy’s body has been found battered and mutilated in a way few Flint City Police officers can stomach; even seasoned officer Ralph Anderson. When collected evidence from the crime scene and eye witness accounts point directly to the prominent, squeaky clean town patron, Terry Maitland, being responsible for the animalistic savagery of the murder and assault, Anderson works quickly (and less-than judiciously) in bringing him to justice.
Despite the plethora of physical proof and witness accounts, Terry Maitland’s guilt is far from air-tight. In fact, Anderson’s case is falling apart at the seams; too many questions about Maitland’s involvement begin to surface, his alibi is indisputable, and the bizarre and murky circumstances of the case are boggling the minds of everyone involved. Connections begin to be made between this murder and murders in other states, where the men convicted appeared to be in two places at once; one version living their normal, everyday life and the other committing unforgivable acts of violence.
Anderson and his team of crime fighters (including Holly Gibney from Mr. Mercedes and Finder’s Keepers) work to find the man (or monster?) responsible for these murders and frame-ups before he claims the next victim(s).
If you enjoyed the Mr. Mercedes trilogy, you will definitely enjoy this book. Ralph Anderson is like a younger Bill Hodges, as Holly points out multiple times during the story. The genre is a mixture of fantasy, sci-fi and good old-fashioned horror. I also learned quite a bit about the Boogie Man, as he’s depicted in other cultures (and there goes my ability to sleep for a week.)
If this sounds like your kind of scary story, you can grab it here:
And if you want to read some of my all-time favorite Stephen King novels, here are a few suggestions:
