Finders Keepers by Stephen King

This is the second book in the Bill Hodges Trilogy. I could not put Mr Mercedes down, not for love or money, so naturally, I picked this one up. And I was NOT disappointed.

The story starts in 1978. Author John Rothstein is murdered after giving the combination to his safe, not just holding wads of cash, but his precious writings since retiring from the public (and publishing). What do these Moleskine books hold? His murderer is desperate to know. But for reasons I won't mention here, it happens that someone else finds the books. Tying in nicely with the destruction caused by Mr Mercedes, this book closely follow the lives of all affected by Rothstein's manuscripts - all the way to the dizzying conclusion.

Now this is what I call an exciting book! King is a master at not only putting together a plot, but at making characters that are real. Morris was a thrilling antagonist, and Peter, whose similarities to Morris were inescapable, made an awesome protagonist. I loved seeing how these two, who in some ways were so similar, were SO different.

The structure of this was a bit unusual. Folks expecting to have Bill Hodges roaming the pages are in for a bit of a disappointment. He only appears for the first time, one third of the way in. But what a pleasure it was to see that old codger again. And the rest of his crew too, I might add.

As a reader, I loved the literary references. I also could completely understand the pull of exclusive material from a loved author. In that way I could relate to both men in the story. I mean, what wouldn't one of us do to get our hands on unseen Harry Potter material?

“For readers, one of life’s most electrifying discoveries is that they are readers – not just capable of doing it, but in love with it. Hopelessly. Head over heels.”

― Stephen King

I can't wait for the next book, although, it is going to be very different from the first two. I gave this 4 stars, although, as I have only just put this down, I am SO tempted to give it 5.