Holly By Stephen King

Weekend Reads With Cherie Cooper

Holly by Stephen King books cover held in a hand

BOOK REVIEW

Stephen King fascinates me for a lot of reasons. His endless well of ideas. His prolific rate of publication. And the fact that as a famed horror writer, I think his best writing is outside that genre.

Different Seasons, a collection of novellas, each representing a different season, is one of my all-time favourite books. Few people have heard of it, but most have heard of the non-supernatural films that arose from it: Stand by Me, The Shawshank Redemption, and Apt Pupil. The story of Stand by Me (titled The Body in Different Seasons) shows a side of King few would recognise. The writing is sensitive and tender, an account of an acutely painful coming of age. I strongly recommended checking it out.

This week’s read, Holly, is one of King’s crime novels. (No otherworldly ghouls or monsters – just the human variety.) It’s about Holly Gibney, an unlikely investigator (she hates being called detective) who appears in multiple King novels. In this one, it’s the midst of Covid and she is called upon to investigate the disappearance of Bonnie Dahl, who vanishes, leaving behind her bicycle with a note saying “I’ve had enough” on the seat.

As the case unfolds, Holly realises a slew of disappearances could all be connected to one serial predator – or is it more than one?

This is one of those books where you actually know from the beginning who the killer is. The story is split between the culprit and Holly, the chapters gradually growing shorter as the two sides of the story get closer to collision.

The plot surges forward in just the right way. Holly is a perfect hard-boiled detective for the modern age – quirky, flawed, haunted by dreams of her suffocating mother, and uniquely equipped to save the day. I was always annoyed when I had to close this book and get on with real life.

I’ll definitely be checking out King’s other books featuring Holly, investigator, not detective.

More Weekend Reads

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Cherie Cooper
Cherie lives, works, and reads in beautiful Tasmania – the green island gem below Australia known for its gorgeous landscape and beautiful wildlife. She holds multiple academic qualifications in English, journalism, and fine art theory, and has worked in writing, editing, and communications roles for more than a decade. Most importantly, she has a deep love for books that began as soon as she learned how to read. Old, new, any genre – for Cherie, reading is about as vital as breathing. She is interested in sharing books that move, excite, and compel, so others can share the joy of a truly great read. While she reads across most genres, her favourite is literary fiction. Particularly anything by Margaret Atwood, Ottessa Moshfegh, Kate Atkinson, Elizabeth Berg, Ann Patchett, and Anne Tyler. Cherie frequents Tasmania’s beautiful boutique book shops as well as scouring secondhand shops for books to add to her extensive home library.   Catch up with her on LinkedIn