King of the road

"Mr. Mercedes" tells the story of a deranged sociopath turned killer and a retired cop who tries to identify and arrest him.

Of course, with Stephen King, there is great publicity and this novel was named by one source as the number one mystery/suspense book for the year.

There is a heart catching beginning to the story. A number of people are queued up to enroll in a job fair. They are discussing the hard times they've encountered. Out of nowhere, a stolen Mercedes plows into the crowd, killing eight and injuring many more.

Bill Hodges is a recently retired detective and remembers a number of cases that he wasn't able to solve and still haunt him. The Mercedes Killer is at the top of his list. He decides to investigate this case again and the story intensifies and Hodges receives a letter from the Mercedes Killer, taking credit for the kills and mocking Hodges for his inability to catch him.

Hodges works with his old partner to revive the cold case. Later, Hodges begins getting help from a young man named Jerome, who worked for Hodges in various capacities. Jerome is enthusiastic to work for Hodges and is adept at  the internet.

This is a traditional good vs. evil as we view Brady Hartfield gloat about his crime and then plan more evil acts. Hodges becomes more involved, in particular, with the family of the owner of the Mercedes.

Suspense mounts as the killer intends to strike again with more casualties than his first crime.

Told from an outside look at the characters and their actions, this plot driven novel certainly entertains.