It’s only taken me over half of 2018, but I actually started and finished a book! Huzzah! Just 5 more to go to reach the goal I set myself in January, the goal I thought would be fairly achievable. Oops. I told myself to pick a standalone book rather than one in part of a series, just until I get back into the flow of reading more. After enjoying the Mr. Mercedes trilogy by Stephen King so much last year, I knew I couldn’t do wrong by picking his latest novel, The Outsider.

So the gist of the story is this. A young boy named Frank Peterson has been found dead after being brutally raped and murdered. The case is an awful but simple one, as there are multiple eye-witnesses, fingerprints, blood, and DNA samples that point to one man, Terry Maitland. What’s shocking is that Terry is such a well-loved man in the community.

After Terry is arrested publically by Detective Ralph Anderson and his colleagues, more evidence is uncovered that completely contradicts what has been found already. It turns out Terry wasn’t even in the City when the murder was committed – but how?

I absolutely love a mystery story, so I was hooked on this instantly. Once I get myself into a good book I just can’t stop myself so I’ve had a few late nights recently! I obviously don’t want to go into the specifics of the story because it’s something you should read without knowing much at all, but if you’re a fan of the genre I’m sure you’ll love this.

Here’s the best part though. I was so gutted when I finished the Mr. Mercedes trilogy. I’d become so invested in the main characters and I simply wasn’t ready to let them go. However! In the midst of all the chaos involved in the investigation in The Outsider, Holly Gibney gets involved! My poor husband seemed so confused when I excitedly tried to tell him very early one morning!

Dear Stephen King – can we please have more Holly? She might just be my favourite fictional character ever!