Hi everyone, Slick Dungeon here back with another book review. This one kept me up late at night trembling in fear as Stephen King is still the master of horror.I just found out that this one is actually an HBO series so I’ll be reviewing that as well once I have watched it.

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SUMMARY

An eleven-year-old boy’s violated corpse is discovered in a town park. Eyewitnesses and fingerprints point unmistakably to one of Flint City’s most popular citizens—Terry Maitland, Little League coach, English teacher, husband, and father of two girls. Detective Ralph Anderson, whose son Maitland once coached, orders a quick and very public arrest. Maitland has an alibi, but Anderson and the district attorney soon have DNA evidence to go with the fingerprints and witnesses. Their case seems ironclad.

As the investigation expands and horrifying details begin to emerge, King’s story kicks into high gear, generating strong tension and almost unbearable suspense. Terry Maitland seems like a nice guy, but is he wearing another face? When the answer comes, it will shock you as only Stephen King can.

REVIEW

A man can’t be in two places at the same time. Everyone knows that. Detective Ralph Anderson knows that too. He has a slam dunk, ironclad, so obvious it couldn’t be more clear case on his hands. Coach Terry Maitland, respected citizen of Flint City, coach to many of the town’s young little leaguers was placed at the scene of a crime more horrendous than any in Flint City’s history. It’s the kind of crime he would never be suspected of. Still, sometimes people snap and Anderson is sure that’s what happened. He can’t let killers walk the streets of his city so he had Maitland arrested in front of the whole town to send a message to anyone else who might want to commit crimes in this neck of the woods.

But Maitland had an ironclad alibi. Even so, DNA evidence should prove without a doubt who did the crime. A man can’t be in two places at the same time. It’s not possible.

I don’t wish to give too many spoilers here but as you might guess with a Stephen King novel, there is more to the story than what it seems. Not all of it natural.

The book is gripping and horrifying, especially in the earlier parts. Strange things happen to innocent people and there is something evil lurking in the shadows.

One thing to note is that there are some characters from the Mr. Mercedes series. If you want to read everything in order, don’t pick this one up first. But even if you do, they mostly mention things from the other books but don’t go into great detail. The Outsider stands on its own but there are mild spoilers from the other series. I hadn’t read the Mr. Mercedes books before reading this one and it just made me want to go back and read those.

The one weak point of this book, like many of Stephen King’s books, is the ending. While still horrifying and thrilling, once the monster is confronted head on, it loses some of its power. There are a few things I couldn’t entirely believe or that weren’t as wrapped up as one would hope.

Still, if you are a fan of horror and of Stephen King, this is a great book to add to your reading list.

Horrifically yours,

Slick Dungeon