Review: End of Watch – Stephen King

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THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
The spectacular finale to the New York Times bestselling trilogy that began with Mr. Mercedes (winner of the Edgar Award) and Finders Keepers—In End of Watch, the diabolical “Mercedes Killer” drives his enemies to suicide, and if Bill Hodges and Holly Gibney don’t f...

THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
The spectacular finale to the New York Times bestselling trilogy that began with Mr. Mercedes (winner of the Edgar Award) and Finders Keepers—In End of Watch, the diabolical “Mercedes Killer” drives his enemies to suicide, and if Bill Hodges and Holly Gibney don’t figure out a way to stop him, they’ll be victims themselves.

In Room 217 of the Lakes Region Traumatic Brain Injury Clinic, something has awakened. Something evil. Brady Hartsfield, perpetrator of the Mercedes Massacre, where eight people were killed and many more were badly injured, has been in the clinic for five years, in a vegetative state. According to his doctors, anything approaching a complete recovery is unlikely. But behind the drool and stare, Brady is awake, and in possession of deadly new powers that allow him to wreak unimaginable havoc without ever leaving his hospital room.

Retired police detective Bill Hodges, the unlikely hero of Mr. Mercedes and Finders Keepers, now runs an investigation agency with his partner, Holly Gibney—the woman who delivered the blow to Hartsfield’s head that put him on the brain injury ward. When Bill and Holly are called to a suicide scene with ties to the Mercedes Massacre, they find themselves pulled into their most dangerous case yet, one that will put their lives at risk, as well as those of Bill’s heroic young friend Jerome Robinson and his teenage sister, Barbara. Brady Hartsfield is back, and planning revenge not just on Hodges and his friends, but on an entire city.

In End of Watch, Stephen King brings the Hodges trilogy to a sublimely terrifying conclusion, combining the detective fiction of Mr. Mercedes and Finders Keepers with the heart-pounding, supernatural suspense that has been his bestselling trademark. The result is an unnerving look at human vulnerability and chilling suspense. No one does it better than King.

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It starts with an apparent suicide but something about it just feels wrong. Retired cop Bill Hodges and his partner at Finder’s Keepers, a private investigator agency notices something strange, the letter ‘Z’ written in the deceased’s blood. The police on scene refuse to acknowledge that it means anything significant, but Bill and Holly are sure that it does, especially when the letter ‘Z’ is found again.

Then one person after another starts committing suicide and Bill begins to wonder if Brady Hartsfield is behind it in some way considering these people have been around Brady at some point or other. Bill knows that Brady had convinced others to kill themselves. So could it be he’s back to it? But Bill has been to see Brady, and Brady has been unresponsive to anything he or anyone has said or done. Or could it be that Brady is faking it so he won’t have to face criminal charges?

Bill is unaware that Brady is awake and out of the catatonic state he was in. Although his body is in a vegetable-like state, his mind is fully functioning, and he’s got a score to settle with Detective Bill Hodges since he thinks Bill was the one that caused his current state. Not only does Brady have plans for Bill but he’s even got a plan to cause mass suicides. The question is ‘how” and will he be successful?

End of Watch by Stephen King is the last installment of the Bill Hodges Trilogy. I enjoyed the book, but it just wasn’t as good as the previous book, Finder’s Keepers. Where that book was written with a King’s notable writing, that is suspenseful. Looking back King was dropping hints about Brady Hartsfield’s extraordinary capacities in Finder’s Keepers. With End of Watch, the reader gets a little more with the psychological elements with the suicides and some paranormal intertwined. Some parts of the storyline move a little slow and near the end feels a bit rushed. Overall it was a good ending to the series.

Reviewed by: Leona R

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