Stephen King: Mr. Mercedes (2014)

PURCHASED

Hi! This is a review that I've been dreading, simply because I finished reading the book over a month ago and...I don't know why I do this to myself. I mean, I know how it got to be this long since I've finished, but damn.

I've had this post saved at "Hi!" since...Thursday, I think. I didn't even know how to continue it, so I finally settled on just being honest, haha.

I have a love/like relationship with books by Stephen King. Some of his books fascinated and terrified me - such as my all-time favorite Duma Key and his more recent Joyland. Others didn't grasp my attention quite as much - such as Christine and Rose Madder. Regardless, whenever King has a new release, I always check out the book's promotional bite, curious to see what he's managed to come up with next and whether or not it's something I might enjoy reading. When it came to Mr. Mercedes, I knew in an instant that King wrote a book I would not just enjoy, but enjoy thoroughly.

Oh, I won't deny it: it's fun figuring out who the mastermind murderer is. I would know the fun in murder mysteries - Agatha Christie is one of my top favorite authors. But when a book's bite instantly introduces the murderer by name, and that book's author is Stephen King, well, you simply can't go wrong.

Stephen King: Joyland

Hi again. Time for a book review, yay! And a King one at that.

When I heard that Stephen King was releasing a book - Joyland - that had to do with murder, ghosts, and theme parks, I was thrilled. I love murder mysteries (hence my loyalty to the deceased Agatha Christie), I love horror built around ghosts (which feels like the most believable kind of horror, to me anyway), and I think that theme parks/amusement parks/carnivals - however you want to call them - are the perfect setting for anything horror. They have so much life flowing through them that there are as many happy memories in them as there are chilling histories. In carnivals, ghosts are inevitable.

So when 06/04/13 came around, and my preordered copy came in the mail as a gift from my boyfriend, I couldn't wait to start reading it. Of course, I was working on another book that is way longer and more complex to read at the time (and I have yet to finish), so I didn't get the chance to read Joyland until my flight to California. I finished it in about 3 sittings, though, and the reason is simple: King knows how to write.

Stephen King: Rose Madder

This review is long past due, as I finished reading this book months ago. I picked up a copy of Stephen King's Rose Madder for my trip home from San Diego. I find that, from experience, reading a good book during emotionally painful flights helps trick the mind from thinking about the pain.