Jordan Kelley

An awesome continuation of the Bill Hodges/Holly Gibney storyline. And Will Patton makes a return to deliver a performance like nobody else could. I loved the story arc around a popular author and the stories he wrote. This read will not disappoint!

Phenomenally gripping story and sadistically intimate look at the inner thoughts of a serial killer. I was so engrossed in the story and amazed at how developed King was able to make Brady Hartsfield and how evil he was able to make him. With each chapter I observed Brady with this disturbed and demented curiosity. A wild story that will definitely keep you in suspense.

This was my first Stephen King novel ever and I listened to it on Audible. Now, I have to listen to Stephen King books. Will Patton did a phenomenal job with the voice performance and creating the characters (only to come to realize that this book is actually book four, in the Holly Gibney series, so the characters had already been created to some extent). I was enthralled and gripping the edge of my seat the entire time.

A really great collections of Stephen King short stories. Will Patton narrating is always my favorite for King novels. Mr. Harrington’s Phone was such a suspenseful and gripping story that I’ve come to expect from King. The Life of Chuck was such a unique story that I couldn’t stop listening to it, and I can’t wait to see the movie that is in the making! If It Bleeds is probably the crown jewel of the collection with its continuation of Holly Gibney’s storyline and another masterful performance by Patton. Rat was a bit slow to start, but got interesting leading up to the climax.

I’ve loved the Bill Hodges and Holly Gibney series from King. Will Patton truly made those characters in the audio versions. Having a new narrator, Justine Lupe, for Holly was a challenging obstacle to overcome. Lupe didn’t even try to carry on the speech characteristics of Holly that Patton thoroughly established through the previous five novels. Holly felt like a completely different person in this book. Even her thought processes seemed different. It’s as if King murdered the old Holly and reimagined her as a brand new person with no quirks or idiosyncrasies. Furthermore, all the characters, Holly included, were completely “woke.” If you have any opposing opinions (from mainstream media) on topics such as racism, gender, COVID, Trump, etc…you will find that the characters in this book think you, the reader, are a knuckle dragging, brainless oaf. To be honest, Holly in the previous five novels asked a lot of questions, especially questions that nobody else was asking even felt allowed to ask. Yet when it comes to COVID, vaccines, and masks, she was completely betrothed to the mainstream ideas. I think King murdered Holly and rebuilt her to fit his guilty politically correct viewpoints. Justine Lupe performance isn’t up to par with other King narrators. There isn’t much feeling of suspense in her voice, she completely ignores all of Will Patton’s work in crafting Holly’s personality, also the main villains name is Rodney, which she consistently pronounces “Roddy.”