Finders Keepers by Stephen King

June 25th, 2015 Kimberly Review 83 Comments

25th Jun
Finders Keepers by Stephen King
Finders Keepers
by Stephen King
Series: Bill Hodges Trilogy #2
Narrator: Will Patton
Length: 13 hrs and 5 mins
Genres: Crime Fiction, Mystery
Source: Publisher
Purchase*: Amazon | Audible *affiliate
Goodreads
Rating: One StarOne StarOne StarOne Star
Narration: 5 cups

Morris hides the money and the notebooks, and then he is locked away for another crime. Decades later, a boy named Pete Saubers finds the treasure, and now it is Pete and his family that Bill Hodges, Holly Gibney, and Jerome Robinson must rescue from the ever-more deranged and vengeful Morris when he’s released from prison after thirty-five years. Not since Misery has King played with the notion of a reader whose obsession with a writer gets dangerous. Finders Keepers is spectacular, heart-pounding suspense, but it is also King writing about how literature shapes a life—for good, for bad, forever.

Finders Keepers by Stephen King is the second book in his Bill Hodges trilogy. I for one am enjoying these crime novels and its cast of quirky characters. I have been listening to the series on audio and love having Will Patton narrate them. Bill and the gang don’t get as much page time as the previous novel but King delivered a compelling story with villain Morris Bellamy and a young man named Peter Saubers.

While King is the indisputable king of horror, I am quite enjoying his foray into crime thrillers, and his descriptive creepiness finds its way into Finders Keepers.

The tale stems around a man obsessed by the works of author John Rothstein and that of his famous character Jimmy Gold. Our villain idolized this character; one could even say he is obsessed.
When the author stopped writing about Jimmy and in Morris’s opinion “sold out the character” Morris kills him. He then ransacks the authors’ home and steals not only cash but also a treasure trove of unpublished works including some Jimmy Gold novels. Imagine Gollum and “my precious” and you will have an indication of Morris and his obsession.

Morris hides his “precious” and ends up being locked away for another crime. Thoughts of his treasure trove are the only thing that keeps him from losing his mind. Almost a decade later Peter Saubers discovers the treasure trove when its needed the most. When Morris is released and goes searching for his “precious,”  it is up to Bill, Holly, and Jerome to stop this angry, obsessed man.

King did a wonderful job fleshing out Morris and Peter. The first three-fourths of the novel was spent going back and forth between them and I quickly found myself caught up in their stories. Morris gave me the chills and King did such a wonderful job of capturing his deranged personality. We see glimpses of Bill and the gang but they felt more like commercials between until the last one-fourth of the story. I felt for Peter and held my breath as their story-lines began to merge.

The intensity of the story increased when Bill, Holly, and Jerome entered the picture. At this point, I could not stop listening. I know not everyone has warmed up to Bill and the others, but I adore them. They are quirky, fleshed out and exactly what I have come to expect from King. I think Will really brought them to life with his narration. Holly is a genius, albeit a weird one and her quirky mannerisms and logical tones had me giggle. Bill is an old-school detective and I love his commentary.

The case wrapped up with a satisfying conclusion as King set us up for the final book and I am excited to see what happens. Fans of King and crime thrillers will find themselves caught up in Finders Keepers. Are you going on a road trip this summer? Then grab the audio, Will Patton does an excellent job. I love his speaking voice to begin with and he rocks this series.

 

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About Kimberly
Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. BlueSky | Facebook | Instagram

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83 Responses to “Finders Keepers by Stephen King”

  2. Lauren

    Thank you for sharing, I didn’t even realise this was out and I purchase all of his books for my dad! :’)

  3. benish

    I’ve only read one book by this author and I didn’t understand it lol :/ This one sounds interesting though, I love the title 🙂

  4. Aurian

    I am too scared to try even a non-horror book by Stephen King, but I am glad you enjoyed it so much.

  5. Paij Slater

    I still cannot decide if I want to read it or not. I read my first Stephen King book ever pretty recently. I love his movies…but the book just didn’t do it for me. I keep seeing this every time I walk into a book store, and cant decide if I’m ready to try him again or not. Great review though Kim! Makes me want to read it 🙂

  6. Karen Blue

    It sounds amazing. I need to read these books. Will Patton sounds really good narrating. I know this is the second book, but can it be read as a stand alone?

  7. Deborah

    I hadn’t read Mr Mercedes and I think it meant I struggled a little with this one. I enjoyed the characters of Peter and Bellamy but didn’t really relate to Bill or any of the Finders Keepers team as I didn’t feel we spent long with them and they seemed a bit redundant. But… as I said, I think that’s because I’ve come in part-way through…

  8. Zara

    your blog is soooo lovely I love it!!! and thanks for the review, I might start reading it soon 🙂

  13. Tracy Terry

    Though a big fan when I was a teenager its been a long time since I have read any of his books. I think Needful Things was probably the last book of his I read. Great review, I really like the sound of this so may well re-introduce myself to SK’s writings.

  15. Kathy

    I’ve wondered about this book, since Mr. Mercedes had a lot of mixed reviews. I haven’t read King in a while, but I did always love the way he told a story and could scare the bejeebees out of me.

  16. Angie

    Surprisingly I haven’t read Mr. Mercedes yet. But your review makes me want to get to his series soon. I love King and have always loved him. He was the first author that really made me get into reading.

  18. Naomi

    Good to see that you are enjoying Kings crime thrillers. I am getting the chills over your perception of Morris in your review! Sounds like a captivating read!

  19. Katherine

    Mr. Mercedes is on the top of my list to get once the kids are back in school and I can listen to audio books again. This one sounds like it should be up there too!

  21. Lindy

    I am a huge King fan, but haven’t read any of his crime thrillers. This one sounds so good! I can picture the creepy and deranged Morris with his “precious” and it gives me the chills! King always delivers those fleshed out and quirky characters beautifully. I’m glad that you really enjoyed the story as well as the narration 🙂

  22. Heidi

    I need to get this listened to. I adore Will Patton and I liked Jerome and Holly. Holly especially was interesting. I am glad to hear this was another good listen.

  23. Grace

    I have both books on my list at the library but maybe I will check them out on audio! I am excited for them and I love quirky characters Great review!

  24. Ramona

    I haven’t read him in a while, and haven’t tried this trilogy, but it’s on my list. I love his work 🙂 I spent my teens reading and re-reading him. No one builds up suspense as well as he does it. Great review.

  25. sherry fundin

    I’m a bit behind in his books too, but I love him. Fantastic review and makes me want to play “ketchup” on his work. Have a great weekend, K.

  26. tanya

    I usually read romantic book but sometimes I like to mix it up with some suspense. This book sounds fascinating and I’m sure it will keep my attention.

  27. Ro

    I haven’t read his work in a while, and actually have a box full of his novels. Brilliantly creepy and talented, King really knows how to rope a reader into his world so that you’re talking about it days later. Definitely plan to pick this one up and a great review! hugs…

  28. Kristin

    I bet these stories come straight from King’s nightmares themselves! Probably many other author’s nightmares – YIKES!

    Will Patton, Will Patton…. sounds so familiar… I know I know him. Running to IMDb 🙂

    Wow, great review! Must’ve taken hours to write! So thorough, girl!!!

  29. Laurel-Rain Snow

    I don’t like horror, but I have enjoyed SK’s books like Misery, and from the sound of it, I would enjoy this one. Thanks for sharing! Chilling….

  30. Debbie Haupt

    Wow your review intrigues me Kim, I think I may have to give King’s series a try. I did really enjoy 11-22-63. Thanks for this!

  31. Stormi

    I think the king of horror is having horror burnout and needs to try something else for a bit..lol. I loved his earlier work but is newer horror just not really doing it for me. These crime ones sounds interesting so I might check them out. 🙂

  32. Jenny

    I definitely stay far, far away from his horror stuff, but I think I would probably enjoy his crime thrillers Kim! Unless they go the way of Dreamcatcher and start getting really, really weird. I’ll have to check and see if my dad has read this series yet, it’s right up his alley!

    • kimbacaffeinate

      I think these are fine, suspenseful at times, a little spook here and there but crime thrillers I think you could handle.

  33. Nick

    I didn’t know he was writing crime thrillers now. Gosh! I haven’t read a crime thriller or Stephen King book in forever! Must change that soon, Kim!

  34. Tyler H Jolley

    I could not agree more, his crime thrillers are just as good as his horrors. I finally got around to Mr. Mercedes in May. WOW. I can’t remember the last time I read a book that I physically could not put down. And the last line? Creep-tastic! I actually stalked your blog to find your review so I could compare my thoughts. 😀

  35. Whitney

    I have a hold at the library for Finder’s Keepers and look forward to reading it. I really enjoyed the first book in the trilogy and have heard people compare it to Misery so have been curious about this one. Great review!

  36. amanda

    Is this a follow up to Mr mercedes? I was looking at it in the bookshop the other day but I didnt want to get it if it was a follow up! Great review add it to stumble upon 🙂

  37. Red Iza

    You got me at “quirky characters”, second line. See, sometimes you don’t have to bother writing a whole review, lol ! My youngest daughter shows an interest in Stephen King, so I’m going to start a read-along with her of all his books – big work ahead ^^

  38. kindlemom1

    I had no idea that King even wrote crime horror. I’m so intrigued now Kim. I do remember you liking the first book awhile ago but I must not have been paying attention that it was a crime novel for some reason. I sort of want to look up book one now but I’m such chicken and it has been forever since I read King!

  39. Teddyree

    I can’t do his horror books on audio, I have to ‘read’ them but this I could do. Much the same with movies, can’t watch horror movies but I gobble up a horror novel … a little weird maybe? lol

    • kimbacaffeinate

      Ooo I can do them in any format but movie. Well no that is a lie I can do horror on film but not that SAW, Chain Saw Massacre kind of shit.gads it freaks me out.

  41. Melliane

    I’m a little behind with his books. I used to read them a lot years before but now I confess that I haven’t read any in years. I should because they look good!