Lynette McClenaghan

Finders Keepers

I enjoyed Mr Mercedes very much, and am glad to say that Finders Keepers is even better. The story moves at a rapid pace, yet at the same time it is a slow-burning gradual intensifying of tension and threat. The inevitable confrontation between Morris and Pete is signalled early in the story and we watch with fascination as the complexities of plot and situation draw them closer and closer. The sub-plots and stories within stories are meticulously constructed and mesh seamlessly with the novel’s overall trajectory. That we are already familiar with Bill, Holly and Jerome helps, as there is no need to establish these characters. The other two protagonists in this ensemble cast are finely created. Morris Bellamy is less demented than Brady Hartfield in Mr Mercedes, and for me this makes him more contradictory and thus more interesting. King has cleverly imbued Morris with some characteristics such as his love of literature which will resonate with readers, however perversely it is manifested by him. Pete Saubers is another of those adolescent males that King creates wonderfully and who is sorely tested by circumstances beyond his control, and yet for which he is, or feels, somehow responsible. Minor characters, particularly Morris’ former friend Andy, are similarly well articulated. Obsession, redemption, responsibility, fate; although there is nothing supernatural in Finders Keepers (although barely hinted at in a few brief encounters with Brady) the novel has a grim, Gothic atmosphere. Read it in a day