Awhile ago I began my foray into Stephen King’s trilogy of crime thrillers with Mr. Mercedes. Since then, I’ve completed the second book in the series, which follows retired police detective Bill Hodges on his various adventures. Finders Keepers was originally published in June 2015 by Scribner. It takes place about a year or so after the events of the last book. Bill has now opened a small private investigation office with the help of Holly Gibney who has become his assistant.

The main storyline begins in 1978 when a famous Rothstein is murdered by a group of ex-cons led by a man named Morris Bellamy. Morris is a devout fan of Rothstein’s work and wants to get his hands on the writer’s unpublished material to read and ultimately resell for a huge profit. Shortly after the murder and theft, Morris is arrested on a rape charge. Hoping to save his treasure the criminal buries it behind his house before being convicted.

Many years later, the notebooks and cash stolen from Rothstein are discovered by a young boy named Pete Saubers. The boy soon becomes the prime target for the recently released Morris. Thus, drama ensues and stakes escalate along the pathways you’d expect for this type of novel. The premise (while more complex than Mr. Mercedes) doesn’t manage to hold your interest as well. It’s attention-grabbing from the initial concept, but the lack of mystery makes for a less interesting journey.

As a result, I found the second half in particular to be relatively weak. Our main heroes are given little development here as most of the focus has shifted to new characters Morris and Pete. Neither of them is poorly written and Morris in particular has a strong voice. King also creates some interesting parallels between the two new characters, but they take up so much of the story it makes our core heroes from the previous work feel like extra baggage rather than key players.

My favorite aspect of this story is how King utilizes the characters and premise to reflect on his own experiences with reading and writing. It’s always interesting to find the hidden subtext and glean insights from a widely successful author. You can certainly do that here. I also enjoyed the mythos King created surrounding John Rothstein who is essentially a fusion of Hemmingway and Steinbeck. Overall, this work certainly feels more like a filler episode of a television show rather than a mid-season finale.

The story is wrapped up quite easily with similar conveniences that were present in the first book. There are no lasting consequences for any of our heroes (new and old) as a result of these events. Additionally, the few foreshadowing plot threads which develop a larger narrative are scenes that I feel could have been added to the final book. This would have allowed this story to stand on its own unconnected to the Hodges crew. Doing so would give King the space to flesh out underdeveloped areas without ruining the pacing completely. Despite this, Finder’s Keepers is still a decently constructed tale that left me looking forward to the final book.

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Finders Keepers

$9.99 USD

5

Score

5.0/10

Pros

• Interesting concept
• Reflections on classic literature

Cons

• Main heroes don't do much
• Dull second half