*Updated with more details from Stephen King* Retired cop Bill Hodges is haunted by an unsolved crime involving a killer who drove a Mercedes through a crowd of people and escaped. Now that same murderer is gearing up to wreak more death and destruction, and it's up to Bill to stop him. Mr. Mercedes, Stephen King’s latest novel, is now available as a hardcover, audiobook, and ebook, and King recently revealed that two sequel novels are on the way.
The second book in the planned trilogy, set to be released sometime next year, will be titled FINDERS KEEPERS, and it will include the characters Hodges, Jerome, and Holly from Mr. Mercedes. Here's what Stephen King shared with his followers on Twitter:
"MR. MERCEDES is the first novel in a projected trilogy. Hodges, Jerome, and Holly will return in FINDERS KEEPERS next year."
*Update: Stephen King posted a new message on his website that provides additional information:
"Dear Constant Reader,
Mr. Mercedes is the first volume of a projected trilogy concerning Bill Hodges, his friends…and his enemies. The second volume, Finders Keepers, is finished (in first draft, at least) and will be published in the first half of 2015, perhaps followed by a book of new stories in the fall (or not). Anyway, these three novels seem to revolve around the City Center Massacre that opens Mr. Mercedes. Because of that, I wanted to post a complete list of those killed and injured in Brady Hartsfield’s attack. Some of these unfortunates have other parts to play. As always, I’m glad you’re along for the ride, but be warned: there are some sharp turns ahead, and I’m a really crazy driver.
Stephen King
THE TOLL
Killed
Janice Cray, 25
Patricia Cray, 7 months
Thomas Glidden, 41
Antonio Granato, 47
August Odenkirk, 35
Martha Pendley, 27
Francine Reis, 39
Wayne Welland, 62Maimed
Keith Frias, 19
Daniel Starr, 28
Martine Stover, 50Serious Injuries (Transported to John M. Kiner Memorial Hospital)
Nora Anderson, 51
Krista Countryman, 21
Walter Cyrus, 56
Kenneth Gautier, 18
Albert Lippert, 42
Judith Loma, 30
Walter Munson, 14
Todd Paine, 36
Deanna Peabody, 37
Justin Pound, 25
Thomas Saubers, 39
Gerald Stansbury, 60Treated and Released
17 would-be Job Fair attendees, mostly for cuts, contusions, and shock
Source: The City News, April 11, 2009"
We'll keep Daily Dead readers updated as this story develops. For those unfamiliar with Mr. Mercedes, check out the synopsis to see where the planned trilogy begins:
“In a mega-stakes, high-suspense race against time, three of the most unlikely and winning heroes Stephen King has ever created try to stop a lone killer from blowing up thousands.
In the frigid pre-dawn hours, in a distressed Midwestern city, hundreds of desperate unemployed folks are lined up for a spot at a job fair. Without warning, a lone driver plows through the crowd in a stolen Mercedes, running over the innocent, backing up, and charging again. Eight people are killed; fifteen are wounded. The killer escapes.
In another part of town, months later, a retired cop named Bill Hodges is still haunted by the unsolved crime. When he gets a crazed letter from someone who self-identifies as the “perk” and threatens an even more diabolical attack, Hodges wakes up from his depressed and vacant retirement, hell-bent on preventing another tragedy.
Brady Hartfield lives with his alcoholic mother in the house where he was born. He loved the feel of death under the wheels of the Mercedes, and he wants that rush again. Only Bill Hodges, with a couple of highly unlikely allies, can apprehend the killer before he strikes again. And they have no time to lose, because Brady’s next mission, if it succeeds, will kill or maim thousands.
Mr. Mercedes is a war between good and evil, from the master of suspense whose insight into the mind of this obsessed, insane killer is chilling and unforgettable.”
To read an excerpt from Mr. Mercedes, visit:
Raised on a steady diet of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps books and Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Derek has been fascinated with fear since he first saw ForeverWare being used on an episode of Eerie, Indiana.
When he’s not writing about horror as the Senior News Reporter for Daily Dead, Derek can be found daydreaming about the Santa Carla Boardwalk from The Lost Boys or reading Stephen King and Brian Keene novels.
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