Hard Case Crime LATER

I thought this was a graphic novel but I was wrong it is a novel! but I will still read it!

I really enjoyed this latest book for the legendary Stephen King. The book has so many elements that seem familiar to classic King novels, but this time blended with the crime/mystery genre to create something slightly different. There are familiar themes of a child that is forced to grow up and rely on himself in the face of less than stellar adults; and supernatural powers being both a blessing and a curse. The fact that the protagonist is recalling his difficult childhood reminded me of other King books, but this one is more modern; as the events are still in this millennium.I was really drawn into this story, even though the beginning is a little bit slower than some other crime novels. The action picks up later, and I ended up reading the entire book in one sitting. I love the way King describes his characters; so that the feelings and emotions of the characters seem so realistic, even when their abilities are supernatural. I really liked the ending too, even though there was something that I didn't see coming.If you are a fan of King, I think it would be hard to dislike this book. Even if you haven't read any of his other great books, this one holds up as a solid story. It is an easy read, that to me was well worth the time and money. 5/5

I purchased both the kindle book and the audiobook and read and listened to both at the same time, a feature offered by Amazon that I really like. This review is for the Stephen King novel, though the audiobook narration itself is really superb. The actual book though, not so much, not Stephen King’s best.- The incest part just wasn’t needed and detracted from the enjoyment of the story.- The recycled part from his novel, “It” felt exactly like just that, unoriginal and recycled, and this was a fairly important part of this novel. Readers of that novel will recognize it immediately. It would have been better if King had come up with a more original idea for this book, rather than import his past writing ideas.- This book doesn’t belong in the “Hard Case Crime” series. Hard Case Crime conjures a Noir image, with gritty detectives and police officers dealing with difficult to solve crimes, ferreting out hard cases, and putting themselves in danger with worthy criminal adversaries. Authors such as Mickey Spillane, Max Allan Collins, Raymond Chandler, James Ellroy, and similar belong in this genre. This Stephen King short novel is really just a type of ghost story and a mild horror story at that; the crime part of this is just incidental.- Largely formulaic, somewhat predictable from one scene to the next, no real twists, it just never really gets exciting.This is a type of ghost story. The protagonist sees dead people, that is established near the beginning, not really a spoiler. So of course it is quite predictable that he will be sought out, on the one hand by police, to solve or prevent crime, and on the other hand by bad guys, to take advantage of him being able to glean information from the dead as well. There are a couple of other plot lines thrown in, but I don’t believe in dropping spoilers like that for people who want to read the book. Overall however, Stephen King has many other good books out there. It is ok to skip this one.

"When the fickle finger of fate points at you, all roads lead to the same place, that’s what I think.”Stephen King has delivered LATER, his third novel for Hardcase Crime, preceded by JOYLAND and THE COLORADO KID.And, yes, Stephen King has done it again.LATER is a mismatch of many genres—thriller, ghost story, supernatural-coming-of-age. This is something King has always done throughout his career, and he is only getting better and better at it. The novel clocks in at a brisk 250-something pages, when all is said and done, and it features some very fine, sharp, and precise writing. I am always attracted to first-person narrators, and Jamie Conklin is a character I won’t soon forget. His voice and his perspective is handled with care, and King really has a penchant for writing about children, and the bittersweet experience of growing up. Of course, his characters are always forced to grow-up in ways that both frighten and delight us.I don’t want to betray more than the synopsis offers—that would be a disservice to the reading experience. What I will say is there are some surprising easter eggs tucked in this spectacular little gem. What starts off as a slow-burner, (King is building the world, the characters) quickly escalates into a page-turner, with supreme tension and suspense. In fact, this is a particularly violent, bleak, and dark Stephen King novel. It almost reads like a Richard Bachman novel. Almost. There is still a little more heart here. Maybe there is a bit of a Salinger-esque vibe, if Holden Caulfield had a supernatural awakening to accompany all the angst.What keeps me coming back to King, a lifelong Constant Reader, are the characters that come alive in his stories. The plots often take a backseat, though they are just as alluring and expertly underscore his work.Many critics say many things about Stephen King—good and bad. LATER, his newest, is exemplary of all that I love about Stephen King at the top of his game.If you're looking for a launching point into King's canon, this isn't a bad place to start. If, like me, you've been reading King for a long time, you'll be delighted to surrender to a Master Storyteller at work. There is a reason we come back, again and again.Pick up a copy. Sooner, rather than later.

I was reading along until 1:00 AM when chapter 30 hit me like a bad case of covid. You don't want to be reading what's in chapter 30 late at night. Just put the book down and pick it back up in the morning. Trust me. It will be fine in the daylight with other people around.