I can’t believe that I waited over a decade to revisit Detective Bill Hodges, Jerome, and Holly. I read Mr. Mercedes, the first volume of the Bill Hodges Trilogy, in 2014. It was about time to see what happened next.

This volume explores buried treasure and unexpected consequences, family struggles and the bonds of blood. Most impressive about this volume was the way King interpolates the main tragedy of Mr. Mercedes into Finders Keepers from a new perspective. You may already know what’s about to happen but that doesn’t take away from the pathos of the moment.

The villain of the first volume, Brady Hartsfield, rests in a hospital in this book, while the action moves on without him. While I enjoyed this book, it wasn’t quite as gripping as the first novel. It was great to spend time with Bill and company, but the occasional nods to Hartsfield without involving him in the plot felt out of place.

Of course, this is the middle volume in a trilogy and there’s enough here to make you realize that Brady won’t be sleep forever. Next up: End of Watch.

King, Stephen. Finders Keepers. Narrated by Will Patton, audiobook ed., Simon & Schuster Audio, 2015. Bill Hodges Trilogy 2.