Holly

THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER

Holly Gibney, one of Stephen King's most compelling and ingeniously resourceful characters, returns in this thrilling novel to solve the gruesome truth behind multiple disappearances in a Midwestern town.

Stephen King's HOLLY marks the triumphant return of beloved King character Holly Gibney. Readers have witnessed Holly's gradual transformation from a shy (but also brave and ethical) recluse in Mr Mercedes to Bill Hodges's partner in Finders Keepers to a full-fledged, smart, and occasionally tough private detective in The Outsider. In King's new novel, Holly is on her own, and up against a pair of unimaginably depraved and brilliantly disguised adversaries.

When Penny Dahl calls the Finders Keepers detective agency hoping for help locating her missing daughter, Holly is reluctant to accept the case. Her partner, Pete, has Covid. Her (very complicated) mother has just died. And Holly is meant to be on leave. But something in Penny Dahl's desperate voice makes it impossible for Holly to turn her down.

Mere blocks from where Bonnie Dahl disappeared live Professors Rodney and Emily Harris. They are the picture of bourgeois respectability: married octogenarians, devoted to each other, and semi-retired lifelong academics. But they are harbouring an unholy secret in the basement of their well-kept, book-lined home, one that may be related to Bonnie's disappearance. And it will prove nearly impossible to discover what they are up to: they are savvy, they are patient, and they are ruthless.

Holly must summon all her formidable talents to outthink and outmanoeuvre the shockingly twisted professors in this chilling new masterwork from Stephen King.

'I could never let Holly Gibney go. She was supposed to be a walk-on character in Mr Mercedes and she just kind of stole the book and stole my heart. Holly is all her.' STEPHEN KING

'Lavished with the kind of dialogue most mortal writers can only dream of crafting ... King's portrait of Holly is sympathetic, subtle and seductive' INDEPENDENT

'King's wonderfully awkward private detective Holly Gibney returns in this black-hearted parable of American life in the Covid era... As horrifying as anything King has written' MAIL ON SUNDAY

'Stephen King's prolific late flowering continues with a new outing for his detective Holly Gibney, chasing down serial killers in Holly' GUARDIAN

Not content with being the master of horror and fantasy, in recent years Stephen King has earned a place among America's finest crime writers Sunday Express
Undeniably one of the greatest storytellers of the past century, Stephen King is a master at revealing the horrors that lurk beneath the surface of what looks like ordinary life Daily Mail
King's wonderfully awkward private detective Holly Gibney returns in this black-hearted parable of American life in the Covid era... As horrifying as anything King has written Mail on Sunday
Stephen King's prolific late flowering continues with a new outing for his detective Holly Gibney, chasing down serial killers in Holly Guardian
Lavished with the kind of dialogue most mortal writers can only dream of crafting... When it comes to the four-wheeled page-turner, Stephen King is like a vintage car enthusiast... King's portrait of Holly is sympathetic, subtle and seductive. His ability to recruit his audience to the colours is just one of his best qualities as a compulsively entertaining artist... brilliantly observed... very moving... He understands, better than almost any living writer, how to suspend disbelief... Good prose, King demonstrates, does not work in the way some writing schools pretend, by trying to crack some hidden code, master a witchy formula, or unearth the golden key to narrative magic. Fiction succeeds when it gets inside the reader's head, and engages our secret hearts and minds. Robert McCrum, Independent
Masterful... lyrical and horrifying Catriona Ward, Guardian
Nail-biting and disturbing, it turns into a helter-skelter race to the finish line Alison Flood, Observer
Chilling... Holly has appeared in King's fiction before, but this is the first time she has taken a starring role and she is certainly worth a novel in her own right... Nail-biting crime fiction and a dystopian vision of contemporary America Sunday Times
A chilling mystery from the thriller master i
From a classic hard-boiled premise, the investigation unspools in rich, generous storytelling... What makes King's work so much more frightening than that of most other suspense writers, what elevates it to night-terror levels, isn't his cruelty to his characters: It's his kindness New York Times
King at his gruesome best Afterword
King has conjoined his mastery of the macabre to an equal command of the crime genre... [he] transfixes us as thoroughly as ever Financial Times
Beautifully constructed... Masterful entertainment Sunday Business Post
A masterpiece of thriller fiction... in HOLLY there are enough edge of the seat moments, enough gross moments, enough nerve-jangling moments to satisfy the most ardent of Stephen King fans... it's an enormously satisfying read... you will not be disappointed! Books Monthly
Truly chilling, it aptly demonstrates King's inimitable talent as a storyteller Daily Mail
Once again, King proves he is the master of versatility with this brilliant edgy thriller The Sun
A richly imagined and grisly tale... Holly is wholly her own. She's a thorny, determined protagonist... A compelling page-turner Sunday Independent (Ireland)
A twisty tale that engages the reader from the first page and keeps you enthralled Press Association
Stephen King has always been a first-rate storyteller. . . Holly is as nuanced as anything he has done. The Times, Thriller of the Month
Holly is a formidably dogged and persistent investigator... This is Stephen King at his hardcore crime thriller best, and the delightful Holly Gibney is a real keeper Irish Independent
This compelling read about the nature of evil and the dangers of bad science will keep you gripped to the last page Sunday Express
Holly has horror and heart by the bucket-load... seeing Gibney spread her wings is a joy Hot Press Magazine
Holly Gibney has matured into one of the storyteller's most memorable creations Daily Mail
If you want to properly scare someone this Christmas, then I'd advise plumping for Stephen King's new novel . . . Utterly nail-biting - and loads of fun Observer
A bone-chilling look at the consequences of bad science, this gripping read explores the very nature of evil Daily Mirror
King's portrait of Holly is sympathetic, subtle and seductive. Brilliantly observed . . . very moving . . . He understands, better than almost any living writer, how to suspend disbelief Independent
[Holly] leaps off the page, dogged and resourceful . . . Masterful . . . lyrical and horrifying Guardian

STEPHEN KING is the author of more than seventy books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. His crime thrillers featuring Holly Gibney include Mr Mercedes, winner of the Edgar Award for best novel, and The Outsider, both of which were adapted into successful TV series, as well as Finders Keepers, End of Watch and the title story from If It Bleeds.

Many of his titles are the basis for major motion pictures including IT, Stand By Me (adapted from The Body) and The Shawshank Redemption, which is IMDb's top-rated movie of all time.

King is the recipient of The Sunday Times Award for Literary Excellence 2022, the 2020 Audio Publishers Association Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2018 PEN America Literary Service Award, the 2014 National Medal of Arts, and the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He lives in Maine, with his wife, novelist Tabitha King.

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