Blaze

Stephen King wrote this before Carrie and tucked it away for decades; what he pulled back out is a genuinely sad crime novel, not a horror story. Clayton Blaisdell Jr. — intellectually disabled, brutalized in childhood, fiercely loyal to his dead criminal partner — is one of King's most sympathetic anti-heroes, and the alternating structure between the desperate kidnapping plot and Blaze's institutional childhood flashbacks is lean and effective. Publishers Weekly called it 'a crime story of surprising strength and sadness,' and that's an honest read. The honest caveat, and it must be stated clearly for this site: the childhood abuse depicted — including physical and sexual — is extensive and dark, the central plot involves the kidnapping of an infant, and this is firmly adult-only content. Faith-family readers should approach with real caution. For King fans who know what they're signing up for, it's a minor but genuinely moving entry.