Mr. Mercedes

King won the Edgar Award for this one, and the craft shows — the plotting is tighter and more disciplined than almost anything else in his catalog, and Holly Gibney emerged from this novel as one of his great character creations. Brady Hartsfield as a mass-casualty villain is chillingly credible, and the race to stop him before a concert attack drives the second half at genuine thriller pace. Content warnings need to be said plainly: graphic depiction of mass violence, extreme profanity throughout, and an incestuous relationship between Brady and his alcoholic mother that is depicted rather than implied. This is among King's darkest work in content terms, and it is not appropriate for younger readers or faith-sensitive audiences under any circumstances. For adult crime fiction readers who can engage with that darkness, it is technically accomplished and genuinely suspenseful.