Never Flinch: A Novel

King did a nice job of balancing two separate but interconnected cases destined to collide head-on like two runaway freight trains. Building to that collision is great fun, although the pay-off of the two separate cases colliding felt disappointing. The two antagonists have very different motivations and story arcs, but it's fun watching as their individual goals mean their paths ultimate cross. I just wish there was had been more meat on the bone of that collision. Still, it was darn fun ride getting there with characters old and new. The story feels like it could be ripped from current headlines as it leans into the current political divide without becoming preachy. I first met Holly Gibney from "Mr. Mercedes" (Bill Hodges) trilogy. I skipped the intervening books, short stories, and novella featuring her, but she's aged rather well. The book's narrator, Jessie Mueller, does a remarkable job of balancing an ethnically diverse group of characters without crossing into caricature. And when she sings, it's amazing!

meh, better than Holly, which king used for his pro Vax, anti Trump agenda, but only just, a somewhat boring book and the barbera sub plot was unbelievable, only there to put holly and Jerome in certain places I guess king is like a boxer past his prime, but still going because he doesn't know what else to do it's a shame because just a few years ago we had the bill hodges trilogy, the outsider and under the dome, which were great, hopefully king can return to form or take up golf

If King keeps wri like this, his constant reader's are going to be a thing of the past! It's like everything he's written, since the Bill Hodges Trilogy has been awful! It doesn't even sound like King anymore, & it reads like it was created using AI! I'd bet anything that if I were uploaded all the books with Holly Gibney by King into an AI (w/ a paid sub), then told it to write a 650 page novel, using that style; w/ a few adjustments &/or suggestions, it'd generate a similar one to this!