A review by egyoder
The Outsider by Stephen King

dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

This whole review is a spoiler! General sentiment: good writing, underwhelming plot.

I really enjoy Stephen King's storytelling and character building, but overall found this pretty disappointing. It's really two separate books. The first half of the book is an excellent build-up to a great detective story, with a great premise and a lot of mystery. The second half is a monster story. 

Separately, I would enjoy both of these books. I love a good thriller where there's a perfectly natural explanation for everything, and have enjoyed King's supernatural villains. However, when half the book is like "there were tons of witnesses to the crime! but he has a perfect alibi! how could this be??" and the second half is like "it was a monster that can take on people's faces," the mystery ends up falling flat (because this is the most obvious explanation next to secret evil twin) and the monster story isn't much good either because it comes out of nowhere. 

I also found this book rather formulaic. The monster was just a bit too Pennywise. Jack's whole thing was just a bit too Trashcan Man. This book is set in 2018 but still reads like it's set in the 80s--but with references to iPads and Donald Trump, which feel jarring instead of realistic. AND they should market this as a follow-up to the Mr. Mercedes series... I had no idea, and felt a bit thrown off. 

I still do like King's writing a lot, and I enjoyed most of this book, but found it more of a letdown than I'd hoped.
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