Review: End of Watch

End of Watch by Stephen King
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The first book in this trilogy, being a straight-up crime thriller, was quite outside of King's comfort zone. In retrospect, it kinda showed in the tangled mess that was that book's storyline.

Finders Keepers had a more streamlined story, and I found that book a massive improvement because I connected so much better with it. Especially with the character of Pete Saubers.

For End of Watch, the paranormal hints at the end of the second book come to the forefront as the Mercedes Killer himself transcends his brain-dead state, using a deadly combination of science and the supernatural to insidiously sneak into people's minds and make them kill themselves. His weapon of choice? A dangerously mind-altering "Fishin' Hole" game, available as a demo in a Game-Boy-style handheld. That, there, is the King-style horror this trilogy needed, and what better way to cap off the series in style than with its most radical stylistic shift yet, back to basics for King?

This entire trilogy has a way of sticking with you, but perhaps none more so than this book, because of the sheer horror of Brady Hartsfield and his diabolical ways of taking out his enemies.

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