Goodreads Choice Awards Book Club discussion

Horror winner



Holly by Stephen King

Holly Gibney, one of Stephen King’s most compelling and ingeniously resourceful characters, returns in this thrilling novel to solve the gruesome truth behind multiple disappearances in a midwestern town.

“Sometimes the universe throws you a rope.” — BILL HODGES

Stephen King’s Holly marks the triumphant return of beloved King character Holly Gibney. Readers have witnessed Holly’s gradual transformation from a shy (but also brave and ethical) recluse in Mr. Mercedes to Bill Hodges’s partner in Finders Keepers to a full-fledged, smart, and occasionally tough private detective in The Outsider. In King’s new novel, Holly is on her own, and up against a pair of unimaginably depraved and brilliantly disguised adversaries.

When Penny Dahl calls the Finders Keepers detective agency hoping for help locating her missing daughter, Holly is reluctant to accept the case. Her partner, Pete, has Covid. Her (very complicated) mother has just died. And Holly is meant to be on leave. But something in Penny Dahl’s desperate voice makes it impossible for Holly to turn her down.

Mere blocks from where Bonnie Dahl disappeared live Professors Rodney and Emily Harris. They are the picture of bourgeois respectability: married octogenarians, devoted to each other, and semi-retired lifelong academics. But they are harboring an unholy secret in the basement of their well-kept, book-lined home, one that may be related to Bonnie’s disappearance. And it will prove nearly impossible to discover what they are up to: they are savvy, they are patient, and they are ruthless.

Holly must summon all her formidable talents to outthink and outmaneuver the shockingly twisted professors in this chilling new masterwork from Stephen King.

Holly is #3 in the Holly Gibney series. It is a spinoff from the Bill Hodges trilogy. Holly is introduced in the first book, Mr. Mercedes, and became a major player in the trilogy, which led to her own series.

I have a feeling everyone has read this and I am just getting to it.

I'm sure there are other readers who haven't gotten to it yet. There are always too many books to read. :) I look forward to seeing what you think of it.

I am reading this one now. I am listening on audio. I can't figure out how far I am (not far) because audible just tells me how much time is left based on my reading speed (1.2x)
As a side note, is there somewhere on audible where you can see a progress bar or a percentage?

I am liking the story so far, but am not liking the politics. I know he always puts that in there, but honestly I just want to read and not think about it. For the amount of the book that I have read, it is too much politics for me.
I will finish because I want to complete her character arc, but I need to think about whether or not to put anymore of his books on my TBR.

Vicki - Just a tip that may work for you. When in the Audible app, you can minimize the book you are reading by clicking on the down arrow on the upper lefthand side, then click on "Library" at the bottom. The book you are currently reading should show up at the top of your list. The minimized part shows how long you have left at your current speed. The book in the library shows how long you have left at the original 1x speed.

I wish they'd go back to including completion %. I don't know why they got rid of that, but it's really annoying to not have it.

Oh yes. That helps a lot!

I finished this one and ended up really liking it. The mystery was gruesome and scary and of course the reoccurring characters were awesome!

Glad you enjoyed it too, Vicki! I really love Holly as a character. I'm so glad she got her own stories. I think this one was extra creepy because (view spoiler)[ there wasn't any paranormal aspect. There were just a couple of seriously twisted people who were trying to avoid aging. It was so much more realistic in that way. (hide spoiler)]

Kristie, I really want to Read Holly, but have not read any of the other books. Would this work as a Stand Alone Read or do you Think you need to have Read the other Books First?

Kristine wrote: "Kristie, I really want to Read Holly, but have not read any of the other books. Would this work as a Stand Alone Read or do you Think you need to have Read the other Books First?"

I think you could read it as a stand alone, but reading the series from the beginning will bring you a lot of joy at knowing Holly. Knowing the series also brings in a lot of emotion with the scenes that have Bill Hodges in them. It also has a nice story arc for Jerome and Barbara too.

It's been a little while since I read it, Kristine, but I think it's fine as a stand alone. I think there was enough background given that you wouldn't have any trouble understanding what is going on.

The biggest issues would be that you are missing background information on the series main characters and their relationships and you will run into some spoilers for previous books when background info is given. Holly is the third book in the Holly Gibney series, but Holly and some of the other characters were first introduced in the Bill Hodges trilogy, beginning with Mr. Mercedes so they have some history.

This book does have a beginning point and a conclusion though, so the bad guys aren't carried over from previous books or anything like that. It is a full story on its own.

Vicki - I was hoping you'd chime in since you just finished it. :) I was typing while you were posting. Funny, when I read your sentence about Bill Hodges bringing a lot of emotion, I immediately thought of Jerome and Barbara. I feel protective of them like they're real people. lol

Thanks, Vicki and Kristie for your input. I think I will start the series from the beginning, sounds like Holly changes over time and will like to know the other characters.

She definitely grows as a character. She is first introduced in Mr. Mercedes. If you want to read her full story arc that is the best place to start.

Agreed! Enjoy!

I enjoyed visiting back with Holly, however, I did get use to a certain narrator and this one was different, so for me the tone was different.

There were some slow parts and that was right in the middle of the book. At first, the time line threw me off since I was listing to the book, I did have to take note of the date the chapters were taking place.

My husband said the same thing, Cammy. He was really put off by the different narrator. It definitely gave Holly a different feel. It seemed like a lot of her unique mannerisms were gone. It sounded like the narrator didn't really know her history.