I read the first book in the Mr Mercedes trilogy five years ago, in May 2015. It was only the third book by Stephen King that I'd read, and I thought it was fantastic. I particularly loved Bill Hodges, not to mention the relationship he developed with Holly and Jerome. I read the second part of what turned out to be a trilogy a few months later, in the autumn of 2015.
Looking at my blog history, I see that I mention reading book two in a post from September 2015.
Then my blog went a bit quiet for a few months around the end of 2015 and into 2016.
The final book of the trilogy was published in June 2016, and I read it straight away. Brilliant, and it cemented Stephen King's place in my heart as a favourite author.
However, the book left me in pieces.
(Spoiler alert.)
The case was resolved, and all was well, apart from the fact that our hero, Bill, suffered a rapid decline, and died at the end of the book.
Pancreatic cancer.
Since then I've continued to love reading books by Stephen King, but have been desperate to read more about Holly and Jerome (mostly to hear that they continue to miss Bill, but that they are getting on ok), so was delighted to have 'The Outsider' to read two years ago, and then to have just finished 'If it bleeds'.
If it bleeds is a book of four novellas, the longest of which (and title story) centres around Holly Gibney.
Interestingly, this YouTube video features an hour-long chat between King and Grisham (looking forward to Grisham's new release - Camino Winds - next week). King admits that originally Holly was something of a minor character in Mr Mercedes, but that he loved her so much he couldn't let her go. I sincerely hope that we get to read more about her in the future.