Finders Keepers

Bill Hodges, the retired detective hero of King’s Mr. Mercedes (2014), stars in this taut thriller about the thin line separating fandom from fanaticism. In 1978, Morris Bellamy murders his literary idol, John Rothstein (clearly modeled on J.D. Salinger), and pilfers more than 100 notebooks filled with Rothstein’s unpublished writing. After serving 35 years in the clink for another crime, Bellamy returns to the Midwestern everyville of Northfield to reclaim the stashed notebooks—only to discover that they’ve fallen into the hands of teenage Rothstein fan Pete Saubers, who’s in dire need of Hodges’s protective services when the murder-minded Bellamy comes after him. Bellamy is one of King’s creepiest creations—a literate and intelligent character whom any passionate reader will both identify with and be repelled by. His relentless pursuit of a treasure that his twisted thinking has determined is rightfully his generates the nail-biting suspense that’s the hallmark of King’s best work. A sharp closing twist suggests Hodges will be back. Agent: Chuck Verrill, Darhansoff & Verrill Literary Agents (June)