Frank H. (perryfran) reviewed on 12/7/2020 + 1223 more book reviews

Another page-turning thriller from King. This is the second book in his Bill Hodges trilogy after MR. MERCEDES which I read just prior to this one and really enjoyed. In FINDERS KEEPERS, King comes up with a sociopath named Morris Bellamy, who, in 1978, robs and murders his favorite novelist, John Rothstein, because he can't forgive him for making his lead character, Jimmy Gold, go into advertising in the last published installment of his epic trilogy. Bellamy steals Rothstein's money along with a large stash of notebooks that may contain a sequel to the Jimmy Gold saga. All of this is hidden in a trunk that Bellamy buries near his boyhood home but before he can retrieve his treasure, he is sentenced to life in prison for rape. Decades later, a young teen named Pete Saubers finds the treasure. Pete's sister knows that something is troubling Pete and seeks the help of Bill Hodges who along with Holly Gibney and Jerome Robinson must rescue Pete's family from the vengeful Bellamy.

This was really a suspenseful and compelling read. King brings in a lot of literary references that made the story even more enjoyable for me. I read online that he based John Rothstein on a combination of John Updike, Philip Roth, and J. D. Salinger. As I was reading the novel, the character Jimmy Gold and his storyline did remind me of a combination of Updike's Rabbit Run and Salinger's Catcher in the Rye. I now feel like I should continue reading Updike's Rabbit novels; I read the first in the series several years ago. Although I really did enjoy FINDERS KEEPERS, I thought this could have been a stand alone novel. It really didn't expound much on the happenings from MR. MERCEDES and Bill Hodges and his crew do not show up until nearly half way through the novel. However, there are some hints about what's to come in the the third novel in the trilogy, END OF WATCH, and I'll be looking forward to reading it.

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