If It Bleeds - Stephen King

Ahh, I've been waiting to listen to Stephen King's latest release, If It Bleeds. It was well worth the wait! But then again - so is every book from King!

But then again, how can you imagine what a Stephen King tale is going to involve? For me, I love the delicious feeling I get when I crack the first page or listen to the first disc of a new King book. The possibilities are endless as is Stephen King's imagination.

If It Bleeds is a collection of four novellas - Mr. Harrigans Phone, The Life of Chuck, Rat, and the title story, If It Bleeds.

They're all excellent tales, but my hands down fave was If It Bleeds. Why? Because it's the return of Holly Gibney! Holly is a recurring character, most notably from the Mr. Mercedes novels as well as The Outsider. Holly is working predictable cases at the Finders Keepers Detective Agency when she sees news footage of a school bombing. But the reporter.....there's something, well....something wrong about him. And that's all I'm going to say. Sooooo good. I've always enjoyed Holly as she has grown through over the years. She still doubts herself, but is much stronger now. And this time, she's working alone. Do or die so to speak. The danger is palpable in this listen and had me staying up too late to finish it! (This is also where the book's title comes from - news jargon - If it bleeds, it leads). The reader for this story absolutely captured Holly's hesitancy and conveyed her new found determination. And he easily transmits the danger - and evil of the story.

In Mr. Harrigan's Phone, a young teen makes friends with a crotchety, old (and wealthy) neighbor. I really enjoyed their interactions and the relationship as it developed. But a gift from Craig to Mr. Harrigan seems to be the gift that keeps on giving.... Okay, I've heard the urban myths about this one, but King puts his own stamp on it - and will have you wondering....The reader for this one had just the right (and believable) voices for both characters. Lots of inflection and movement with the reading immerses the reader in the tale. And I liked the pacing of the narration.

The cover is clever - it may just look like a cat - but look at the nose area - yep, that's a rat. And the star of the next novella, Rat. You know the phrase - make a deal with the devil. But what about a deal with a rat? Uh huh, a wannabe novelist is desperate to finish a book. I think what was the most unsettling about this tale was the rat's voice and dialogue. Is the rat really talking to the writer? Or is it all in his head? The narrator for this one was excellent. The voice for the rat is calm and reasonable, which makes it all the more frightening. And the voice used for the would be novelist absolutely catches his hope, his incredulity and ultimately..... This reader was a clear speaker and easy to understand. His voice was just right for this tale.

The Life of Chuck was interesting in it's presentation. It's told backwards in three acts, beginning with the end of the world (kinda spooky listening to this one in today's atmosphere...). Billboards are showing up everywhere thanking Chuck for his 39 years of service. Who is Chuck? Does he tie into the end of the world? Each acts goes a little bit further into the past until....well until the beginning and the end meet. In a way I hadn't imagined.The reader for this one had a nice little gravelly undertone that suited the mental image I was creating for Chuck. His voice was really expressive and definitely holds the listener's attention.

I chose to listen to If It Bleeds. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Listening draws the reader further into the story in my experience. (And this is one of the few books I would listen to again in the future.) The readers for this book were Will Patton, Danny Burstein and Steven Weber. Patton and Weber have both read King novels in the past. Hear for yourself - Listen to an excerpt of If It Bleeds. Oh, make sure you listen to the author's notes at the end - King talks about the inspiration for the novellas.

(For a real treat, here's a video of King himself reading from If It Bleeds.)

Poppet - Mo Hayder

Quite frankly, Mo Hayder scares the bejesus out of me. The first page of her latest book Poppet grabbed me and just never let go. (and check out that creepy cover....)

Poppet is the sixth book featuring Detective Inspector Jack Caffery of Bristol, England's Major Crime Investigation Team. "His unit is the one that gets all the murders and difficult cases. The cases that need high-level attention."

The opening chapter takes us to a mental institution. Each and every resident is afraid of The Maude - who will sit on your chest and ......Is this a mass delusion? Or is someone targeting some of the unlikeable and bothersome residents of the ward. None of the patients will even say the name aloud....And now the staff is afraid as well.

Isaac, a young resident deemed 'cured',  is released back into society. Caffery is called in when Isaac is found to have connections to the deaths on the ward.  A bag of little human effigies, also known as 'poppets' is found hidden in Isaac's old room.....and he's disappeared.

Jack is also working on the disappearance of a young woman named Misty - but Caffery knows much more about the case than he's letting on.

"But truth is stranger than fiction and the world is never what it seems: for over a year Caffery's been hopscotching over the issue, he's been guarding the case like a hound, appearing to be working on it while simultaneously leading the unit away from what he really knows about Misty's disappearance, - which is more, much more than any cop has a right. It's a big fat secret he's been hiding. Something he can't do anything about."

I've loved the Jack Caffery character since Hayder's first book Birdman. He's an enigma - flawed, fearless, full of secrets but a dedicated cop - who plays by his own rules. Police diver Flea Marley returns. The back and forth of her personal and professional relationship with Caffery is far from over. I'm torn on what I think about her. Jack shares the lead role in Poppet with A.J., the psychiatric ward supervisor. He's a great character, innocent, likable and fearless in his own way. His empathy and caring of the patients struck a note. He starts his own investigation into the case.

Hayder plumbs the depths of the human psyche in both her characters and her crimes. Poppet is full of twists, turns and lots of tension. Did I mention deliciously dark and creepy?

Be prepared to stay up late with this one. Scare yourself - read the first chapter of Poppet. Poppet could be read as a stand alone, but do yourself a favour - start from the beginning of the series - you'll be hooked. You can find Mo Hayder on Facebook.