When a young boy is brutally raped and murdered the culprit seemed obvious. There were multiple eye-witnesses showing that Terry Maitland was with the boy on the day he was murdered. He was seen covered in blood and with the vehicle the boy was transported in. To make matters more cut and dry his finger-prints were on the instrument used to rape the boy as well as his semen found at the crime scene. When Flint City police arrested Maitland in front of the entire town at the children's baseball game they thought this would be easy. But Terry has a solid alibi and claims he was innocent at all times. Could there be an outsider at work here that is preying on young children?
I bought this book shortly after it was released, started it excitedly, and got distracted. I have long had an obsession with King and this book doesn't disappoint. I just didn't have time for a physical book at that point in my life and had to shelve it. Regardless once I picked it up I had to start the book over and finished it in under a week.
At first the book seemed like a basic crime mystery novel, but it's Stephen King, so of course I was waiting for the ball to drop. Drop it did and I love how he tied it into Finder's Keepers and Mr. Mercedes. As with any King book you can read this book on it's own, however there are spoilers for the other books in it. I've already read those two, so it didn't bother me any. Like I mentioned, minor obsession.
In a way I expected The Outsider simply because of Sleepwalkers, but this is a decided twist on that one. Don't get me wrong, I genuinely love Sleepwalkers, but it is great to see how he has progressed since then. I still frequently watch that movie so I can't say anything. It is one of my top favorites by King along with Maximum Overdrive and The Stand (movie, not the TV show which I genuinely didn't like and stopped watching after 3 episodes). There are, as always, King's typical political jabs within the book. Since I don't politics they shall always be ignored by me.
The characters in the book are realistic and you feel like this is something that could happen, which is a trait this author has always excelled at. Making you believe in the impossible, or not so impossible. You will devour each page and find yourself flipping to the next as soon as you can to find out more. I haven't watched the new outsider movie or tv show yet (Honestly not sure which it is. I just know it is on HBO Max).
This book is available on Amazon for $9.99 by clicking here. Mass market paperback is a little over $8. So personally I'd go with that. Or splurge and get this in hardback like I have it for $16.
Books by this author:
Finder's Keepers (The Bill Hodges Trilogy Book 2)
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