I’ll keep this short and sweet—Holly is a fast, fun, extremely enjoyable read. This is King operating in non-supernatural crime-writing mode, a la Billy Summers, and not surprisingly, he’s just as good playing in the crime sandbox.

Holly, as the name suggests, is a vehicle for Holly Gibney, one of King’s most satisfying characters. Holly has appeared as a character in the Bill Hodges Trilogy (Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers, and End of Watch) and in the novel The Outsider. Those four novels were all primarily crime with supernatural aspects, while Holly is straight up crime.

Holly Gibney has come a long ways since the trilogy. While she’s always been smart and honest, and brave in her own way, when Holly begins she’s a talented, dogged private investigator. What starts as a missing person case develops into something much more insidious. As usual, King takes the time to spin a satisfying story web, drawing the reader in.

Great characters, including several you’ll recognize from the trilogy besides Holly herself; an engrossing plot with plenty of twists and turns; and truly original big bads that will make you think twice the next time you think about being a good samaritan—Holly does not disappoint.