Holly
Written by Stephen King
Narrated by Stephen King and Justine Lupe
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
Holly Gibney, one of Stephen King’s most compelling and resourceful characters, returns in this chilling novel to solve the gruesome truth behind multiple disappearances in a midwestern town.
“Sometimes the universe throws you a rope.” —BILL HODGES
Stephen King’s Holly marks the triumphant return of beloved King character Holly Gibney. Readers have witnessed Holly’s gradual transformation from a shy (but also brave and ethical) recluse in Mr. Mercedes to Bill Hodges’s partner in Finders Keepers to a full-fledged, smart, and occasionally tough private detective in The Outsider. In King’s new novel, Holly is on her own, and up against a pair of unimaginably depraved and brilliantly disguised adversaries.
When Penny Dahl calls the Finders Keepers detective agency hoping for help locating her missing daughter, Holly is reluctant to accept the case. Her partner, Pete, has Covid. Her (very complicated) mother has just died. And Holly is meant to be on leave. But something in Penny Dahl’s desperate voice makes it impossible for Holly to turn her down.
Mere blocks from where Bonnie Dahl disappeared live Professors Rodney and Emily Harris. They are the picture of bourgeois respectability: married octogenarians, devoted to each other, and semi-retired lifelong academics. But they are harboring an unholy secret in the basement of their well-kept, book-lined home, one that may be related to Bonnie’s disappearance. And it will prove nearly impossible to discover what they are up to: they are savvy, they are patient, and they are ruthless.
Holly must summon all her formidable talents to outthink and outmaneuver the shockingly twisted professors in this chilling new masterwork from Stephen King.
“I could never let Holly Gibney go. She was supposed to be a walk-on character in Mr. Mercedes and she just kind of stole the book and stole my heart. Holly is all her.” —STEPHEN KING
Editor's Note
Fan-favorite…
When a distraught mother contacts the Finders Keepers detective agency about her missing daughter, Detective Holly Gibney agrees to the job despite a recent personal loss. At the core of the mystery is an elderly married couple no one would suspect of evil intent, but who prove cunning and shrewd. Fan-favorite character Holly, first introduced to readers in King’s “Mr. Mercedes,” is a vulnerable and brave heroine in this character-driven mystery that unfolds during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Stephen King
Stephen King is the author of more than sixty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. His recent work includes the short story collection You Like It Darker, Holly (a New York Times Notable Book of 2023), Fairy Tale, Billy Summers, If It Bleeds, The Institute, Elevation, The Outsider, Sleeping Beauties (cowritten with his son Owen King), and the Bill Hodges trilogy: End of Watch, Finders Keepers, and Mr. Mercedes (an Edgar Award winner for Best Novel and a television series streaming on Peacock). His novel 11/22/63 was named a top ten book of 2011 by The New York Times Book Review and won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller. His epic works The Dark Tower, It, Pet Sematary, Doctor Sleep, and Firestarter are the basis for major motion pictures, with It now the highest-grossing horror film of all time. He is the recipient of the 2020 Audio Publishers Association Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2018 PEN America Literary Service Award, the 2014 National Medal of Arts, and the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He lives in Bangor, Maine, with his wife, novelist Tabitha King.
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Reviews for Holly
1,184 ratings162 reviews
What our readers think
Readers find this title to be a mixed bag. While some appreciate the suspenseful story and the growth of the character Holly, others criticize the heavy political themes and excessive focus on COVID. The book is praised for its pacing and tight plot, but some find the dialogue cringe-worthy and the reinforcement of time and place tiresome. Overall, opinions are divided, with some readers disappointed and others still enjoying Stephen King's storytelling prowess.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I'm glad that Holly is back and with her own book too. She is a good natured person with some quirks. She's smart and can fight good. Great mystery and action book.
2 people found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mr. King never fails to entertain! If you enjoy dark subject matter this might be the story for you.
2 people found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Thoroughly enjoyed it, worth the wait! "Holly" is a great book and she is a fantastic study in character development across multiple works. I do wish the book contained more of King's supernatural style, but 5 stars all the way.
2 people found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5It was more then fantastic, it was the best! Enjoy.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5don’t listen to the negative reviews. Holly might be the best book in the the Holly Gibney Trilogy. A fun, solid read.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Enjoyed this one a lot. Read a previous review about it all being Trump bashing, political etc, I didn’t find that way at all, it could’ve been an actual news story given how many guano theories and people came out during the years this story spans.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Fantastic read! Loved seeing Holly’s progress and it’s full of HOLY SHIT moments!
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I loved the story. There were some glaring truths about the pain and sadness of growing old. Although these two loons were nuts. Love the growth of Holly’s character and how she has come out of her shell since we first met her.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Holly is the light that halts the darkness, the candle extinguishing the silhouette. Thank you King for this masterpiece. The monsters scared me but I had to keep going just like her.
3 people found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5He still has it! And I love Holly. She is one of my favorite characters!
3 people found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This is the second Stephen King book I've ingested, and I absolutely devoured it. Like the titular couple in the book, I couldn't get enough and NEEDED to see Holly unravel this twisted mystery. I was disgusted, horrified, frustrated, and I digested this book as SOON as I was able.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Really enjoyed it! Like king, it’s hard to let a character like Holy go. Thankfully, we have Barbara and Jerome in on the fun as well. I hope we see more of them as well.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Excellent! I don’t usually read mysteries or detective novels, because I just want to skip to the end! But it was excellent and now I want to be a detective! Lol
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A dangerous audiobook... 'cause you never want to click pause... Fantastic narration.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Honestly such a different but familiar King book, HOWEVER, how dare they not have Will Patton voice Holly, this changed her character Soo much and made her feel completely different than all the other books. So disappointing :(
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Loved this! King has rarely ever disappointed me and this one definitely didn't disappoint.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5My first Stephen King’s book. Lots of subtle surprises. Love how he makes fiction believable
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5DNF. This is not the Holly story I was expecting. Boring!
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I think the author has all the right to write about his political views but I would like to have been warned. I started the book thinking that I would meet another thrilling monstrous villain that I would love to hate. But they were overshadowed by the shallow and prejudiced speech about a much deeper and painful tragedy that the mankind endured those last years. The author seems to have tried to make a great point about two different things and did the opposite. The villain couple seemed more creepy when they talked about their beliefs about the Covid pandemic than when they were actually doing the bad things they were supposed to do. And the narrator made a Holly much different from the one I’ve learned to love. Frustrated with the way things were conducted in this story
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I really enjoyed the story of Holly. As a audiobook I really missed having Will Patton as the narrator. I feel he made Holly character realistic with how he did a great job with the quirkiness of Holly. I look forward to more books from Will as the narrator.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5absolutely amazing!! i couldnt stop listening. one of those books i wish i could experience for the first time over and over again.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sucked me in! When I wasn't listening I was wondering what was happening next! So good, read it!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I love this story. I think that Holly Gibney may be one of my favorite King characters, (definitely one that I relate to,) and I am so glad to see her back for another story, along with Barbara and Jerome. It's an equally scary story when the villains are humans as opposed to the supernatural and leave it to King to make them real nuts.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5I can't get past the narration, it is just not engaging.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Very good story with an unsuspecting outcome. Kept me wanting more!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Lovely King. Amazing Justin. I love Holly. First rate audiobook.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Loved it! This story easily keeps you engaged. The narrator chosen was phenomenal! Love Stephen King's dark stories!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This Hass to be one of Stephen King’s best pieces of work. Justine’s booth reading of Holly is incredible. She plays the rule of all the characters perfectly. It’s a great audiobook, and I highly recommend it.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5My favorite kind of Stephen King novel.It has everything I love about his work.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I enjoy Holly as a character and really liked this book for her. It wasn’t my favorite King by a long shot but it was an easy listen. Having thee Holly Gibney reading her own book was the only way to listen to it in my opinion. So I’m happy this exists.