Stephen King knows how to tell a story and his short story/novella collections are always guaranteed to entertain. This one took me a while to get this one, but once I heard that the novella, If It Bleeds was a Holly Gibney story set after the events of The Outsider it raced up my to-be-read pile.

It’s a collection of four tales with the titular tale being the longest, and the most engaging, but I think that’s because I really enjoy Holly’s character, and there’s a lot about her that I relate to. Sure, some of us would like to be a Roland Deschain, a Jake Epping, or a Bill Denborough, but I think down in our core, more of us are like Holly. And because of that, I can see why King keeps returning to her.

Mr. Harrigan’s Phone started the collection, and I watched the film first. The film is incredibly close to the source material, though the lead character is younger than he appears in the film. Craig is an exceptional reader at a young age. He lives in a small town with his father and finds himself offered a job by the elderly Mr. Harrigan, a very well-off, retired man, who has the boy read to him after his schooling every day. He discovers a variety of novels and stories.

When Craig wins a little money from lottery tickets that Harrigan gives him a few times a year, he buys Harrigan an iPhone and shows him the wonders of the device.

Tragedy strikes when Mr. Harrigan passes, but his phone (which Craig slipped into Mr. Harrigan’s coffin) sends Craig cryptic messages (creepy!) and occasionally things happen in Craig’s life that may have happened because of some supernatural influence.

Where will that lead young Craig?

The Life of Chuck is a short tale, presented in three acts in reverse, taking us back in time, and through characters, until we see the beginning/end of the story in a new way because of who Chuck ends up being. It’s a fun experiment and executed well. It doesn’t overstay its welcome and makes you think about the multitudes.

If It Bleeds is set a short time after the events of The Outsider, and sees Holly recording a report for Ralph Anderson the officer she worked with during the case. It seems that perhaps that Outsider wasn’t the only one. There may be another one, a different type, but it’s still feeding off the pain and the hurt of victims.

Holly starts to put the idea together following a bombing of an elementary school, and watching the footage on the news after it happened. She begins to suspect one of the reporters and is soon immersed in a terrifying hunt that could be dangerous not only for her, but her friends, the siblings, Barbara and Jerome Robinson.

Chet Ondowsky is a terrifying creation. Is Holly up to facing him, and taking him down?

I love spending time with Holly and for this novella, King continues to fill out Holly’s world. She’s growing and changing, her relationships are developing, and King balances the terror and the character drama perfectly. I love anytime he shares more of Holly’s life. More please.

Rat is a riff on the classic Monkey Paw story. Drew Larson is a teacher and a writer, and he’s got a fully formed idea for a novel, something that didn’t go so well last time this happened. He leaves his family behind, going to the old family cabin to work on it for a while. He hunkers down and starts to work, even as a storm hits and phone arguments begin with his wife.

He starts to lose his way, his words, during the storm. He’s not quite on the verge of panicking but he’s worried he’s losing the story. But things take a strange turn when a dying rat scratches at the door.

Drew is suffering from a cold, a fever, and maybe he dreams it, but the rat talks to him, and offers him a deal. He’ll finish his book, but someone close to him will die. What will he do? And why does it feel like the rat wasn’t a fevered dream?

I loved this collection, I loved spending time with Holly, and once again Uncle Steve took me in, and told me a few stories, some creepy, some exciting, and all fun. If It Bleeds was a great read.