I love the character of Holly Gibney, so anytime King wants to put her in another story, I’m there for it. And he did just that with Never Flinch. And if Holly is there, you know some of her friends will be around – Barbara, Jerome, Izzy.

Holly, and the readers, soon find themselves dealing with not one homicidal problem, but two!

When an man who was found guilty by the courts is murdered in prison upon the reveal that he was innocent, someone is hunting down fourteen people to pay for the innocent life. The police, with Izzy leading the charge are trying to find the killer, but they are also faced with the upcoming Police Vs. Fire Department charity ballgame.

Izzy reaches out to Holly for help, but Holly’s agency, Finders Keepers has taken on a security case. Holly will be a bodyguard for a controversial, female empowering speaker who is being targeted by pro-lifers and a vengeful church.

Holly joined the speaker, Kate and her assistant, Corrie, on the road after two attempts on their lives. But she constantly checks in with Izzy, her sharp mind working on the problem.

Barbara’s poetry book is getting some unique notice, and a soul singer, is making a return to the stage, and wants to adapt one of Barbara’s poems to music. And that’s just the beginning of new possibilities for the young poet.

And her brother Jerome also has new things coming his way.

The character bits are great. We’ve grown with them over five books, especially Holly. We’ve let them into our hearts, and we like to see how their lives have gone since we last checked in on them.

It also makes the stakes higher when they find themselves in danger, because at this point they are friends, and not just narrative pieces.

King’s tale rips along, cutting back and forth between characters and cases, keeping the balls juggling, bringing us to a showdown that brings everything together in Holly’s hometown. Fast-paced, engaging, and ultimately very satisfying, time with Holly and company is always time well spent.

I love King’s supernatural work (there’s a hint of it here as well) but the thriller work he’s been delivering of late are incredibly captivating as well. His characters are relatable, and we’ve taken them into our hearts.

Holly Gibney is becoming almost as iconic as Roland Deschain, and though Rolan’s tale seems to be over, I find myself hoping for more time to be spent with Holly and Finders Keepers.

Keep telling me stories, Uncle Steve.