Karl Puschmann

year’s similar attacks in Stockholm and Charlottesville, and the 2016 attacks in Nice and Berlin, where crowds of innocents were deliberately targeted and run into by terrorists driving a truck or car.

King has said that the inspiration for the book, which came out in 2014, was the true story of a woman who drove her car into a McDonald’s. However, production on the series only started a month before the Nice attack occurred. You have to wonder if there was ever a conversation about continuing, given the similarities. And was that conversation then revisited with each passing attack? And if not, why not?

Regardless, it’s no exaggeration to say that because of its grim, awful and portentous real-world connection that opening scene is one of the most horrific things ever to spring from King’s twisted mind.

Of course after that inciting incident the series quickly settles into a fairly stock standard groove as a game of cat and mouse plays out between the grizzled, borderline alcoholic, retired detective and the too clever by half, fresh-faced psycho killer.

King described the book as his “first hard-boiled detective novel” and you can kind of tell. So far, at least, he hasn’t strayed too far from genre conventions — although he has found space to insert his typical King-isms.

There’s the aforementioned penchant for horror clowns, while an incestuous relationship ticks off King’s proclivity for icky perversity. An early scene of a poor kid at play, rolling a tyre down the main street, takes care of his outdated shorthand and world view.

But King is nothing if not entertaining. Even with all his obviousness. Heck, maybe because of it. And Mr Mercedes has been entertaining.

A lot of its success has to be attributed solely to Brendan Gleeson, the Irish veteran, who manages to make his cantankerous retired detective, Brian Hodges, somewhat likable. His performance elevates the whole show.

Harry Treadaway is fine, acting weird and glaring malevolently in the title role. But the show is stolen by the glint in Holland Taylor’s eye as she plays Hodges’ randy neighbour Ida, whose propositioning of the overweight, out-of-shape ex-dick is due entirely to the convenience of him living right next door.

It’s fair to say that adaptations of King’s books don’t have a great hit rate. But as this was developed by multiple Emmy award winner David E. Kelley, the guy behind hits such as Ally McBeal, Boston Legal and, more recently, the acclaimed Big Little Lies, the quality is here.

True, it’s not going into the pantheon of all-time great television, but so far it’s entertaining enough and an easy watch.

Apart from those occasional moments that King does so well when it becomes a very uneasy watch indeed.

In the best cover-your-eyes-andpeek-through-your-fingers way.

Let’s just say that I’m not getting too attached to that cute dog . . .