King throws readers a big curve in‘ The Outsider’
Novel starts out as solid detective novel before taking sharp turn
Stephen King’s new novel, “The Outsider,” forces the reader to step outside the bounds of reality in what is sure to be a stretch even for his biggest fans.
On the whole, the book is a tightly-wound police procedural for twothirds and a supernatural monster story for one-third. Late stage King fans who read and loved his Bill Hodges trilogy will feel instantly at home in that first part. The appearance of Holly Gibney — arguably King’s best and most memorable character in years — will further cement the story. Especially for those of us who have come to think of her as an emotionally unavailable but always determined friend.
The premise is fantastic. A man named Terry Maitland, the most popular baseball coach in town, is publicly arrested for the brutal assault and murder of a young boy. Detective Ralph Anderson has all the evidence he feels he needs to put Terry away. But Terry has an absolutely foolproof alibi proving he was in another city when the murder occurred. So what happens when the unstoppable evidence meets the immovable alibi?
In “The Outsider,” the answer is a villain so ridiculous that even the characters don’t believe it. At one point, while they are discussing the more supernatural elements of the story, Ralph looks around and thinks, “Do you people hear yourselves?”
It’s a pretty basic question, and one many readers will likely find themselves asking.
Later, Ralph is confronted by Holly about his disbelief, and she tells him the entire case rests on him putting aside his doubt and believing the villain is what they suspect he is. The scene may as well have been written as one of King’s “Constant Reader” messages to his fans. Holly isn’t talking to Ralph. She is talking to anyone who has gotten this far into the book and is still holding out for an ending that makes sense.
And that’s because Stephen King cheated. After spinning a tight, compelling detective story with realworld physics and believable (though hilariously dated) characters, he introduces a supernatural element way too late in the game. It’s like he dropped his unfinished manuscript into a vat of cheese — and the resulting mess was somehow crafted into an ending by his word processor.
Fans of King’s work will still enjoy “The Outsider,” and we should all count ourselves blessed that we live in a time when we get to look forward to new work by the greatest horror writer of all time. But any discerning King fan will tell you there are high points and low points to the man’s career. “The Outsider” appears to be both.