The Outsider: A Novel

By Stephen King

Evil has many faces…maybe even yours in this #1 New York Times bestseller from master storyteller Stephen King—also an HBO limited series starring Ben Mendelsohn! An eleven-year-old boy’s violated corpse is discovered in a town park. Eyewitnesses and fingerprints point unmistakably to one of Flint City’s most popular citizens—Terry Maitland, Little League coach, English teacher, husband, and father of two girls. Detective Ralph Anderson, whose son Maitland once coached, orders a quick and very public arrest. Maitland has an alibi, but Anderson and the district attorney soon have DNA evidence to go with the fingerprints and witnesses. Their case seems ironclad. As the investigation expands and horrifying details begin to emerge, King’s story kicks into high gear, generating strong tension and almost unbearable suspense. Terry Maitland seems like a nice guy, but is he wearing another face? When the answer comes, it will shock you as only Stephen King can.

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Published Jun 4, 2019

576 pages

Average rating: 7.7

323 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

What Bookclubbers are saying about this book

✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI

Readers say *The Outsider* delivers classic Stephen King suspense with a gripping blend of crime and supernatural horror. Many praise its strong chara...

foxland
6/10 stars
Not my favorite work by SK but still compelling and mildly disturbing in his classic style. Kept me puzzled for most of the book, which is rare.
literarily_occupied
8/10 stars
⭐⭐⭐⭐ / 4 stars

A great supernatural horror story that gave me the heebie jeebies. I listened to the audio which was nearly 19 hours but the time flew by.

I am excited to watch the series on HBO and see how it compares.

“If you can’t let go of the past, the mistakes you’ve made will eat you alive.”

“People are blind to explanations that lie outside their perception of reality.”
Breannalf
6/10 stars
His supernatural ending was Meh, but his human drama ending was fantastic. The first page has you hooked.
Davepat
10/10 stars
2 for 1 deal: true crime and horror combined. I enjoyed the true crime portion the most
KelSpinski
6/10 stars
I listened to this as an audiobook. The story was good, but seemed to drag on and on at some points. Then finally it all came together.

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