“A person did what a person could, whether it was setting up gravestones or trying to convince twenty-first-century men and women that there were monsters in the world, and their greatest advantage was the unwillingness of rational people to believe.”
BOOM, folks. That’s a good one…
Of course this one was next, because I just finished End of Watch, and while I *thought* I wanted a Stephen King break, I was wrong. I love Holly too much and am in the process of unsuccessfully manifesting her as my next door neighbor. Y’all pray for me…
This one is read by Will Patton, as well, and he is THE BEST King storyteller. *Shoutout to Frances Sternhagen, who was inarguably THE BEST for Dolores Claiborne*. Here is a list of characters I stole from Book Analysis because I’m elderly and I cant get my crap together. I took out any spoilers, because I’m not about that life.
Terry Maitland
Terry is the main character on which the story of ‘The Outsider’ begins. Being the father to two girls, Sarah and grace, the coach of the boys’ little league, an English teacher, and a well-respected person in Flint City, Terry is arrested for the murder of Frankie Peterson, an 11-year-old redhead boy. Though he tried to maintain his innocence throughout his predicament, Terry struggles to clear his name due to eyewitnesses and overwhelming DNA evidence against him.
Marcy Maitland
Being the wife to Terry Maitland, the man accused of brutally murdering an 11-year-old boy, Marcy sticks beside Terry as she fights for him to get free. Though Marcy’s efforts go down the drain as Terry dies, Marcy still works with Ralph, Howie, and the rest of the group to ensure that Terry is exonerated.
Ralph Anderson
Ralph Anderson is a detective of the Flint City police department and is a fat and tall man in his early 50s. Being the lead detective on the murder case of Frankie Peterson, Ralph believes that Frankie’s killer was none other than Terry Maitland due to the overwhelming evidence and the witnesses against Terry.
However, after leading a public arrest on Terry, Ralph doubts Terry’s guilt as footage of Terry being in Cap City emerges defending the little league coach.
Holly Gibney
Holly is a middle-aged woman with grey hair and pale skin, who gets hired as a private investigator by Alec Pelley, a retired police officer working for Howie Gold, Terry’s lawyer. Holly gets hired to investigate Dayton. Soon, Holly discovers that Terry’s case was similar to that of a man named Heath Holmes.
Frankie Peterson
Though having a minute appearance in the story, Frankie is also the main character in ‘The Outsider.’ Frankie is an 11-year-old red-haired boy, raped and brutally killed with a tree branch.
Ollie Peterson
Ollie is Frankie’s older brother (17 years old), and after Frankie’s death, everything goes sour for his entire family as his mother, Arlene, dies of a heart attack leaving only him and his father, Fred. Ollie is unable to process the dire changes to his family, which proves detrimental.
Howie Gold
Howie is Terry’s lawyer, and he believes that Terry is innocent of the allegations against him. Howie helps Terry and his wife Marcy navigate the legal ground of trying to acquit Terry of the crimes labeled against him and is happy when video evidence of Terry being in Cap City emerges. Hiring Alec Pelley to help out, Howie tries his best to see that Terry is released from police custody.
Alec Pelley
Alec Pelley is a retired police officer who works as a private investigator due to the guilt of putting innocent men behind bars. Alec works as a freelance private investigator for Howie, Terry’s lawyer, and after hiring Holly Gibney to help out, works with the rest of the group to uncover more about The Outsider.
Jack Hoskins
Jack is lazy and corrupt police, who is the antagonist in ‘The Outsider.’ Being Ralph’s colleague and a fellow detective, Jack’s vacation ends when he reaches a site of interest in Terry’s case. Jack is a bad guy throughout. He and Ralph have bad blood between them from the beginning because Ralph failed to give Jack a positive review the year prior to our story.
Claude Bolton
Claude is a man with a criminal history and a dodgy reputation. Everything else about this guy would be a spoiler… besides the fact that he’s a sweetheart and takes care of his mama, Lovey. She was a small character but one of my favorites. I hope this mother/son duo shows up in future King works.
The Outsider – PERHAPS A SPOILER, but if you know King, you saw this coming when you read the title…
The Outsider is the main antagonist of ‘The Outsider’ story. Being an entity who takes the form of whoever he injures, The Outsider kills his victims, mainly children, in a horrible way and spreads their fat over his body. Also referred to as El Cuco, an ancient Mexican entity, The Outsider gets away with his murders by utilizing the law which does not acknowledge the supernatural. The Outsider kills his victims in the appearance of a well-known person and uses this as a way to get away with killing, making the innocent victim pay for a crime they never committed.
Other characters from the book include Terry’s daughters, Grace and Sarah Maitland. These little ladies are troopers. Jeanie Anderson, (Ralph’s wife) plays a small roll as Ralph’s confidant. She’s a sweetheart and we all want a wife like her. She’s the first that brings up the possibility of a supernatural explanation, in a roundabout way. Fred Peterson (Frankie and Ollie’s father), Arlene Peterson (Frankie and Ollie’s mother), and Yune Sablo (a detective who assists Ralph, Howie, Alec, and Holly in their investigation) both have small roles in the story. Merle Cassidy is a 12 year old young boy who was sleeping in a stolen car in a Walmart parking lot while on the run from his mean stepfather. He is a car thief who stole to eat while on the run. Bill Samuels is the DA attempting to prosecute Terry.
Again, I took the character summaries from the Book Analysis website, which I highly recommend, and altered to mostly to simplify and prevent spoilers. Don’t come for me. I literally scroll up and down through these as I read. It helps me organize the story in my overly crowded brain.
While the supernatural is ever present in this novel, it all applies to the here and now. King is great at pointing the finger back at human nature through what some would consider absurdities. When Marcy goes to visit Terry, she describes one of the prisoners with a purple birthmark running down his face playing joyfully with his kids at visitation. My kids’ dad has the same kind of birthmark running down his neck and covering part of his chest, and he’s been incarcerated since 2013. These little details make me pay a little extra attention to King’s underlying communication (which is ALWAYS present in his works) and inevitably sees to it that I enjoy the story more than I otherwise would. While the kids’ dad and his self-inflicted situation no longer pulls on my heartstrings, I still am able to understand and feel the weight of the legal and judicial system as it consistently continues to fail each and every one of us wrapped up in it, regardless of the hows or whys. It is truly a nightmare. I feel for Marcy, I feel for her girls, and I just know they sought some quality counseling after all was said and done.
Holly makes the point to Ralph toward the end of the book that we no better understand the Ted Bundys or the John Wayne Gacys of humanity than we do supernatural beings such as The Outsider. This is an amazing point, and food for thought, or should be, for all of us. It has tentacles that can reach out and touch a plethora of issues we are currently dealing with in our crazy world.
I gave this a higher rating than some of my fellow readers, because I really feel like the ending was well done, and I just LOVE Holly. That being said… on to If It Bleeds…
Pretty Colors Unabridged 