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Bill Hodges is a character created by renowned author Stephen King who appears in three novels in a self- entitled series, the Bill Hodges trilogy. He is a retired detective who finds himself compelled to solve a murder mystery in the best way he knows how, and without help from the police. Bill makes his first appearance in the trilogy’s first novel, Mr. Mercedes, a 2014 publication. He is portrayed throughout the series as a man of few words- one who says a lot in the fewest words possible.
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Order of Bill Hodges Trilogy Series
| # | Read | Title | Published | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mr. Mercedes | 2014 | Description / Buy | |
| 2 | Finders Keepers | 2015 | Description / Buy | |
| 3 | End of Watch | 2016 | Description / Buy |
Bill Hodges Awards:
The first book in the Bill Hodges Trilogy, the thrilling Mr. Mercedes, won the 2015 Edgar Award for the Best Novel from the Crime Writers of America. It was also awarded the Goodreads Choice Awards in 2014 in the Mystery and Thriller Category.
Best Bill Hodges Books:
All of Bill Hodge’s books are attention- grabbing and fascinating. Mr. Mercedes is in particular a book worth reading. It has a gripping plot that explores some of the darkest deeds that man can commit, and it clearly shows the danger of dysfunctional families.
It all starts at a job fair filled with many expectant job seekers, when a Mercedes ploughs through the crowd, killing eight people and wounding many others. The crime is still unresolved by the time Bill Hodges retires from being a detective. Bill is a divorcee who is not very interested in life; in fact, he has contemplated suicide several times. He is however intrigued by a letter from a certain Mr. Mercedes who claims liability for the murder of all of those people at the job fair. That is all it takes to get Bill to start trying finding answers to the incident.
It is determined that the Mercedes that was used in the killings belonged to a certain Olivia Trelawney, a rich lady who committed suicide a while after the murders. As Bill continues to dig deeper into the matter, both to satisfy his own curiosity and at the request of Olivia’ sister, Janey, he discovers that Olivia committed suicide out of guilt- only that she was being guilt tripped by the same Mr. Mercedes. Olivia received recorded messages of eerily voices that she believed to be the voices of the victims of the job fair massacre. She is scared to death, and in a very literal sense, because she ends up committing suicide.
Bill is helped in his search by a cousin of Janey’s called Holly, and Jerome, who used to work around Bill’s house. Mr. Mercedes is later revealed to be Brady Hartsfield, a young man in his twenties who is nothing if not a psychopath. Brady’s dad died when he was only 8. Acting on his mother’s promptings, Brady killed his handicapped brother. Brady lives with his mother, with whom he has an incestuous relationship. By day, Brady poses as an ice-cream seller in an electronic shop. When Brady learns that Hodges and his friends are on his trail, he bombs Hodges’ car in the hope of killing him. Unfortunately, the bomb kills Janey, with who Bill is in a relationship. Janey’s death only serves to strengthen Bill’s resolve to find Brady, and he is hell- bent in his resolve.
Brady mistakenly kills his mother who eats a hamburger that Brady had poisoned and intended it for Jerome’s dog. After his mother’s death, Brady loses it and plans on killing himself and taking as many lives as possible with him. He plans to plant explosives in a wheelchair he will be using to get himself to a teenagers’ concert. Fortunately, before he can successfully execute his plans, Jerome and Holly reach him and hit him fatally with a bag filled with ball bearings, which lands Brady into a comma.
Another book in the series where Bill is featured is End Of Watch. In this book, Brady resurfaces in an even more dangerous way. He possesses telekinetic powers and can even remotely hypnotize people using a video app. Those he hypnotizes all end up committing suicide, and all of them are the victims he intended to kill at the concert. Bill, who is now battling pancreatic cancer, is back on Brady’s trail, but unknown to him, he is also Brady’s ultimate victim.
Other Book Series You May Like
Another enthralling book series that is bound to leave you asking for more is the “Scot Harvath” series by veteran author Brad Thor. The books tell of the works of Scot Harvath who tries to put an end to terrorism at a time when terrorism has spun too far out of control.
The “Alex Cross” series by James Patterson is also another series worth your attention. In this series, Alex Cross is challenged with the task of outsmarting a scheming psychopath, Gary Soneji, who is out to kill in unprecedented ways.
What Is The Next Book in The Bill Hodges Trilogy Series?
There doesn't seem to be an upcoming book in The Bill Hodges Trilogy Series. The newest book is End of Watch and was released on June, 7th 2016.