I’ve read Stephen King since I was a teenager, and to me, starting one of his books is like slipping into an old bathrobe–familiar and comforting, with the knowledge that you’re about to have some satisfying relaxation time. Relaxing with a good horror novel is one of my favorite things in the world, and King rarely fails to disappoint. The Outsider was no exception. Though I had some minor gripes, overall I really enjoyed this one, and I’m sure it’ll make it into my rotation of regular Stephen King rereads.

Primarily set in the fictional town of Flint City, OK, The Outsider follows the investigation of a horrific child murder that rocks the local community. When multiple eyewitnesses come forward to corroborate the extensive DNA and fingerprint evidence found at the scene of the crime, investigators (let by Detective Ralph Anderson) believe they have a slam-dunk case against the accused: Terry Maitland, local little league coach and pillar of the community. But when doubts begin to arise and seasoned P.I. Holly Gibney gets involved, all of that easily-obtained evidence starts to point to something more sinister…and possibly supernatural.

The things that bring me back to Stephen King’s writing again and again are his characters, and his knack for pacing and suspense. These qualities shine through once again in The Outsider. Though this is one book of several I’ve started recently (quarantine restrictions have left me, like so many others, with plenty of time on my hands), this was the one that kept me turning the pages late into the night, long after I should have given up and gone to bed. King is adept at feeding his readers just enough information to make them hungry for more, dangling the prize feast just beyond reach until the perfect climactic moment–and just when you think you’ve had your fill, another tantalizing morsel is there to keep you salivating until the end.

When I say that King’s characters are something that I enjoy in his work, that comes with a qualifier. Sometimes his characters and the way he writes them are just awkward and forced for the sake of getting a message across and/or advancing the plot. For instance, Holly Gibney doesn’t need to have a radiant smile that lights up her whole face every time he wants the POV character to find her endearing. The thing about King’s character writing that draws me in is his tight third-person perspective, the way he’s in each character’s head to help you understand and sympathize with them, even if the character is a vile and terrible person doing awful things. Jack Hoskins was such a character in The Outsider. Though he was pretty obviously a bad person, and very misled, I couldn’t help feeling bad for him and even rooting for him in certain small moments. It’s because, when you’re reading a Stephen King novel, you are that character for a brief moment; you understand them and want them to succeed. Perhaps this is why I gravitate toward his books when I need an escape from my own reality.

This wasn’t a perfect book by any means. Some things happened too perfectly, too cleanly to be believable. Characters sometimes seemed drawn forward by The Plot rather than by their own motivations. But at the end of the day, those things weren’t egregious enough to keep me from truly enjoying The Outsider, which I very much did.

I also want to briefly mention the HBO adaptation, which I watched, and which was the reason I picked up this book in the first place. The show was pretty good, but the book was far better. I couldn’t believe some of the things the show added that I very much expected to have come from the book, or some of the things that were left out. However, both experiences were enjoyable–though I’ll probably re-read the book, but skip re-watching the series.

Anyway, I can’t give The Outsider five stars, because in my opinion it wasn’t King’s best. But it was still very good, and did a great job meeting my expectations as a long-time Stephen King fan. So it gets a strong four stars from me