The Outsider by Stephen King

   I read this one for the Coronacation Challenge.  Where to start?  First of all, I am a fan of Stephen King.  Even though he writes predominantly horror, he's an incredibly talented writer.  My favorites- The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon and The Stand. Both of those are books that will stay with me forever.

So, on to this book. The pacing in the beginning is incredibly slow.  One step at a time, and one step forward compounded by conflicting evidence resulting in two steps back.  This is the story of a popular teacher and little league coach who is accused of a horrible child murder.  Did he do it?  Could he have done it?  It also evaluates how a crime of this nature doesn't just impact the victims' family, but the entire community.  It shows how fear and hatred spread and run rampant, if left unchecked.  

I loved the character of Holly.   When she appears on the scene things start to fall together and the pacing picks up a little too.  She's a delight.  A dear friend told me that she is a character in another series.  Let's be clear, while I am a fan of King he isn't my usual fare and I doubt I will be reading that other series, but I am really glad that I got to meet Holly.  And just for her, I still may....Time will tell.

After I finished I also started watching the show.  So far - 3 episodes in- the show is doing a really good job of being true to the book.  I gave it four stars.  Very well written and worth the read.