Finders Keepers by Stephen King

Scribner, 448 pages, $30

Will you be surprised, ecstatic, or disappointed to discover that “Finders Keepers” is a straight-ahead thriller?

Stephen King has brought back the character of Bill Hodges from “Mr. Mercedes” (c2014). After suffering a heart attack at the end of “Mr. Mercedes,” Bill has changed his ways. He eats healthy foods and is no longer a stressed-out police detective. He and Holly Gibney, another character from “Mr. Mercedes,” operate a private investigation agency. For “Finders Keepers,” they are also eventually reunited with yet another familiar character, Jerome Robinson. Together they thwarted a man who was attempting to bomb a crowd in “Mr. Mercedes.”

Did King have “Finders Keepers” in mind when he wrote “Mr. Mercedes”? The mind of a genius works in mysterious ways. One of the defining scenes of the earlier book was when the villain drove his car (a Mercedes!) into a crowd of people waiting in line for the opening of a job fair. The current book opens with what happened to one of the driver’s victims. Tom Saubers was first a victim of the bad economy at the time, and his life became even worse after he was badly injured. Tom’s teenage son, Pete, is the hero of “Finders Keepers.” A young boy at the time of his father’s accident, he, too, was traumatized by the attack when his family lost most of what they had. They especially mourned the demise of their middle-class dream and were then constantly on the verge of fragmenting. 

Long before the events of “Mr. Mercedes,” crazy-as-a-loon Morris Bellamy murdered famous, reclusive author John Rothstein — perhaps a nod to John Updike and Philip Roth — because he was mad about how Rothstein failed, in Morrie’s mind, to adequately depict the life of Jimmy Gold, his fictional protagonist, in the third and final published book in Rothstein’s series. Morrie is “rewarded” when he finds lots of Moleskine notebooks in Rothstein’s safe. Joy of joys, there could be more about Jimmy in these notebooks!

Many years later, Pete accidentally discovers those Rothstein notebooks but has no idea about the bloody lineage of his discovery. Pete uses the $20,000 he finds with the notebooks to improve his family’s life. Over the next few years, an anonymous dribble here and a surprise dribble there makes all the difference in his family’s security. More importantly, Pete discovers John Rothstein and, like Morrie before him, becomes obsessed with the writer. 

When Tina, Pete’s younger sister, becomes concerned about Pete and the origin of her family’s anonymous benefaction, she confides in Barbara Robinson, who turns out to be Jerome Robinson’s sister. Because of their past association, Barbara knows Bill Hodges, and she and Tina go to him seeking help. Little do they realize how much help they and Pete will soon need.

King, the author of many books with a supernatural horror theme, plays it straight with these characters, although Morrie is over-the-top baloozey. (“Red Lips” is how Pete later nicknames him, highlighting Morrie’s most notable physical feature. Here is a real-life version of King’s iconic scary clown.) His trio of investigators from “Mr. Mercedes” are compelling. “Finders Keepers” is a great melding of the stories of Pete’s lonely journey and the reunion of effective crime fighters.

King is a master of finding the psychological funny bone spot; it’s neither funny nor a bone, but it gives us painful shivers to see what he does to torture his characters. King must enjoy his god-of-the-story status, being able to determine which of his characters die and which just simply suffer in extremis. Oh, no, he didn’t, is what will float frequently through your mind.

At the end of “Finders Keepers,” King hints at the storyline for his his proposed third Bill Hodges book. 

“Finders Keepers” moves quickly forward, definitely the product of a genuine storyteller who understands pacing and what drives a story forward.

Soulless by Gail Carriger

Orbit, 416 pages, $15

“Soulless” is the July seelction for the MBTB book group. We will be meeting on Tuesday, July 28, 2015, at 6:30 p.m., at the Belmont Branch of the Multnomah County Public Library,1038 SE César E. Chávez Boulevard, Portland, Oregon.

The front cover of this book heralds that it is “a novel of vampires, werewolves, and parasols.” Although that basically sums it up, I would add that steampunk and Victorian England are also in the mix.

Alexia Tarabotti is a preternatural; that is, she has no soul. As a result, she is safe against the supernatural machinations of vampires and werewolves, but she is mortal and must still beware.

As the book opens, Alexia is an aging (26 years old!), plain spinster of independent disposition and moderate wealth. She is a thorn in the side of handsome, virile, alpha werewolf and head of the UK’s BUR (whatever that stands for), Lord Maccon. BUR deals with the troubles supernaturals might cause. It is, in a sense, the supernaturals policing their own, although humans are also part of the organization.

Gail Carriger has put together all the elements of popular interest, including some salacious romance, and crafted the well-received “Parasol Protectorate” series. of which “Soulless” is the first.

Dry Bones by Craig Johnson

Viking, 320 pages, $27.95

That itty-bitty square of dark chocolate is never enough. How do you stop with one potato chip? Just ten minutes of “Angry Birds”? Come on! If you lined up all the Sheriff Walt Longmire books in a row before a Longmire virgin, at the end, there would be a tired veteran staring blank-eyed and drooling after finishing the last book. Then he/she would say, “Where’s the next one?” Indeed.

Sheriff Walt Longmire of Absaroka County, Wyoming, is our hero. He spouts Latin, knows his museums, and is the epitome of the Gary Cooper strong, silent type. With the imposing and wise Henry Standing Bear to watch his back, front, and side, is there any varmint who would dare challenge Walt? There are an ignorant few and they go down.

When the largest T-Rex ever found is discovered on a local ranch, it shakes the archaeological world. When Danny Lone Elk, the owner of the land upon which the discovery is made, dies a suspicious death, it shakes Walt Longmire’s world. How can he deal with this potential crime? His daughter, Cady, and granddaughter, Lola (named after Henry’s car), are due for a visit, and he doesn’t even have the Pack ’n Play assembled. What the heck is a Pack ’n Play, he wonders.

“Jen,” as this particular gigantic ancestor-of-the-chicken is called, is not just the scientific discovery of the century, it is a $$ bonanza for someone. And that’s the mystery: Who inherits Danny Lone Elk’s dinosaur now that he is dead? And is it even Danny’s dino? Suddenly Walt has the Feds, State officials, and the media breathing down his neck.

When his life becomes even more complicated after a personal tragedy, and his old friend and mentor, Lucian, almost dies, Walt once again puts his life in jeopardy with a sorry trudge into the wilderness (even if it is in a luxurious Neiman-Marcus helicopter with gigaillionaire Omar) to track down whodunnit.

It took a lot of willpower to actually read (almost) every word. How does Craig Johnson get the pace going so well? How does he know when to twist the rope a little tighter? Before you know it, you are bleary-eyed and the exhausted book is lying before you. Where’s the next one?

The Martian by Andy Weir

Broadway Books, 387 pages, $15 (2011, first printing 2014)

“The Martian” began life as a free download in 2011. Then it became a 99-cent download on Amazon. (More people bought it than downloaded it for free.) Then it found a print publisher and a spot on the New York Times bestsellers list. Finally, the movie made from this book, starring Matt Damon, is scheduled for release in October. Well, imagine that! And that is the attraction of this book: Andy Weir’s imagination and his based-in-reality science.

Astronaut Mark Watney’s crew thought he was dead when they blasted off from Mars and headed back to Earth. Watney was not, however, dead. “Hey, guys, wait for me” fell on ears too far away to hear. With potatoes and disco music for companions (beggars cannot be choosers), Watney must solve one survival problem after another. Yes, Mars is trying to kill him (by being inhospitable), which makes this a trying-to-murder-someone mystery.

Mostly told in first-person by Watney, his sense of humor, his ingenuity, and his optimism carry the book. As one rescue scenario after another hits snags, the potential for heartbreak is huge. But Watney’s efforts and will to live can be applauded no matter the outcome. He exemplifies the best in human nature and resourcefulness.

Although this is Weir’s first published book, he has the mechanics of suspense down tight. He takes his readers on a roller coaster ride with what looks like impeccable scientific knowledge. (But how would we know for certain unless we were orbital/astrodynamic geeks ourselves?)

I wish I could legitimately issue an MBTB star, but I can’t. There’s no crime, even if there is suspense as big as Jupiter.