THE OUTSIDER
Author : STEPHEN KING
Publisher : Charles Scribner's Sons, Rs 699
With The Outsider, Stephen King makes up to his fans for not having written a thriller last year, writes APOORVAA NAVEEN JOSHI
For a crime thriller writer, suspense is the most crucial element. Keeping the readers on the edge and making them wonder “What next” is what Stephen King is known for. Some 15 years back, when the news of him retiring had hit the readers, it had shattered many hearts. But much like his plots, he kept his public life too full of twists. Despite the rumoured retirement, he kept his fans on their toes with a new thriller almost every year. In 2017, he didn’t release a book, giving the fans reason to worry and speculate again. But once again, he is back with a treat in the form of The Outsider.
The Outsider deals with the mystery surrounding the brutal rape and murder of the 11-year-old Frank Peterson. The story is set in the city of Flint. A little boy is found dead in the woods, with tree branches stuck on him from down below. Fingerprints and DNA are all over the crime scene. Ralph Anderson, the detective to whom the case is assigned orders a public arrest of Terry Maitland during a league play-off game. With many eyewitnesses to confirm that Terry was seen near the woods and had blood all over him, the detective does not bother to check if Terry has an alibi or not. Terry Maitland is the local hero and coach. He is also a loving husband and father of two daughters. He denies the allegations and has a rock solid alibi for it — three co-teachers and a video tape confirm that he was not in the town when the murder took place. Bill Samuel, a young district attorney, aches to wrap up the case. Meanwhile, detective Ralph is in a soup at professional as well as personal levels — the former is to do with his reputation and reliability as a detective and the latter, with the happiness his son Derek is very fond of coach Terry.
The first half of the novel is signature King — there’s a genius twist the moment you think you have cracked the code. The Defense lawyer as well as the Prosecutor lawyer have equally convincing arguments to support their version of how the murder happened. If there is a truth, it remains shrouded in suspense throughout these arguments even as one keeps guessing.
The second half has supernatural elements as a monster is introduced into the plot. It is a rare treat for fans of thrillers as well as horror fiction. How could one person have been at two places at the same timeIJ The case seems very close to solved several times but soon, an added layer of complexity is unleashed. Readers, along with the detective, feel compelled to find an explanation through a series of strange events.
The book also does a good job at portraying the complexities of relationships. For instance, the challenges of the husband and wife relationship are portrayed through Ralph and Jeannie’s story. Jeannie helps Ralph uncover a dark secret with the help of Holly Gibney. Holly turns out to be integral to the plot. She is the woman who manages to control the dark forces clouding the case. It’s here that the plot starts taking shape.
With the strangeness it introduces into human equations, the novel has you gripped throughout. Keeping up with the magic of his earlier works like The Shining, It, The Stand, and Misery, darkness in the plot takes intrigue to a whole new level. For a King fan, the novel is a must read. As one expects from a King novel, there is not a dull moment throughout the book.