There has been a lot of increased attention for this novel since the release of the HBO series. I have never seen the HBO series, so I cannot vouch for that, but the novel is fantastic. It is one of the better recent Stephen King novels and I thoroughly enjoyed it. In fact, I bought it on release and read it in three days. Usually I am not a fast reader, but “The Outsider” hits the ground running. I could not stop. The novel is nearly 600 pages, but it flies by. Now, the ending isn’t quite as strong as the setup (a common King problem), but it’s still satisfying overall.

As for the plot of the novel, it’s fairly simple. Police detective Ralph Anderson arrests popular English teacher Terry Maitland very publicly for the rape and murder of a young boy. The town is shocked that Maitland could do that. But there is a major problem. The more Det. Anderson digs into Maitland’s alibi that he was hours away, the more it checks out. In fact, there is DNA evidence that Maitland was at the scene of the murder AND hours away at the same time. The DA pleads with Anderson to throw out the evidence in order to make it a cut-and-dry case. But Anderson chooses to dig deeper. The novel follows Anderson and Marcy Maitland (Terry Maitland’s wife) as they try to figure out who, or what, killed the eleven year old.

It sets up an incredibly interesting premise. Nearly 2/3 the novel is setup. But, when the actual answer is found, the novel gets weird. It switches gears from an investigation story to a witch hunt. I did like the switch, however. It just slows down from the break-neck pace of the setup. It also has a wonderful appearance from another King character, Holly Gibney from Mr. Mercedes. It’s a cool continuation to her story and she plays a MAJOR role in the end. Really cool for King fans. But, the novel also works if you never read the Hodges trilogy (like me the first time I read “The Outsider”). The characters are all wonderful and the bad guy in the story is one of the better King baddies.

I give “The Outsider” a 3 out of 4. It has one of the strongest starts in all Stephen King’s works. I seriously could not stop reading. The story just gets more and more interesting. Once the villain is finally revealed, however, it slows down the pace quite a bit. But, that is not a bad thing. There is a pay-off at the end and the novel goes in directions you could never guess. I just wish the final confrontation was just a little more satisfying. I tried to keep this review as spoiler-free as possible, so it’s pretty hard to not talk about basically 350 pages of the book. Just know that there are plenty of amazing twists and turns along the way. I honestly think this is a great introduction to King and it’s a perfect entry point. But it also throws in nods for constant readers. Overall, it’s a wonderful book and I recommend it to any and all aspiring King fans.

So, continuing the ranking of ALL of King’s works:

1: The Institute 2: The Outsider 3: Elevation