By Stephen King

Hodder, out now

A horrendous crime can only have been committed by one man – who has the perfect alibi…

Much of Stephen King’s longform writing in recent years has veered towards crime, with the trilogy of books following retired detective Bill Hodges and his Finders Keepers agency that gradually became more and more part of the genre for which King is better known. (His horror and fantasy work has continued unabated, as the release of Gwendy’s Button Box and the co-written Sleeping Beauties proves.) The Outsider begins as another tale rooted in the minutiae of a criminal investigation, but pretty much from the start, there’s something… off… about things. We can guess that the alleged perpetrator’s ability to be in two places at once is unlikely to be explained simply by the sort of literary legerdemain that you might find in a Perry Mason or Agatha Christie story, but it turns out to be far more connected to King’s other work than you initially would think.

I’ll admit that the first third of this book didn’t grab me as much as some of King’s work, but once past a key, shocking event, and the introduction of a character from elsewhere in the canon, it becomes totally gripping. The Outsider is reminiscent of antagonists from earlier books – notably Desperation – and, as with The Stand, King excels at portraying the dynamics between a very disparate group and then mixing that up completely thanks to the interventions of others.

Verdict: A slow burning early section leads to a strong second and third acts. 8/10

Paul Simpson