Being a true Mainer, while my mother was pregnant with me, she was reading a book by Stephen King. Specifically she was reading The Dark Half by Stephen King. In that book there is a character named Shayla and that is where my name came from. Growing up in Maine already gives you a sense of closeness with Mr. King but having him be the reason for my namesake always drew me even closer to him. In fact, for my 23rd birthday I was gifted with Stephen King’s personal copy of The Dark Half that he signed for me. I grew up watching many Stephen King shows and movies and read a few books. My favorite book of all time being The Long Walk by Stephen King, himself. All in all, however, I’ve only read about 5 of Mr. King’s books in total. I feel like this weird connection and fascination I have with him has ultimately only led me to one place. And that place is right here, preparing to read all his books. With all honesty, I get crazy ideas like this all the time but only seldom do I see ...
Before reading: This is King's third Hard Case Crime novel. I enjoyed the other two and these tend to be quick and easy reads. I know absolutely nothing about the plot. Let's see what this is all about... After reading: Alright, not too much to say. It was a Hard Case Crime novel. Of the three, I liked it just as much as Colorado Kid. I thought throughout that it would definitely be my favorite, but as I finished it didn't quite get there for me. This one did give me more King vibes than the other two. It felt like it could have been something he had written on his own, rather than writing it for Hard Case. It had more of a horror/supernatural vibe right from the beginning whereas the other two either didn't have it at all or randomly sprinkled it in at the end. I enjoyed the narrator and the overall story. I thought it had a really great mother/son relationship, as well. I was surprised when it tied in with It. The connection was almost too in-your-face for me, though...