Holly Gibney lives in the Stephen King Multiverse that also includes Bill Hodges, a suicidal retired detective who was never able to solve his last case. The antagonist is a sociopathic/psychopathic character who, without known cause or reason, runs down a group of desperately distressed and downtrodden people waiting to get into a job fair while driving a Mercedes Benz. In the beginning, she’s the daughter of the owner of the Mercedes.
Holly in the Bill Hodges Universe
So let’s start by getting to know a little about Holly. In the beginning, Holly lives with her cousin, Janey Smith. She rarely leaves the house and generally only does so if she is with her cousin, Janey. She struggles with a few “difficulties” including OCD, synesthesia, sensory processing disorder – yes, she could definitely be on the spectrum (autism spectrum disorder). Well, yes, that is a lot. So, how does she become an investigator?
In the book, Mr. Mercedes (2014), Holly is the cousin of both Janey Smith and Olivia Trelawney, who was the owner of the stolen Mercedes in Mr. Mercedes. This is how she comes to know Bill Hodges, learns that she can be herself and be successful, and eventually starts her new career as a private investigator.
Holly
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Imagine a woman with OCD to the point of distraction, who has a massive inferiority complex who has spent her life thinking she is not good enough and that she can’t live on her own, do on her own becoming a private investigator. This is what you see on the surface of Holly Gibney. King even characterized Holly as “an obsessive-compulsive with a huge inferiority complex.”
Now, maybe you know someone with high-functioning autism and all that this entails. They can have a focus like no other and their attention to detail can be infuriating but immensely helpful when needed. They can be uniquely specific and specialized with an unwavering intent on completing any particular task. They often have eidetic memories – they never forget.
Holly, who has taken over the Private Investigation Agency called Finders Keepers after Bill Hodges retired, has, with the encouragement and training of Hodges, learned that she has amazing skills.
Having a “savant-like memory” she forgets nothing. That paired with her unwavering observation skills, she is the ultimate investigator, seeing and remembering evidence that others never realize is present. And don’t forget her mad computer skills and she’s the whole package – a private investigator like no other.
Taking place during the pandemic, Holly ends up working the case of the disappearance of Bonnie Rae Dahl on her own as her partner is home sick with COVID-19. The circumstances surrounding her disappearance are strange, right up Holly’s ally. She’s used to dealing with the strange, the unusual, some might even go so far as to say paranormal.
There’s the bike with the note that doesn’t make sense left in a place that doesn’t make sense. The are all of the missing people in the small town of, wait, we don’t know where though Dave Dreher of Gruesome Magazine thinks they might be in Cleveland, Ohio. Then there’s the Harrises, the friendly but strange couple, semi-retired professors from Bell College of Arts and Sciences.
Between somewhat unmemorable antagonists which is what makes them really creepy and scary, evidence that do not make sense, and of course the possibility of something wrong and twisted that you didn’t think of, after all this is Stephen King -Holly Gibney with all of her amazingly perfect quirks and intricacies, is both endearing, engaging, and definitely high on the list of one of Stephen Kings best characters, of which he has had many.
Following Holly
Yes, you can read Holly (2023) and it will stand up on it’s own. There is enough description of past events from previous books that you could get by with this as a stand alone story. However, being a bit OCD myself, I would have to ask why you would do that. The books all tie together and I personally would advise starting from the beginning.
You would start Mr. Mercedes (2014), Finders Keepers (2015), and then there is End of Watch (2016), These are the Bill Hodges Trilogy. Holly also appears in The Outsider (2016) and If It Bleeds (2020). If It Bleeds leads directly into Holly.
Right now it is rumored that a TV show adaptation of Holly is in the works but there is no other news as of yet. I couldn’t even found a studio. You can also see the character of Holly Gibney in previously release shows Mr. Mercedes ((2017-2019) and The Outsider (2020).
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