The Colorado Kid by: Stephen King Review

Title: Colorado Kid

Author: Stephen King

Pages:  184

Format: ebook

Publisher:  Simon & Schuster

Description:

Stephen King is the undisputed master of horror; but The Colorado Kid is a dramatic departure for the iconic author of innumerable blood-curdling classics like The Shining, Carrie, Cujo, and Pet Sematary. A pulp-style mystery about two salty newspapermen and their investigation into the unresolved death of a man found on an island off the coast of Maine, The Colorado Kid will have readers speculating until the very last page -- and long afterward.

Stephanie McCann is a journalism major doing an internship at a newspaper on Moose-Lookit Island. Two veteran editors show her the ropes -- and let her in on a bizarre mystery that has gone unsolved for more than 20 years. When an unidentified man was found dead on a beach, the local police wrote it off as an accident. But the newsmen continued to dig deeper, vowing to unlock the dead man's secrets

King has a unique way of completely redefining genres, and his homage to the pulp mystery -- a kind of deconstruction of the traditional blueprint -- is no different. What many readers may expect (an unsolved mystery, an investigation, and a neat and tidy explanation) doesn't quite happen. But because of King's unparalleled storytelling prowess, it doesn't even matter; in fact, his unusual conclusion is perfect. He writes in the afterword: "What I found out writing The Colorado Kid was that maybe it's the beauty of the mystery that allows us to live sane as we pilot our fragile bodies through this demolition-derby world. Wanting might be better than knowing."

The Colorado Kid is a must-read for mystery aficionados as well as all those who call themselves Stephen King fans. It's an unusual and thought-provoking addition to the author's already mammoth body of work. 

My Review: 

I got introduced to The Colorado Kid while watching the new tv show Haven, so I decided to look for the book that this show was based on.  The book starts out with Stephanie working with the local Newspaper men.  After interning them and learning the ropes she wonders if there is a crime that was never solved.  They sit her down and proceed to tell her about The Colorado Kid, a man who wound up dead in Maine with no identification, and no idea how he came to be on the beach.  The biggest question through out this book is how a man goes from Boulder Colorado to this small town in Maine from 10:30 til 5:30.  That's a quandary in itself.  This book unlike normal mysteries doesn't have an answer to it.  Just leaves you wondering about the Colorado Kid.  What a great story, loved it.