End of Watch – Stephen King (2016)

End of Watch by Stephen King, published in 2016, is the final book in the Bill Hodges Trilogy, following Mr. Mercedes and Finders Keepers. Blending crime thriller with supernatural horror, the novel follows retired detective Bill Hodges as he confronts Brady Hartsfield, the infamous “Mercedes Killer.” Though left in a vegetative state after his failed second attack, Hartsfield is far from powerless. Armed with newfound telekinetic abilities, he orchestrates a wave of suicides, forcing Hodges and his partner, Holly Gibney, into a final showdown against a mind capable of murder without lifting a finger.

Plot Summary

A cold January wind howls through the city as Bill Hodges leans against his car, his mind clouded by a persistent ache deep in his gut. The retired detective, now running the small but steady Finders Keepers investigation firm, has been called to a quiet suburban home in Ridgedale. Two bodies have been found inside – an elderly woman in the bathtub, a plastic bag over her head, and her quadriplegic daughter lifeless in bed, her feeding tube laced with a fatal dose of pills and vodka. The scene tells a tragic tale of a mercy killing, a mother ending her daughter’s suffering before taking her own life. But something doesn’t sit right.

The dead woman in the bed is Martine Stover – one of the victims of Brady Hartsfield, the infamous Mercedes Killer. The massacre at City Center seven years ago left her body shattered, and her life ever since had been an unending cycle of pain and dependency. Now she is gone, her suffering ended by the hands of her mother. But there is something else – a strange marking on the bathroom counter. A single letter, written with a marker: Z. A farewell? A signature?

Hodges, along with his sharp but socially anxious partner Holly Gibney, begins to dig into the details. Martine and her mother were not the only ones to die. Two other City Center survivors had taken their own lives a year earlier, overdosing together in what seemed to be a lovers’ pact. And a third victim, Gerald Stansbury, had suffered a sudden heart attack. Coincidence, the police call it. But Hodges doesn’t believe in coincidence.

While the investigation stirs his instincts, something more urgent gnaws at him – a growing pain in his abdomen. He brushes it off at first, but a doctor’s visit brings grim news. Pancreatic cancer, aggressive and advanced. The weight of the diagnosis hangs over him like a death sentence, but there is no time to dwell on it. There is work to be done.

The pieces begin to form an unsettling picture. The deaths, the suicides, the timing – everything points in one direction. Brady Hartsfield, the man who once drove a stolen Mercedes into a crowd, who tried to orchestrate an even deadlier attack with a homemade bomb, now sits in a hospital bed at the Lakes Region Traumatic Brain Injury Clinic. Unresponsive, paralyzed, a ghost of the sadistic man he once was. By all accounts, he should be nothing more than a shell. But Hodges has never trusted the idea that Brady is truly gone.

Brady, trapped in his ruined body, has found new ways to inflict harm. A series of unethical medical treatments, meant to stimulate brain activity, have unlocked something far more dangerous. He has developed an unnatural power – the ability to push his consciousness into others, influencing their actions, bending their will to his. The suicides were not acts of desperation but of manipulation. From his hospital bed, Brady Hartsfield has been killing.

The proof comes in the form of a suicide epidemic among teenagers, all linked to a seemingly harmless gaming app called Zappit. The old, outdated devices have resurfaced in the city, handed out for free, their bright pink screens flashing hypnotic patterns. It is more than a game. It is a weapon. Brady, through the app, implants suggestions into vulnerable minds, leading them to end their own lives. The Z found at the crime scene – a remnant of the game’s hold over its victims.

Hodges and Holly race against time, tracking the source of the Zappit devices. The trail leads to a man named Library Al, a former tech store employee with a penchant for hoarding junk electronics. He received the devices from an orderly at the hospital, someone with access to Brady Hartsfield. As they close in, the truth becomes undeniable – Brady has taken full control of the orderly, using him as a vessel to carry out his will.

The investigation takes a brutal turn when Hodges is attacked in his own office. Brady, possessing the orderly’s body, nearly kills him. But Holly arrives just in time, her presence breaking the spell, forcing Brady’s consciousness back into his own broken shell. The incident leaves Hodges shaken but more determined than ever. His time is running out – from both the cancer eating away at him and the escalating deaths linked to Zappit.

Holly and Jerome Robinson, their old friend now home from college, take charge as Hodges’ health declines. They uncover Brady’s ultimate plan – a mass suicide event at a local high school. Using his influence over dozens of teens, Brady intends to make his final, most devastating statement. They must act fast.

The final confrontation takes place in the hospital. Brady, desperate and enraged, jumps bodies again, taking control of Dr. Felix Babineau, the very man who had experimented on him. He tries to escape, to spread his reach beyond the hospital walls, but he underestimates Holly. She faces him down, seeing him for what he truly is – a parasite, a coward hiding behind stolen bodies. With the weight of everything he has done pressing down on her, she strikes the fatal blow. The true Brady Hartsfield dies, his power shattered, his influence gone.

In the days that follow, the city breathes a sigh of relief. The Zappit devices are destroyed, the last of Brady’s influence wiped away. The nightmare is over.

But for Bill Hodges, the battle is not yet done. His cancer is in its final stages, the pain growing unbearable. He spends his last days with Holly and Jerome, his makeshift family. He refuses further treatment, choosing to go on his own terms. In his final moments, as he drifts into the quiet beyond, he feels no fear. He has done what he was meant to do. The case is closed. The city is safe. And for the first time in a long time, he is at peace.

Main Characters

• Bill Hodges – A retired detective turned private investigator. Once tormented by the unsolved Mercedes Massacre, he now faces his most dangerous case yet. As he battles health issues, he remains relentless in stopping Brady Hartsfield.
• Brady Hartsfield – The sadistic “Mercedes Killer,” now seemingly brain-dead but possessing terrifying psychic powers. From his hospital bed, he manipulates others into committing suicide, growing stronger with each life taken.
• Holly Gibney – Bill’s sharp yet socially anxious partner at Finders Keepers. She is deeply loyal to Hodges and emerges as a force of determination against Hartsfield’s growing influence.
• Jerome Robinson – A former teenage neighbor of Hodges, now a college student. Though absent for much of the investigation, he returns to aid Hodges and Holly in their desperate fight.
• Dr. Felix Babineau – The unethical doctor overseeing Hartsfield’s care. His secret experiments with a mind-enhancing drug unknowingly unleash Brady’s terrifying abilities.

Theme

• The Power of the Mind – The novel explores the terrifying potential of the human brain, particularly Hartsfield’s psychic influence over others, turning thoughts into lethal weapons.
• Mortality and Illness – Hodges’ battle with pancreatic cancer adds urgency to the story, forcing him to confront his own mortality while fighting to save others.
• Suicide and Manipulation – Brady exploits the vulnerabilities of his victims, driving them to take their own lives, highlighting themes of despair, mental illness, and the consequences of unchecked power.
• Justice vs. Revenge – Hodges’ pursuit of Hartsfield blurs the line between justice and personal vengeance, questioning whether stopping evil justifies breaking the rules.
• Technology as a Weapon – Brady’s use of a hypnotic game app to control his victims speaks to modern fears about the dark side of technology and its potential for harm.

Writing Style and Tone

Stephen King’s signature style is on full display – a mix of gritty realism and eerie supernatural horror. His prose is immersive, filled with sharp dialogue, deep character introspection, and suspenseful pacing that keeps the tension mounting. The book alternates between straightforward crime-thriller narration and unsettling psychological horror, making the supernatural elements feel disturbingly plausible.

The tone shifts between grim and urgent, reflecting the book’s themes of impending death and psychological torment. King also balances this with moments of warmth, particularly in the bond between Hodges, Holly, and Jerome. However, an underlying sense of inevitability looms throughout, as both Hodges and Hartsfield race toward their final, chilling confrontation.