Holly – Stephen King (2023)

Holly by Stephen King, published in 2023, follows private investigator Holly Gibney as she tackles a disturbing case involving a series of disappearances in a seemingly peaceful town. Holly, who first appeared in King’s Mr. Mercedes series, has since grown into a strong, resourceful detective with a sharp mind and deep compassion. This time, she uncovers a sinister truth lurking behind the respectable façade of two elderly professors, revealing horrors more unsettling than she ever imagined.

Plot Summary

A fine drizzle falls over Deerfield Park as Jorge Castro, a creative writing professor, jogs along his usual route. At forty, he’s determined to stay in shape, unwilling to let his body slip into middle-aged complacency. The park is nearly empty, save for an elderly couple near a passenger van with a ramp extending onto the pavement. The woman calls to him, recognizing him from the college. Emily Harris and her husband, Rodney, seem distressed – their wheelchair-accessible van has broken down, stranding them in the damp night. Always eager to help, Jorge steps forward to push Rodney up the ramp. He barely registers the sharp sting at the back of his neck before his legs weaken. Darkness swallows him whole.

Holly Gibney sits in her apartment, watching a funeral unfold on her laptop. The pandemic has made traditional services impossible, leaving mourners to grieve through screens. The loss is personal – her mother, Charlotte Gibney, has succumbed to COVID-19, her stubborn refusal to wear a mask sealing her fate. Holly watches, then disconnects before the ceremony is over, needing solitude. Her business partner, Pete Huntley, has also fallen ill, though his case is mild. She is alone, and grief coils around her like a phantom.

The voicemail notifications on her office phone blink insistently. A woman named Penelope Dahl has called four times, her voice taut with worry. Her daughter, Bonnie, has disappeared. The police, convinced it’s a voluntary departure, have done little. Bonnie’s bike was found abandoned outside a defunct auto shop, a note taped to the seat – three words scrawled in uncertainty: I’ve had enough. To Penny, it’s not a runaway’s farewell. It’s a warning. Holly agrees to take the case.

She meets Penny the next morning in her office, listening as the frantic mother details Bonnie’s life – a librarian at Bell College, an independent, vibrant young woman. No history of mental illness, no sign of suicidal thoughts. She was last seen at a Jet Mart near Deerfield Park, buying a soda. Holly takes notes, already formulating her plan. First, the security footage. Second, the abandoned bike. Third, the people who might have seen her that night.

Jorge wakes up with a splitting headache, the taste of vomit acrid in his mouth. His surroundings are unfamiliar – a concrete basement, stark and clean, the air tinged with disinfectant. Steel bars cage him in. A camera in the ceiling watches. Panic grips his chest as the memories return – the van, the ramp, the sting at his neck. The Harrises. Footsteps descend the stairs. Emily appears with a tray. A plate of raw liver sits in a puddle of congealed blood. A plastic water bottle rests beside it. She smiles, calm, expectant. Jorge refuses the meal. The water is rolled back out of reach. Thirst gnaws at him, clawing its way up his throat.

Holly drives to Jet Mart and pulls the surveillance footage. Bonnie appears on screen, riding up on her bike, stepping inside. She moves with purpose, unaware of the shadow looming over her fate. A man enters behind her – tall, thin, moving with a quiet confidence. Holly leans in. His mask obscures his face, but something about him unsettles her. She follows the next thread, driving to the auto shop where the bike was found. The location makes no sense. If Bonnie planned to leave, why leave the bike here? It’s not a bus or train station. It’s a dead end.

Jorge fights against his body’s betrayal. Dehydration wraps its fingers around his mind, muddling his thoughts, slowing him down. His tongue sticks to the roof of his mouth. The liver remains untouched, the red pool thickening with time. Rodney visits next, dressed in childishly patterned pajamas, a broom in hand. He pushes the tray back toward Jorge with the patience of a disappointed parent. Jorge knows this is a game. He also knows he is losing. Desperation wins. He lifts the raw meat to his mouth, swallows without chewing. The taste of iron and fear coats his tongue. The water is given as a reward. Emily watches from the stairs, smiling. A single word escapes her lips – a slur, sharp and deliberate.

Holly retraces Bonnie’s last known movements. The route from Jet Mart to the abandoned auto shop leads her past the edge of Deerfield Park. The shadows stretch long and silent. Something tugs at her gut. The case isn’t about a missing woman. It’s about the place where she disappeared. She digs deeper, pulling up records, searching for patterns. Other disappearances surface, scattered across decades. A man last seen jogging. A girl leaving her night class. A worker taking a shortcut home. Names lost in the shuffle, their stories fading into unsolved mysteries.

Jorge is not alone. Another cage sits across from his own. A woman curls into herself, unresponsive, barely breathing. He recognizes her face from missing posters he’s seen around town. Bonnie Dahl. Her arms are too thin, her skin pale. He calls to her, voice cracking, but she doesn’t move. The realization settles cold in his gut – he is not the first. He will not be the last.

Holly narrows her focus to the faculty at Bell College. Rodney Harris, a retired professor in the Life Sciences Department. Emily Harris, formerly of the English Department. Longtime residents of Ridge Road, near the park. A van registered out of state. The puzzle pieces click together with terrible clarity. She calls Penny, her voice urgent. She is close, but time is running out.

Jorge hears the bandsaw before he sees it. The mechanical whine slices through the basement, reverberating against the cold walls. Rodney stands over Bonnie, lifting her limp body onto the worktable. Emily hovers nearby, hands folded, waiting. Jorge’s scream is raw, useless. His strength has dwindled. He slams himself against the bars, but they do not give. Bonnie does not move. She is too far gone.

Holly arrives at the Harrises’ house just as Rodney opens the garage door. The van sits inside, the ramp extended. She draws her gun. Emily steps forward, still in her crisp floral apron, tilting her head as if mildly amused. The act crumbles under Holly’s glare. The charade is over. Police flood the house, breaking through the basement door. Jorge is found, barely conscious, a skeletal figure of defiance and survival. Bonnie is not. The horror in the basement is undeniable – the tools, the remains, the grotesque mockery of human life reduced to a butcher’s craft.

Rodney and Emily are arrested without resistance, their masks of civility slipping away. Holly watches them being led to the patrol cars, their hands bound, their expressions unchanged. There is no remorse, only the quiet understanding that they have been caught.

Jorge recovers. Holly closes the case, though the weight of it lingers. The dead do not return, but justice finds its way through the cracks. As the city moves on, as Deerfield Park hums with life once more, Holly knows – the monsters never truly disappear. They only wait.

Main Characters

• Holly Gibney – A private investigator with Finders Keepers, Holly is intelligent, determined, and shaped by past trauma. While struggling with personal grief and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, she takes on a missing persons case that leads her down a terrifying path.

• Emily and Rodney Harris – A seemingly harmless elderly couple with ties to academia, the Harrises hide a dark and gruesome secret beneath their cultured and refined exterior.

• Penny Dahl – A desperate mother who hires Holly to find her missing daughter, Bonnie. Her persistence and emotional distress fuel Holly’s determination to solve the case.

• Bonnie Dahl – A young librarian who vanishes without a trace, setting Holly on a dangerous investigation.

• Pete Huntley – Holly’s business partner, currently sidelined due to illness, leaving Holly to tackle the case alone.

Theme

• The Mask of Respectability – The novel explores how evil can hide behind polished appearances. The Harrises, with their scholarly personas, are far from the gentle intellectuals they seem to be.

• Isolation and Grief – Holly struggles with personal loss, including the death of her mother and mentor. Her solitude reflects the emotional toll of her past experiences.

• The Predatory Nature of Evil – King highlights how some people prey on others with cold calculation, reinforcing the idea that monsters often wear human faces.

• The Impact of COVID-19 – Set during the pandemic, the story integrates its effects on daily life, social interactions, and Holly’s own anxieties about health and loss.

Writing Style and Tone

Stephen King’s writing in Holly blends psychological horror with detective fiction. His prose is immersive, with sharp dialogue and deep character introspection. The pacing is deliberate, unraveling the mystery layer by layer while keeping tension high. King’s signature ability to craft unsettling, realistic villains is on full display, making the horror feel disturbingly plausible.

The tone is dark, reflective, and suspenseful, with moments of grim humor. Through Holly’s perspective, King infuses the narrative with an emotional depth that makes her struggles feel authentic. The novel’s atmosphere is heavy with dread, yet Holly’s resilience adds a thread of hope amidst the darkness.