End of Watch (Bill Hodges Trilogy, #3)

Title: End of Watch (Bill Hodges Trilogy, #3)

Author: Stephen King

Published in: 2016

Date read: 23rd May 2021

Score: 5/5

Genre: Crime, Detective, Horror, Thriller

Plot: (Warning, may contain spoilers):
"End of Watch" by Stephen King is the third and final novel in the Bill Hodges trilogy, bringing the story of retired detective Bill Hodges and his ongoing battle with the psychopathic serial killer Brady Hartsfield to a terrifying and supernatural conclusion.

The story picks up several years after the events of "Finders Keepers." Brady Hartsfield, the infamous "Mercedes Killer" who orchestrated the Mother's Day Line Massacre, remains in a vegetative state in a neurological ward. He is believed to be unresponsive, brain-damaged from the head injury he sustained at the end of "Mr. Mercedes."

However, Detective Bill Hodges, now running a private investigation agency with his partner Holly Gibney, begins to suspect that Brady is not as incapacitated as he seems. Unexplained and increasingly disturbing events are occurring around Brady, including nurses committing suicide, and patients experiencing strange, violent impulses, sometimes leading to their deaths.

Holly's unique, almost supernatural intuition, combined with Bill's declining health (he has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer), leads them to a horrifying discovery: Brady has developed new, powerful psychic abilities. During his comatose state, his mind has evolved to wield a form of telekinesis and mind control, using a seemingly innocuous Zappit device (a type of game console) as a conduit. He can project his mind into others, influencing them, driving them to suicide, or manipulating them into committing acts of violence on his behalf.

Brady's ultimate goal is to enact a grand, horrific plan: to create a mass suicide event among young people, using his psychic powers to drive them to kill themselves, particularly targeting those who were present at the original Mercedes massacre. He's been meticulously grooming individuals, including some who were traumatized survivors of his past attack, to become his unwitting pawns.

Hodges and Holly, with the assistance of Jerome Robinson, find themselves in a desperate race against time to stop Brady, who now represents a pure, disembodied evil. The climax is a high-stakes, direct confrontation with Brady's enhanced psychic abilities, forcing Hodges, despite his failing health, to make the ultimate sacrifice to prevent the "End of Watch" for countless potential victims. The novel explores themes of technology's dark side, mental manipulation, the resilience of the human spirit, and the final battle between good and a relentless, evolving evil.

Comments:
Once again, ending of a great series in excellent fashion. Absolutely brilliant way to wrap it up but thanks for allowing Holly to appear in future books!

Books that we've read by Stephen King (68):
Carrie (1974), 'Salem's Lot (1975), The Shining (The Shining, #1) (1977), The Stand (1978), Night Shift (1978), The Dead Zone (1979), Firestarter (1980), Cujo (1981), The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower, #1) (1982), Different Seasons (1982), Christine (1983), Cycle of the Werewolf (1983), Pet Sematary (1983), The Talisman (The Talisman, #1) (1984), Skeleton Crew (1985), It (1986), The Drawing of the Three (The Dark Tower, #2) (1987), The Eyes of the Dragon (1987), The Tommyknockers (1987), Misery (1987), The Dark Half (1989), Four Past Midnight (1990), The Waste Lands (The Dark Tower, #3) (1991), Needful Things (1991), Dolores Claiborne (1992), Gerald's Game (1992), Nightmares and Dreamscapes (1993), Insomnia (1994), Rose Madder (1995), The Green Mile (1996), Desperation (1996), Wizard and Glass (The Dark Tower, #4) (1997), Bag of Bones (1998), The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (1999), Hearts in Atlantis (1999), On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft (2000), Black House (The Talisman, #2) (2001), Dreamcatcher (2001), Everything's Eventual (2002), From a Buick 8 (2002), Wolves of the Calla (The Dark Tower, #5) (2003), Song of Susannah (The Dark Tower, #6) (2004), The Dark Tower (The Dark Tower, #7) (2004), The Colorado Kid (2005), Cell (2006), Lisey's Story (2006), Duma Key (2008), Just After Sunset (2008), Under the Dome (2009), 11/22/63 (2011), Full Dark, No Stars (2011), The Wind Through the Keyhole (The Dark Tower, #4.5) (2012), Dr. Sleep (The Shining, #2) (2013), Joyland (2013), Mr. Mercedes (Bill Hodges Trilogy, #1) (2014), Revival (2014), The Bazaar of Bad Dreams (2015), Finders Keepers (Bill Hodges Trilogy, #2) (2015), End of Watch (Bill Hodges Trilogy, #3) (2016), Elevation (2018), The Outsider (2018), The Institute (2019), If It Bleeds (2020), Billy Summers (2021), Later (2021), Fairy Tale (2022), Holly (2023), You Like It Darker (2024)