Finders Keepers (King novel)

Did You Know?

• The book's cover was revealed on King's official site on January 30, 2015.
• An excerpt was published in the May 15, 2015 issue of Entertainment Weekly.
• The third season of the Mr. Mercedes TV adaptation follows the events from Finders Keepers, but as of April 2020 the show's future was uncertain after the Audience Network closed.

Plot

In 1978, petty criminal Morris Bellamy and two accomplices break into the home of reclusive author John Rothstein, forcing him to open his safe. They find cash and many notebooks; when Rothstein pleads to keep the notebooks, Morris kills him. Morris later murders his accomplices and hides the cash and notebooks in a trunk buried under a tree behind his mother's house. He is soon jailed for a violent rape and receives a life sentence, not gaining parole until 2014.

In 2010, young Pete Saubers, living in Morris's childhood home, discovers the trunk. Over several years, he anonymously sends $500 monthly envelopes to his struggling parents and reads the notebooks, becoming a fan of Rothstein's Jimmy Gold character. When the money runs out, Pete seeks to sell some notebooks. He consults his teacher Mr. Ricker about book dealers, and Mr. Ricker warns him away from Andy Halliday, who has a reputation for selling stolen property.

Reception

Finders Keepers received mixed to positive reviews. Alison Flood of The Guardian praised it as expertly plotted and a fresh take on the writer-fan relationship. Janet Maslin of The New York Times called it a page-turner despite feeling like a middle volume, and commended the time-jumps and the trio of crime-solvers. Nick Romeo of The Boston Globe criticized the outlandish plot and felt deeper themes about fiction were grafted onto the suspense.