 First edition U.S. cover | |
| Author | Stephen King |
|---|---|
| Audio read by | Will Patton |
| Cover artist | Will Staehle |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Crime fiction, horror |
| Published | May 22, 2018 |
| Publisher | Scribner |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover and Paperback) |
| Pages | 576 |
| ISBN | 978-1501180989 |
| Preceded by | End of Watch |
| Followed by | If It Bleeds (novella) |
The Outsider (2018) is a horror novel by the American author Stephen King. The novel was published by Scribner. [1] [2]
In Flint City, Oklahoma, the mutilated and raped corpse of Frankie Peterson is found. Fingerprints and DNA at the crime scene as well as witness accounts all clearly indicate local sports coach Terrence Maitland as the killer, so detective Ralph Anderson orders a public arrest.
Maitland claims innocence, having been at a conference with several other teachers in Cap City at the time, which the other teachers all confirm. Footage of Maitland at the conference as well as fingerprints are found, casting confusion on the case.
On the day of Maitland's arraignment, a large crowd has gathered around the courthouse. Amid the commotion, Ollie Peterson, the brother of Frankie Peterson, starts shooting at Maitland, blaming him for his brother's murder and mother's subsequent heart attack. Maitland is fatally wounded before Ollie is killed by the police. In his dying words, Maitland still claims innocence. Ralph Anderson is placed on administrative leave but continues to investigate the case.
Detective Jack Hoskins, who holds a grudge against Anderson, is sent to investigate an abandoned ranch outside of town, where clothes that the murderer wore are found. Jack is embraced by a shrouded figure from behind, causing what feels like sunburn on the back of his neck. The figure reappears later in Hoskin's home, informing him that the malady is cancer and that it can take the disease away if Hoskins does what it asks of him.
Alec Pelley, an investigator hired by Maitland's attorney Howard (Howie) Gold, hires private investigator Holly Gibney. During her investigation, Holly learns of a case in which two girls were killed in a similar fashion to Frankie Peterson. All the evidence in that case pointed directly to Heath Holmes. Holmes claims that he was out of town when the two girls were killed, and upon being arrested, commits suicide.
Holly, Pelley, Howie, Ralph Anderson and his wife Jeannie, Terry Maitland's wife Marcy, police lieutenant Yune Sablo, and district attorney Bill Samuels all meet at Howie Gold's office. Holly shows them a few minutes of a Mexican luchadora film which depicts a mysterious presence kidnapping and murdering a child, leaving evidence that points directly to one man, who expresses his innocence but is found guilty and subsequently hanged. At the hanging, the man sees the presence, called "El Cuco".
Holly states how she believes El Cuco, which she refers to as an "outsider", is responsible for the murders—it is able to mimic a person's appearance by absorbing their blood. Since Maitland was cut by the Outsider imitating Holmes before the murder, they realize that Claude Bolton, a witness who testified being cut by Maitland's fingernail the day of the murder, is the Outsider's next victim.
The group deduce the Outsider is hiding in a cave and when they arrive, they are immediately fired upon by Hoskins, who is in a sniper position overlooking them after being sent there by the Outsider. Howie and Pelley are both killed and Sablo is wounded. Following a brief standoff, Ralph kills Hoskins. Ralph and Holly make their way further into the cave where they are then greeted by the Outsider, who resembles a mixture of Bolton and Maitland.
Ralph prepares to shoot the Outsider, but is told that a gunshot could cause another cave-in, killing all of them. Instead, Holly insults the Outsider and hits it repeatedly over the head with a sock full of ball bearings when it lunges at her. The Outsider begins to disintegrate and worm-like creatures begin crawling from its body. With the Outsider appearing destroyed, Ralph and Holly exit the cave. Holly and Sablo go to the Bolton residence to get their stories straight with them, while Ralph waits with the bodies of Howie and Pelley.
Later, Samuels announces Maitland's exoneration, alleging defective DNA samples as well as planted fingerprints, and confirming the video proof supporting Maitland's alibi. Ralph says goodbye to Holly, thanking her for telling him to keep an open mind.
The novel was first mentioned in an interview for USA Today on August 7, 2017. [3] The book cover was first revealed on January 18, 2018. [4] An excerpt was published in the May 25, 2018, issue of Entertainment Weekly . [5]
The review aggregator website Book Marks reported that 10 of 14 critics gave The Outsider a "rave" review, while the remaining four expressed "positive" impressions, signifying that the novel received critical acclaim. [6]
In June 2018, it was announced that MRC and Aggregate Films had optioned the novel to be produced as a 10-part miniseries with Richard Price scripting, and executive producers Jack Bender, Jason Bateman, Michael Costigan, and Marty Bowen. [7] On December 3, 2018, it was ordered to series by HBO, starring Ben Mendelsohn as Ralph Anderson, [8] along with Jason Bateman, Paddy Considine, Cynthia Erivo, Bill Camp, and Mare Winningham. Julianne Nicholson, Yul Vázquez, Jeremy Bobb, and Marc Menchaca are to appear as regulars, with Hettienne Park and Michael Esper set to recur. [9]
Lord of the Flies is a 1954 novel by the Nobel laureate British author William Golding. The plot concerns a group of British boys who are stranded on an uninhabited island and their disastrous attempts to govern themselves. Themes include the tension between groupthink and individuality, between rational and emotional reactions, and between morality and immorality.
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Sparkling Cyanide is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in February 1945 under the title of Remembered Death and in UK by the Collins Crime Club in the December of the same year under Christie's original title. The US edition retailed at $2.00 and the UK edition at eight shillings and sixpence (8/6).
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You Can't Get Away with Murder is a 1939 crime drama directed by Lewis Seiler, starring Humphrey Bogart and Gale Page, and featuring "Dead End Kid" leader Billy Halop. The film is from Bogart's period of being cast in B pictures by Warner Bros., before his breakthrough as a leading man in High Sierra two years later. The film is based on the play "Chalked Out" by Lewis E. Lawes.
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End of Watch is a crime novel by American writer Stephen King, the third volume of a trilogy focusing on Detective Bill Hodges, following Mr. Mercedes and Finders Keepers. The book was first announced at an event at St. Francis College on April 21, 2015, under the title The Suicide Prince. On June 10, the new title End of Watch was announced. At the 2015 Edgar Awards, while accepting the award for Best Novel for Mr. Mercedes, King announced that the novel's antagonist, Brady Hartsfield, would be making a return in this book.
Cynthia Erivo is an English actress and singer. She gained recognition for starring in the Broadway revival of The Color Purple from 2015 to 2017, for which she won the 2016 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical and the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. Erivo ventured into films in 2018, playing roles in the heist film Widows and the thriller Bad Times at the El Royale. For her portrayal of American abolitionist Harriet Tubman in the biopic Harriet (2019), Erivo received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress; she also wrote and performed the song "Stand Up" on its soundtrack, which garnered her a nomination in the Best Original Song category.
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The Outsider is an American psychological thriller-horror crime drama television series based on the 2018 novel of the same name by Stephen King, adapted for television by Richard Price. It was ordered to series on December 3, 2018, after being optioned as a miniseries by MRC in June 2018. It premiered on HBO on January 12, 2020. It stars Ben Mendelsohn, Cynthia Erivo, Bill Camp, Paddy Considine, Julianne Nicholson, and Jason Bateman.
Holly Rachel Gibney is a fictional character created by American author Stephen King. Originally appearing in the Bill Hodges trilogy of novels, she later appears as a major supporting character in The Outsider and as the main character in If It Bleeds, a novella included in the collection of the same name, and the novel Holly. She has been portrayed on screen by Justine Lupe in the television adaptation of the Hodges trilogy and by Cynthia Erivo in the miniseries adaptation of The Outsider.
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