The master of horror, Stephen King, took a side-step into hard-boiled detective territory for last year’s Mr. Mercedes novel. While some of his dedicated followers – his constant readers – prefer his established genre, the vast majority are just as content with a brief escape into less terrifying waters. Ally McBeal creator David E. Kelley and Lost director Jack Bender can be roped into that latter category, as the pair are now collaborating on the adaptation for Sonar Entertainment.
Set up as a collaborative production between Sonar and Temple Hill Entertainment, Mr. Mercedes will be a limited series with an as-yet unknown amount of episodes. The story begins when a psychopath crashes a stolen Mercedes into a crowd queueing up outside a mall, killing many innocent people as a result. One of the town’s former officers steps in to investigate and forms a crime-solving gang with two unlikely friends.
It’s a brilliant read that I for one am looking forward to seeing translated into the live-action format. The novel is touted as the first in a new trilogy by King, which makes it a perfect fit for the small screen; if it’s successful, there will be further source material to instigate future seasons.
At this stage, there’s no news on when the show will go into production or where it’s expected to air. Until we uncover anything else on Mr. Mercedes, you can check out the Amazon synopsis of the novel below.
In the frigid pre-dawn hours, in a distressed Midwestern city, hundreds of desperate unemployed folks are lined up for a spot at a job fair. Without warning, a lone driver plows through the crowd in a stolen Mercedes, running over the innocent, backing up, and charging again. Eight people are killed; fifteen are wounded. The killer escapes.
In another part of town, months later, a retired cop named Bill Hodges is still haunted by the unsolved crime. When he gets a crazed letter from someone who self-identifies as the “perk” and threatens an even more diabolical attack, Hodges wakes up from his depressed and vacant retirement, hell-bent on preventing another tragedy.
Brady Hartsfield lives with his alcoholic mother in the house where he was born. He loved the feel of death under the wheels of the Mercedes, and he wants that rush again. Only Bill Hodges, with a couple of highly unlikely allies, can apprehend the killer before he strikes again. And they have no time to lose, because Brady’s next mission, if it succeeds, will kill or maim thousands.
Mr. Mercedes is a war between good and evil, from the master of suspense whose insight into the mind of this obsessed, insane killer is chilling and unforgettable.
