The Dark Tower
epic fantasy
Series · crime thriller
Bill Hodges & Holly Gibney
The Bill Hodges & Holly Gibney series by Stephen King has 6 books and is best read in publication order, starting with Mr. Mercedes (2014).
- Books
- 6 books
- First published
- 2014
- Status
- ongoing
- Last checked
Start here: Mr. Mercedes (2014) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The order the books were released — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
Mr. Mercedes
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Mr. Mercedes - Book 2:
Finders Keepers
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Finders Keepers - Book 3:
End of Watch
Alternative text for cover: Cover of End of Watch - Book 4:
The Outsider
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Outsider - Book 5:
Holly
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Holly - Book 6:
Never Flinch
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Never Flinch
About the Bill Hodges & Holly Gibney series
Retired police detective Bill Hodges is drawn out of a depressed, TV-numbed retirement when the man he never caught -- the perpetrator of a mass-casualty attack with a stolen Mercedes -- starts writing him taunting letters. Hodges assembles an unlikely investigative team, including the anxious, brilliant Holly Gibney, to hunt the killer down across the Mr. Mercedes trilogy. What began as a straight crime novel gradually reveals King's interest in something stranger: by End of Watch, the villain has acquired abilities that push the series into horror.
Holly Gibney -- awkward, obsessive, relentlessly capable -- turned out to be one of King's most enduring characters, and the books that follow belong to her rather than to Hodges. She's a key supporting player in The Outsider (2018), where a seemingly airtight murder case collides with an ancient shapeshifting evil, and by Holly (2023) she is running her own detective agency and carrying a novel entirely on her own investigative instincts. Never Flinch (2025) finds her juggling a vengeful letter-writer and a celebrity bodyguard job. Across six books the series moves steadily from grounded procedural toward the supernatural, anchored throughout by Holly's growth from a barely-functioning side character into King's most quietly heroic detective.
How to read this series
Read in publication order. Start with the Mr. Mercedes trilogy (Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers, End of Watch) -- Holly is introduced partway through the first book and becomes essential by the third, which also pivots the series toward outright horror. The Outsider stands as a strong entry point too, since it's constructed as a standalone thriller with Holly arriving partway through to help crack the case, but it lands harder if you already know her from the trilogy. Holly and Never Flinch are her solo cases and assume you're already invested in the character. The novella collection If It Bleeds contains a Holly story bridging The Outsider and Holly but is not required reading to follow the novels.
Frequently asked questions
How many Bill Hodges / Holly Gibney books are there?
Six novels: Mr. Mercedes (2014), Finders Keepers (2015), End of Watch (2016), The Outsider (2018), Holly (2023), and Never Flinch (2025), plus a Holly novella inside the If It Bleeds collection.
What order should I read the Bill Hodges and Holly Gibney books in?
Publication order: Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers, End of Watch, The Outsider, Holly, Never Flinch. Holly's role grows steadily across the series, so reading in order lets her arc build properly.
Do I need to read the Bill Hodges trilogy before The Outsider?
Not strictly -- The Outsider works as a standalone mystery. But Holly Gibney, who becomes crucial partway through, is far more resonant to readers who already know her from Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers, and End of Watch.
Is The Outsider a horror novel or a crime novel?
Both. It opens as a grounded police procedural investigating a horrifying child murder, then pivots into supernatural horror once the case's impossible details -- the suspect appears to have been in two places at once -- can no longer be explained rationally.
Does the Bill Hodges trilogy connect to King's other books?
Yes -- the trilogy and its sequels are set in King's shared Maine-and-beyond universe; Brady Hartsfield's storyline in End of Watch introduces overtly supernatural elements that echo other King works, and Holly Gibney continues to be a recurring figure across King's 2018-2026 output.
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Reading order last verified .