His writing is strong, his story-telling is brilliant, and everything comes to life on the pages. It's pretty much a given I love most King novels. But I ended up pushing through and was totally creeped out throughout, but it was a really good book. It was haunting and enthralling, but one of the most disturbing things I've ever read. Evil has a face, and sometimes it may be the face of a person you thought you knew. As the investigation deepens and lives are completely uprooted, all answers seem to deliver more questions. But there's also proof Maitland was a hundred miles away at the time of the crime. When a boy is found dead in the local woods, all evidence points to local legend, little league coach, and high school English teacher Terry Maitland. It was a really difficult book to read at times, and I can imagine anyone would have a difficult time reading, particularly anyone who actually has a kid. Like most King books, this one is heavy with triggers (some minor and not used often in the book, and others are heavy plot points). This book is heavily focused on the murder and sodomy of a child. Boyo, let me tell you - this is one of the darkest books I've read. This is another case of 'the adaptation convinced me to finally read this.' A Halloween book swap buddy gifted me The Outsider last year, and I made sure it was the first book I read in 2020 to prep for the HBO series adaptation. TW: sexual assault, child abuse/pedophilia, self harm, violence, kidnapping/abduction, death, gore, racism, sexism, bigotry, homophobia Other PS 2020 reading prompts this would satisfy: A book featuring one of the seven deadly sins, A book with at least a four-star rating on Goodreads, A book by an author who has written more than 20 books (advanced)

PopSugar 2020 Reading Challenge Prompt: A book with an upside-down image on the cover

The outsider review book