Finders Keepers: A Novel

Written by Stephen King

Narrated by Will Patton

2016 Audie Award Finalist for Best Male Narrator

The second book in Stephen King’s Bill Hodges trilogy (Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers, End of Watch)

“Stephen King’s superb stay-up-all-night thriller is a sly tale of literary obsession that recalls the themes of his classic 1987 novel Misery” (The Washington Post)—the #1 New York Times bestseller about the power of storytelling, starring the same trio of unlikely and winning heroes Stephen King introduced in Mr. Mercedes.

“Wake up, genius.” So announces deranged fan Morris Bellamy to iconic author John Rothstein, who once created the famous character Jimmy Gold and hasn’t released anything since. Morris is livid, not just because his favorite writer has stopped publishing, but because Jimmy Gold ended up as a sellout. Morris kills his idol and empties his safe of cash, but the real haul is a collection of notebooks containing John Rothstein’s unpublished work...including at least one more Jimmy Gold novel. Morris hides everything away—the money and the manuscripts no one but Gold ever saw—before being locked up for another horrific crime. But upon Morris’s release thirty-five years later, he’s about to discover that teenager Pete Saubers has already found the stolen treasure—and no one but former police detective Bill Hodges, along with his trusted associates Holly Gibney and Jerome Robinson, stands in the way of his vengeance...

Not since Misery has Stephen King played with the notion of a reader and murderous obsession, filled with “nail biting suspense that’s the hallmark of [his] best work” (Publishers Weekly).

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Jun 2, 2015
• ISBN: 9781442384354

Stephen King

Stephen King is the author of more than sixty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. His recent work includes Never Flinch, the short story collection You Like It Darker (a New York Times Book Review top ten horror book of 2024), Holly (a New York Times Notable Book of 2023), Fairy Tale, Billy Summers, If It Bleeds, The Institute, Elevation, The Outsider, Sleeping Beauties (cowritten with his son Owen King), and the Bill Hodges trilogy: End of Watch, Finders Keepers, and Mr. Mercedes (an Edgar Award winner for Best Novel and a television series streaming on Peacock). His novel 11/22/63 was named a top ten book of 2011 by The New York Times Book Review and won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller. His epic works The Dark Tower, It, Pet Sematary, Doctor Sleep, and Firestarter are the basis for major motion pictures, with It now the highest-grossing horror film of all time. He is the recipient of the 2020 Audio Publishers Association Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2018 PEN America Literary Service Award, the 2014 National Medal of Arts, and the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He lives in Bangor, Maine, with his wife, novelist Tabitha King. 

Reviews for Finders Keepers

[Kris Cannon · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The 2nd in the series doesn’t disappoint. Weaving a new story from the first, Holly is more developed. The characters are once again brought to life with a back story, grounding you to the what is taking place in the present. I have been pleasantly surprised by King’s psychological crimes series. I have only read his horror. I look forward to the rest of the series!

[jrbeek · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

My husband and I enjoyed it. Kept us entertained for sure.

[Ann Degaust Capstick · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The story and characters are wonderful.I can get lost in this book with all the details and scary moments.loved having the characters from the original book and also the new ones

[jonnyboy12171999 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This novel was an absolute ride, by far the best one in the series so far. A look at absolute obsession and madness. It'll keep you sweating on the end of your seat, you won't be disappointed!

[michael nichols · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent book in the series. Even better than the first one. Focuses less on Bill Hodges and more on Peter Saubers and Morris Bellamy.

[christian · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

So grateful to Stephen King thanks for making my life better.

[John Water · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great book. One of my favorite king books. I don’t like to give spoilers all I will say is read or listen to this book.

[Bones Nelson · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great book! The audio cuts in and out and all the best parts it seems.

[Veronica Bunker · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of my SK favorites. Reading End of Watch next!

[Patricia Poltronieri · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Eu estava esperando um livro frenetico como mrs mercedes, mas nao foi oq encontrei. 90% desse livro foi enrolação pro fim, fiquei bem decepcionada comparado aos outros do autor e o primeiro da triologia.

[Veronica A Salas · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great book. Although Morris was a horrible human being, his character was my favorite.

[Michael Hoyt · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Another great Stephen King novel. However it is not really a horror novel. Although it stands alone I would suggest reading Mr. Mercedes first.

[Alta Hook · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Flawed heroes & Sheros, plot twists , and that mastery of storytelling paint the corners of a round room where perspectives make for satisfying suspense. King’s insight into real lives of writers and their “fans” ignite a passion to hear and write a moving tale.

[Michael Kohler · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A great book. Better than Mr Mercedes but you need Mr Mercedes to setup this book. His ability to get into the thoughts of characters, and weave them into the story, is like no other writer. Highly recommended!!

[fergster73 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent! Better, even, than Mr Mercedes, and just a subtle hint that No. 3 will be more of a traditional Kingsianesque tale.

[Jackie Jaramillo · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I am an all time fan of “the King”. I really like the fact that SK used characters from previous stories. This story keep me going and I enjoyed the twists, turns and how he crafted and blended the story together. I totally enjoyed the book.

[ahef1963 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A famous American author has been murdered; his cash on hand stolen along with unpublished manuscripts. The man who killed him goes to jail for life on an unrelated charge. Three decades later, teenager Pete Saubers finds the money and the notebooks where the thief buried them. He uses the money to bolster his parents' income, and reads the notebooks, is entranced by them. His sister's desire to go to private school leads to Pete attempting to sell the manuscripts, and in doing so he makes the biggest mistake of his life. Featuring retired police detective Bill Hodges, whom King introduced in Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers is tautly written, bitterly funny, scary to the final page. I wasn't sure that Stephen King could write crime fiction, but he can, and well. He brings his gift for portraying psychosis to this book, and makes soulless criminals as frightening as possible. I enjoyed this book very much, and look forward to the third book of the trilogy.

[eadieb-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Stephen King is a master of a storyteller and this one does not disappoint. The characters are compelling and the plot is twisted and intricately involved. It definitely was a page turner with a quite exciting ending. I'm looking forward to the last installment of this trilogy.

[sharon Colosi · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Can’t wait for the next book. The characters are as interesting as the story line. Stephen king is amazing in this genre!

[Rachel Elmore · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I have always loved Stephen King! This was another great one.

[bibleblaster · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Had a good time reading this, despite cringing a bit at some of the cliché character development and "witty" TV-influenced dialogue at inappropriate moments. The story moved well (with some worthy musings on writing and writers and ownership) and the ending has a chilling setup for the next book (third in the trilogy). As usual with King, I started it thinking I would just see if it was worth my time, and soon found myself deep into the story. This happened with 11/22/63 (maybe my favorite King), Doctor Sleep, Revival, and Mr. Mercedes. I don't kid myself anymore...I'll be reading the next one.

[grlintrrptdrdng · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Finders Keepers is a great sequel to Mr. Mercedes and it has me dying for the final installment.

Morris Bellamy is obsessed with the writer of his favorite series Jimmy Gold by John Rothstein. Jimmy Gold is the face of teen angst, but in the final book he gets a job in marketing, this upsets Morris because his idol sold out. John Rothstein becomes a bit of a recluse and stops publishing any new work, he continues to write short stories and even more Jimmy Gold books over the years, but its for his eyes only and they are to be burned when he dies. Morris isn?t having that and brings 2 accomplices to rob John, he kills John and his two accomplices, he has the notebooks and a nice stack of cash. Morris goes to his friend Andy Halliday to tell him he has the notebooks, but Andy is freaked out because the news broke John Rothstein was murdered and tell Morris to keep him out of it and the cops will find out about him in a matter of time. Morris is outraged by this, he hides the notebooks in a field behind his house in a trunk and goes out drinking, he commits another crime and is punished for it, he gets life in prison without having a chance to read the notebooks in 1978.

In present time, Pete Saunders is a child of one of the Mr. Mercedes victims and his family is going through a hard time, his dad can?t work, his mom had to take a job with less pay and less hours and it is causing tension between his parents. Pete finds the trunk with the money and notebooks in the field that is behind the house he lives in, Morris? old house. He sends the money to his parents anomalously over the next few years and he reads the notebooks and becomes a fan of the Jimmy Gold series. When the money runs out and the family financials are still too tight and his sister wants to go to private school, he finds out how to go about selling one of the stolen notebooks, he finds Andy Halliday, who is more than willing to take them and knows that Pete is shafting him, Morris said there were more than what is being presented to him.

Little do they know, Morris is out on parole and when he goes to find the notebooks he?s been dreaming about all this time in prison, he discovers they are missing. The only person who knew about them was his buddy Andy and that is the first person he goes to see about his missing notebooks.Tina, Pete?s sister, senses something is going on with Pete and knows he?s the one who gave the money. She gets in contact with Bill Hodge to find out what is troubling her brother.

The story is great, it didn?t go in the direction that I kept expecting and I?m glad it didn?t, the plot was more interesting the way it was written. I would of liked more of the story to involve Bill, since this is his series after all, but when he is finally introduced into the plot it works. Mr. Mercedes even makes an appearance throughout the second half of the book and sets up what the third and final book will focus on. The characters of Morris and Pete were well written with good background given, more so with Pete. As a reader you can relate to their love of a series and a particular author, just one of them takes it way too far. I am worried that Finders Keepers will be the weak link in the series, a filler even, I hope there will be a connection with the characters in this story and the final book.

[busyreadin · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Slow start. Worth hanging in though.

[Fred halbach · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

excellent, very captivating and easy to get in to, just excellent.

[dogear360 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

As always, Stephen King is a Master. I could see this series called the Hodges and Holly trilogy. Great characters.

[she_climber · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Absolutely loved this book. My memories of the first book, Mr. Mercedes, came back pretty quick. With the exception of Holly for some reason I had a hard time remembering exactly what her deal was and King was not giving much backstory from the previous book. Therefore, I would not recommend anyone read this one without first reading Mr. Mercedes. This story had a bit of Misery in it...fans who love their characters and will make the author pay for taking them in directions they don't approve of. But it was still very enjoyable and I was completely wrapped up and entertained. Back in my High School days I was a big Stephen King fan and then he just starting writing some very odd things and I was turned off. But with this triology I'm back.

[JuIia Winters BIanks · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This story was wonderfully written. Many layers woven together as only Stephen King can do it.

[Caleb G · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I couldn’t stop reading this, it was very gripping from the start.

[Ronda Sue Wingo · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This narrator is stunning. And Stephen King never fails to captivate me.

[Polo Briseno · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

wow really loving this incredible trilogy!!! Go Holly...Go Hodges!!! Awesome sequel