The Colorado Kid

By Stephen King

No one but Stephen King could tell this story about the darkness at the heart of the unknown and our compulsion to investigate the unexplained. With echoes of Dashiell Hammett's The Maltese Falcon and the work of Graham Greene, one of the world's great storytellers presents a surprising tale that explores the nature of mystery itself...

On an island off the coast of Maine, a man is found dead. There's no identification on the body. Only the dogged work of a pair of local newspapermen and a graduate student in forensics turns up any clues.

But that's just the beginning of the mystery. Because the more they learn about the man and the baffling circumstances of his death, the less they understand. Was it an impossible crime? Or something stranger still?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Oct 4, 2005
• ISBN: 9780743292764

Stephen King

Stephen King es autor de más de sesenta libros, todos ellos best sellers internacionales. Sus títulos más recientes son Holly, Cuento de Hadas, Billy Summers, Después, La sangre manda, El Instituto, Elevación, El visitante (cuya adaptaciónaudiovisual se estrenó en HBO en enero de 2020), La caja de botones de Gwendy (con Richard Chizmar), Bellas durmientes (con su hijo Owen King), El bazar de los malos sueños, la trilogía «Bill Hodges» (Mr. Mercedes, Quien pierde paga y Fin de guardia), Revival y Doctor Sueño.La novela 22/11/63 (convertida en serie de televisión en Hulu) fue elegida por The New York Times Book Review como una de las diez mejores novelas de 2011 y por Los Angeles Times como la mejor novela de intriga del año. Los libros de la serie «La Torre Oscura» e It han sido adaptados al cine, así como gran parte de sus clásicos, desde Misery hasta El resplandor pasando por Carrie, El juego de Gerald y La zona muerta. En reconocimiento a su trayectoria profesional, le han sido concedidos los premios PEN American Literary Service Award en 2018, National Medal of Arts en 2014 y National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters en 2003. Vive en Bangor, Maine, con su esposa Tabitha King, también novelista.

Book preview

1

After deciding he would get nothing of interest from the two old men who comprised the entire staff of The Weekly Islander, the feature writer from the Boston Globe took a look at his watch, remarked that he could just make the one-thirty ferry back to the mainland if he hurried, thanked them for their time, dropped some money on the tablecloth, weighted it down with the salt shaker so the stiffish onshore breeze wouldn’t blow it away, and hurried down the stone steps from The Grey Gull’s patio dining area toward Bay Street and the little town below. Other than a few cursory gleeps at her breasts, he hardly noticed the young woman sitting between the two old men at all.

Once the Globe writer was gone, Vince Teague reached across the table and removed the bills—two fifties—from beneath the salt shaker. He tucked them into a flap pocket of his old but serviceable tweed jacket with a look of unmistakable satisfaction.

"What are you doing? Stephanie McCann asked, knowing how much Vince enjoyed shocking what he called her young bones" (how much they both did, really), but in this instance not able to keep the shock out of her voice.

What does it look like? Vince looked more satisfied than ever. With the money gone he smoothed down the flap over the pocket and took the last bite of his lobster roll. Then he patted his mouth with his paper napkin and deftly caught the departed Globe writer’s plastic lobster bib when another, fresher gust of salt-scented breeze tried to carry it away. His hand was almost grotesquely gnarled with arthritis, but mighty quick for all that.

It looks like you just took the money Mr. Hanratty left to pay for our lunch, Stephanie said.

Ayuh, good eye there, Steff, Vince agreed, and winked one of his own at the other man sitting at the table. This was Dave Bowie, who looked roughly Vince Teague’s age but was in fact twenty-five years younger. It was all a matter of the equipment you got in the lottery, was what Vince claimed; you ran it until fell apart, patching it up as needed along the way, and he was sure that even to folks who lived a hundred years—as he hoped to do—it seemed like not much more than a summer afternoon in the end.

"But why?"

Are you afraid I’m gonna stiff the Gull for the tab and stick Helen with it? he asked her.

No… who’s Helen?

Helen Hafner, she who waited on us. Vince nodded across the patio where a slightly overweight woman of about forty was picking up dishes. Because it’s the policy of Jack Moody—who happens to own this fine eating establishment, and his father before him, if you care—

I do, she said.

David Bowie, The Weekly Islander’s managing editor for just shy of the years Helen Hafner had lived, leaned forward and put his pudgy hand over her young and pretty one. I know you do, he said. Vince does, too. That’s why he’s taking the long way around Robin Hood’s barn to explain.

Because school is in, she said, smiling.

That’s right, Dave said, and what’s nice for old guys like us?

You only have to bother teaching people who want to learn.

That’s right, Dave said, and leaned back. That’s nice. He wasn’t wearing a suit-coat or sport-coat but an old green sweater. It was August and to Stephanie it seemed quite warm on the Gull’s patio in spite of the onshore breeze, but she knew that both men felt the slightest chill. In Dave’s case, this surprised her a little; he was only sixty-five and carrying an extra thirty pounds, at least. But although Vince Teague might look no more than seventy (and an agile seventy at that, in spite of his twisted hands), he had turned ninety earlier that summer and was as skinny as a rail. A stuffed string was what Mrs. Pinder, The Islander’s part-time secretary, called him. Usually with a disdainful sniff.

The Grey Gull’s policy is that the waitresses are responsible for the tabs their tables run up until those tabs are paid, Vince said. Jack tells all the ladies that when they come in lookin for work, just so they can’t come whining to him later on, sayin they didn’t know that was part of the deal.

Stephanie surveyed the patio, which was still half-full even at twenty past one, and then looked into the main dining room, which overlooked Moose Cove. There almost every table was still taken, and she knew that from Memorial Day until the end of July, there would be a line outside until nearly three o’clock. Controlled bedlam, in other words. To expect every waitress to keep track of every single customer when she was busting her ass, carrying trays of steaming boiled lobsters and clams—

That hardly seems… She trailed off, wondering if these two old fellows, who’d probably been putting out their paper before such a thing as the minimum wage even existed, would laugh at her if she finished.

"Fair might be the word you’re lookin for," Dave said dryly, and picked up a roll. It was the last one in the basket.

Fair came out fay-yuh, which more or less rhymed with ayuh, the Yankee word which seemed to mean both yes and is that so. Stephanie was from Cincinnati, Ohio, and when she had first come to Moose-Lookit Island to do an internship on The Weekly Islander, she had nearly despaired… which, in downeast lingo, also rhymed with ayuh. How could she learn anything when she could only understand one word in every seven? And if she kept asking them to repeat themselves, how long would it be before they decided she was a congenital idiot (which on Moose-Look was pronounced ijit, of course)?

She had been on the verge of quitting four days into a four-month University of Ohio postgrad program when Dave took her aside one afternoon and said, Don’t you quit on it, Steffi, it’ll come to ya. And it had. Almost overnight, it seemed, the accent had clarified. It was as if she’d had a bubble in her ear which had suddenly, miraculously popped. She thought she could live here the rest of her life and never talk like them, but understand them? Ayuh, that much she could do, deah.

Fair was the word, she agreed.

One that hasn’t ever been in Jack Moody’s vocabulary, except in how it applies to the weather, Vince said, and then, with no change of tone, Put that roll down, David Bowie, ain’t you gettin fat, I swan, soo-ee, pig-pig-pig.

Last time I looked, we wa’ant married, Dave said, and took another bite of his roll. Can’t you tell her what’s on what passes for your mind without scoldin me?

Ain’t he pert? Vince said. No one ever taught him not to talk with his mouth full, either. He hooked an arm over the back of his chair, and the breeze from the bright ocean blew his fine white hair back from his brow. Steffi, Helen’s got three kids from twelve to six and a husband that run off and left her. She don’t want to leave the island, and she can make a go of it—just—waitressin at The Grey Gull because summers are a little fatter than the winters are lean. Do you follow that?

Yes, absolutely, Stephanie said, and just then the lady in question approached. Stephanie noticed that she was wearing heavy support hose that did not entirely conceal varicose veins, and that there were dark circles under her eyes.

Vince, Dave, she said, and contented herself with just a nod at the pretty third, whose name she did not know. See your friend dashed off. For the ferry?

Yep, Dave said. Discovered he had to get back down-Boston.

Ayuh? All done here?

Oh, leave on a bit, Vince said, but bring us a check when you like, Helen. Kids okay?

Helen Hafner grimaced. Jude fell out of his tree-house and broke his arm last week. Didn’t he holler! Scared me bout to death!

The two old men looked at each other… then laughed. They sobered quickly, looking ashamed, and Vince offered his sympathies, but it wouldn’t do for Helen.

Men can laugh, she told Stephanie with a tired, sardonic smile. "They all fell out of treehouses and broke their arms when they were boys, and they all remember what little pirates they were. What they don’t remember is Ma gettin up in the middle of the night to give em their aspirin tablets. I’ll bring you the check." She shuffled off in a pair of sneakers with rundown backs.

She’s a good soul, Dave said, having the grace to look slightly shamefaced.

Yes, she is, Vince said, and if we got the rough side of her tongue we probably deserved it. Meanwhile, here’s the deal on this lunch, Steffi. I dunno what three lobster rolls, one lobster dinner with steamers, and four iced teas cost down there in Boston, but that feature writer must have forgot that up here we’re livin at what an economist might call ‘the source of supply’ and so he dropped a hundred bucks on the table. If Helen brings us a check that says any more than fifty-five, I’ll smile and kiss a pig. With me so far?

Yes, sure, Stephanie said.

"Now the way this works for that fella from the Globe is that he scratches Lunch, Gray Gull, Moose-Lookit Island and Unexplained Mysteries Series in his little Boston Globe expense book while he’s ridin back to the mainland on the ferry, and if he’s honest he writes one hundred bucks and if he’s got a smidge of larceny in his soul, he writes a hundred and twenty and takes his girl to the movies on the extra. Got that?"

Yes, Stephanie said, and looked at him with reproachful eyes as she drank the rest of her iced tea. I think you’re very cynical.

"No, if I was very cynical, I would have said a hundred and thirty, and for sure. This made Dave snort laughter. In any case, he left a hundred, and that’s at least thirty-five dollars too much, even with a twenty percent tip added in. So I took his money. When Helen brings the check, I’ll sign it, because the Islander runs a tab here."

And you’ll tip more than twenty percent, I hope, Stephanie said, given her situation at home.

That’s just where you’re wrong, Vince said.

"I am? Why am I?"

He looked at her patiently. Why do you think? Because I’m cheap? Yankee-tight?

No. I don’t believe that any more than I think black men are lazy or Frenchmen think about sex all day long.

"Then put your brain to work. God

Reviews for The Colorado Kid

[trayceetee · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I read (listened to) this book because my book club is going to be gathering for their 100th time soon, and we'll all be discussing our all-time favorite mysteries. Since I'm new to the mystery genre, I wanted to try to a) sneak in another mystery quickly before we meet, and b) add a Stephen King one to my repertoire, if possible. (Did you know that most of his novels are considered either Horror or Suspense? I guess I used to consider Suspense the same as Mystery, but apparently they're not the same. Anyway.......)
I enjoyed this book, largely because of the fellow who did the reading--he did his Mainer voices really well, and there were only three characters, so it was easy to keep them separate. And the story was beautifully written, as I've come to believe that few authors other than King can do. My attention was snagged in the beginning and held firm 'til the end.
However, I'm only giving this an "I really liked it" rating, rather than "it was amazing", because as a mystery, it didn't have me absolutely on the edge of my seat, dying to know the answer.... plus, well, I don't want to spoil it, but it didn't end the way I'd hoped.....
That being said, I'd still recommend it if you enjoy King's work and/or if you're into mysteries.

[Jessica Kopchik · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It was an interesting mystery story, but not one of my favorites from King.

[Gabrielle Turner · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great quick read! A must for King fans! :) So much excitement in the story that it was hard to put the book down.

[Marcos Ortega · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Even Stephen King acknowledges at the end that people will either love or hate this story, the story of an unexplained death with so many possible reasons and yet remaining elusive. I enjoyed the ride by adhering to the maxim that “it is not the destination that matters but the journey.” We have to accept the idea that sometimes questions will remain unanswered no matter how hard we try.

[Kat Starwolf · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Just My Imagination, the Mandela Effect or Something Else?

On the man: I’ve been reading King since Carrie back in the early-to-mid 70s. King is a powerhouse in my opinion. As an astrologer, I can verify that King has several significant/positive aspects in his natal chart that indicate that he is an excellent and extremely prolific writer (shown by placements in Virgo and Gemini which both represent writing). King also has several aspects that indicate that he is also quite...intuitive. As a validation of this, he has several water signs all in Water houses, which give him those empathic and intuitive abilities which allow him to be so successful at what he does. That is: he KNOWS what we like. :-) And his Mercury (writing) in Libra (relationships/others) shows that he likes to write for people, which is also why he is so prolific.

On the book: or rather, on the ‘novella,’ since it’s one of the shorter of King’s books, though much longer than one of his few short stories, weighing in at 18 full-sized chapters. The Kid was released circa 2005, and then utilized as a background (so to speak) for the Sci-Fi series, Haven, where the main characters – Vince and Dave Teague (in King’s novella, Dave was ‘David Bowie,’ no less… a nod maybe to British performer David Bowie? You know how he is about his Rock-N-Roll!) expand a bit on the mystery of their fair little town. (Note: Haven was actually ‘loosely based’ on The Colorado Kid, which was loosely based on an actual murder that took place in Australia circa 1940s-ish.)

As an addendum to this review, I had a bit of a strange experience with this story: although I had come across references to The Colorado Kid in various works by Stephen King since the novella The Colorado Kid was published in 2005, I was not – to my conscious knowledge – aware that King had actually written either a short story, novella or novel by this title. I initially believed that The Colorado Kid was just a character to which the protagonist of the story I was reading or even King as the author, was referring. And I’ve been keeping up with King’s output to ensure that his latest works are included on my reading list. I never saw The Colorado Kid…until I scanned my feed for one of the more prominent reading services a few months ago, circa Spring 2021, and found THE COLORADO KID. I’d never seen it listed anywhere before. Until now. Weird. Still it could have been just my oversight.

Problem is, ya never know with King. Even as ‘merely’ a writer as he may seem to be, he has a way of drawing one into his sci-fi world. Was this just an interactive storyline? Just my imagination? Some aspect of the Mandela Effect? Something else? Who knows.

Regardless, Classic King.

Read from 3 July 2021 to 06 July 2021

[Joel S · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

The worst Stephen King book I've read. Do not waste your time with this one

[ellelainey · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Colorado Kid is the first Stephen King novel I can remember reading. I wanted to read it the minute I saw the TV show Haven, and saw that it was based on The Colorado Kid.

I hate stories without endings. At least in novels. Yet, I?ve happily read and enjoyed not only this book but also The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective, which is also based on a true story, and which also does not give a satisfying ending. However, I love the Afterword here, by Stephen King, where he reminds us all that life is the ultimate mystery, and there are just some things that not only will never be solved, but perhaps shouldn?t be solved.

I?m a major fan of Conspiracy Theories; reading about them anyhow. Marilyn Monroe, JFK, UFO?s, Jack the Ripper are all within my interest; cases that are mysterious, curious, intriguing and yet, probably never fully solvable. No matter how many people investigate Marilyn Monroe or JFK?s death, no matter how many scientific investigations are done on UFO sightings, we can never be really sure what the final answer is. Or if it will be found in our lifetime. And I love that.

I loved everything about The Colorado Kid. I loved the no answer, I loved the suspense, I loved Stephanie, Dave and Vincent. I loved it all. Though vastly different from Haven, and the whole Audrey storyline, which is even more mysterious, I think I like this book better. It?s more real, more tangible and gnaws at my brain more than any supernatural phenomenon like the Troubles ever could.

[jackrabbitjam · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

If you read the forward in the re-released edition, after finishing this book you know King accomplished exactly what he set out to do. I felt like the story kept steady, neither slow nor page-turning, but you were along for the ride of learning (if you wanted to) with Stephanie. Not a horror story, but a simple, pure mystery for the reader.

[JC Tremblay · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I liked it a lot, even though a part of me felt ripped off. It was worth the cost of admission.

[Linda Dowling · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Not the best Stephen King book. I watch Haven on Syfy channel which is based on this novella. A quick read

[gingirl70 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This might have worked in a collection of short stories, but as a stand alone it really fell short. Two small time newspaper guys tell the new girl on the block, the mystery of a the guy who died on the island years ago. That's it. That's the story.

[Megan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Love this book, and Haven, e TV show based off of it,

[deldevries · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Another well told story by a master story teller. The dialogue is engaging, the characters believable personalities, and the last couple of lines of the book are the zinger.

[grammarchick · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I liked this book but I'm not sure how the whole series Haven sprang out of it. Oh well, it's a rare thing to see something good made out of a Stephen King book - the movies always come out atrocious - so props to the creative team. A warning: you may start reading and wonder how you're going to get to the answer in less than 200 pages. Well, you're not. This isn't a black and a white, here's the problem and ta da, the solution! kind of read. I imagine it's pissed off quite a lot of people.

[schlyne · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Mild, if you consider Stephen King's usual work. It's a nice mystery with some unsolvable twists. It reminds us that these things happen all the time in real life. People go missing and nobody knows what happened, or why.

[iira_24 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Had high hopes as always, nice read but did not pull me in.

[stevealtier · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It's a Stephen King short story. Well written. Another mystery. I can't say anymore than that with out giving away the ending.

[JorgeLopez · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A police story. An ending with a bittersweet taste that is left to the reader's imagination. (Translated from Spanish)

[bjkelley · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

What a waste of reading time. A book with no ending. Probably the worst well written book I have ever read. Recommended for King completists only

[ladypembroke · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I read this book because of its connection to the show "Haven", and while the connection is tenuous at best, I still thought the mystery was interesting. I can see why Stephen King fans (or even mystery fans) might not have liked this book much, but since I am neither of those, I had very little expectation going in. I like Vince and Dave (not brothers here), and I liked the way the worked with their "student". I'm glad I took the time to read this one.

[MagalyProcopio · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A short, simple, and quick-to-read story, just 152 pages.

I like the critique it makes of journalism and a phrase at the end that, in my opinion, tries to tell us why the book is the way it is.

Since it is such a small and passable story, I would like to find it in one of their collection of stories. (Translated from Spanish)

[anddybooks · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Did I like it? Yes
Did I love it? No
It's that simple, I hate this type of endings, maybe because I expected a little more from the story. (Translated from Spanish)

[kevn57-163679 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I've had this in my TBR pile since Haven went off the air, it's an OK story that leaves you hanging and is really not as good as the TV show that it inspired.

[C.E.Secaira · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A different but quite interesting story.

-In these brief pages (152) the story of two old journalists with very peculiar personalities and their intern is narrated to us.
-Throughout the story, the journalists instruct their intern on the crafts of journalism, but they also focus on telling her about an unsolved case that they have been investigating for over 20 years.
-This case is very interesting, as it involves a man who turns up dead under strange circumstances on a beach; everything seems to indicate that the deceased traveled mysteriously from Colorado to Maine. The only thing that connects him to the state of Colorado is a stamp that was placed on the cigarette pack that he apparently carried, hence the nickname Colorado Kid.

Good things about the work:

-I found the case extremely interesting.
-In just a few pages, King develops the work quite well.
-I thought the characters were very good. (Vince Teague, Dave Bowie -sounds like the singer- and intern Stephanie McCann.)
-What left me thinking for a long time was the fact that Colorado Kid, whose real name was James Cogan, worked in a town named Nederland, north of Boulder, Colorado, yes, the same town that appears in The Shining; but that's not where the connection to that work ends, as Cogan worked in an advertising agency called OVERLOOK, yes, just like the famous hotel in The Shining. Could there be a relationship with The Shining? Could it be that Colorado Kid possessed the shine and was killed by the true knot for that reason? Here I relate it to the work of "Doctor Sleep." I have also thought that the story narrated here is an invention and exists only in the minds of the journalists, and they created it to instruct their intern on the intricacies of journalism. If the story does exist, the journalists may be omitting many details, or they may have kept something that resolves it only for them, since as they express themselves, the case belongs to whoever solves it, and that case belongs to them, which is why they did not want to tell a journalist who interviewed them at the beginning of the work.
-I believe it is the perfect book for lengthy debate in the reading club, as it invites many theories.

Bad things about the work:

-It ends abruptly at the end; I feel like it lacked a slightly more defined closure. It should be noted that the ending is open, but that does not mean it should cut off so abruptly. It seems to suggest a sequel; I do not know if any other book or story contains any data or detail that resolves this case.

-It may not be liked much because the case appears to remain unsolved, but for those of us who are used to reading daily accounts that lead nowhere, this one seems fascinating.

I think it is a rather underrated work by the great master Stephen King; personally, I liked it a lot, and I think I would recommend it, perhaps not for someone starting to read this author, but yes for debate once one has already read several of his works.

4/5

November 2021. (Translated from Spanish)

[jbreedlove_6 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Every once in a while King insists on stressing Maine accents. It never reads well. This was one of them. Not a lot of pros to this one. No mystery really, or great insights.

But it was a fast read thanfully.

[Ramsés92 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In Colorado Kid, Stephen King steps away somewhat from his supernatural horror style and writes a novel that, with all the pain in my heart, I must say has disappointed me. Although the book is easy to read and has a great pace, the story feels scarce and incomplete. It seems to me more like an event within a larger story than a story in itself. It starts off very well, but as the story progresses, it stagnates until a too-lazy ending. As curiosities of the book, it was released only as a paperback edition. It is the first one he published (2005) after finishing the Dark Tower series (although he later released an intermediate novel, the VIII, chronologically set between volumes IV-V). And finally, Colorado Kid inspired the series Haven (which is more recommendable than the book and has more substance than its original source). (Translated from Spanish)

[HelloMon · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

It's short, easy to read, and full of dialogue. I didn't like it, but I didn't hate it either. It was more of a "meh." (Translated from Spanish)

[JorgeGLopez · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Good detective story. A bittersweet ending that is left to the reader's imagination. (Translated from Spanish)

[MariaMoldes · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

As always, King is a delight, even if it's a re-read ? (Translated from Spanish)

[pleyerone · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A couple of journalists tell their intern about an unresolved case that they call The Boy from Colorado. A case that, if you pay attention, is actually solved. (Translated from Spanish)