The Colorado Kid (Hard Case Crime #13)

by Stephen King

The Colorado Kid (Hard Case Crime #13)

published	October 4th 2005 by Hard Case Crime
binding	Mass Market Paperback
isbn	0843955848 (isbn13: 9780843955842)
pages	184
description	"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 newspap...more [close] "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...? 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... " [close]
date added	12-15-06 edit book

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Chris

Chris rated it:

02/09/08

Read in October, 2006

This is King's entry into the "Hard Case Crime" imprint, and it's an interesting addition to the genre. According to their website, they specialize in "hardboiled crime fiction," which brings to mind the likes of Mickey Spillane and Ellmore Leonard. Lots of tough guys, fast-talking women and some poor dead bastard whose murder will probably get away scot free.

So...more

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Max

Max rated it:

06/27/07

Read in November, 2005

I should have known that from the first sentence that this was going to be crap: "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 bre...more I should have known that from the first sentence that this was going to be crap: "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."
Ridiculously overwritten.
I'm reminded of a Family Guy spoof with Stephen King and I have a similar image of King pitching this story.
"So, Mr. King, what's this new one going to be about?" asked the publisher.
"I have no idea, but there's going to be a dead body," King answered with a knowing grin and a twinkle in his eye.
"A dead body? That's interesting. People love dead bodies in your stories. So, what's the deal with this dead body?" the publisher asked.
"That's the thing, I don't know," King answered, again with a knowing grin and the twinkle in his eye.
"You don't know? But isn't that kind of important to the story?" the Publisher asked, thinking that he had a good question.
"Pish posh. What's important to the story is the dead body."
"Okay, fair enough. "But won't the readers want an actual story behind this dead body? I mean, dead bodies are great and all, but we will need to know why he's dead, how he died, where he died, etc."
"Not anymore. You see, people will buy my books because my name will be on the cover. It doesn't really matter what's inside. And what's great is we're going to put a picture of a pretty girl in a short dress on the cover. It can't fail!" King again shouts with excitement.
What's with the excitement, knowing grin, and twinkle? Is it that King knows he has put a fast one over the public and cheated us out of a story?
King presents in this story a locked door mystery. We have a dead body, but we don't know how he died. We don't know who he is. We don't know why he's there. We don't know who did this to him. We don't know anything. And that's the way the book ends. As a story, it is unforgivable and shouldv'e never been marketed as a novel.
However, as a concept, he is on to something. It really is a wonderful idea. I had my first clue when King's response to a reviewer of this novel. The reviewer pointed out an error where King has a character go into a Starbucks in 1980; problem is, there were no Starbucks in 1980. King publicly responded with, "As my fans of the Dark Tower know, this is probably not an error, but a clue," or something to that extent.
Now, the rabid DT fans jumped up and down and shouted with glee that this is another link to the ever sprawling DT series. The fans were too quick to link this book to the series. He was merely saying that an error in his book doesn't have to be seen as an error. It could be a clue, as his errors in the series turned out to be.
This IS a whodunit mystery, but not a story. The book was just a presentation of all the clues and we, the readers, are supposed to figure it out. There is another clue in King's afterward in which he writes, "Mystery is my subject here, and I am aware that many readers will feel cheated, even angry, by my failure to provide a solution to the one posed. Is it because I had no solution to give? The answer is no. .... I could likely have provided half a dozen, three good, two a-country fair, and one fine as paint. ...if you tell me I fell down on the job and didn't tell all of this story there was to tell, I saw you're all wrong. On that I AM sure."
This book was designed for us to figure it out. That would be the only way to complete the story for me. I'm looking for volunteers who will be willing to read this book and help me gumshoe a solution to this. ...less

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Jennifer

Jennifer rated it:

05/03/08

bookshelves: personal-read

I picked up this book, not because I'm a Stephen King fan (although I am), but because it was part of the new Hard Case Crime division of Dorchester Publishing. I'll admit, the variety of authors they've collected to write for them is extensive, and THE COLORADO KID just happened to be the first one in the Hard Case group to make it to the top of my to-be-read pile.

I understand, after reading THE COLORADO KID, why so many people on here posted negative reviews. I understand, because just li...more I picked up this book, not because I'm a Stephen King fan (although I am), but because it was part of the new Hard Case Crime division of Dorchester Publishing. I'll admit, the variety of authors they've collected to write for them is extensive, and THE COLORADO KID just happened to be the first one in the Hard Case group to make it to the top of my to-be-read pile.

I understand, after reading THE COLORADO KID, why so many people on here posted negative reviews. I understand, because just like the main characters in the story told me, a mystery with no resolution plain and simply pisses people off. People want a happy conclustion to a problem--whether it be why 9/11 happened, why oil prices are so high, why a young woman in Wisconsin was murdered, or how a man from Colorado went to work one morning and ended up dead on a little island off the coast of Maine only hours later.

Not KNOWING, not having Mr. King spell it out for us, angered many a reader of this book. Should it have? Maybe. But I actually felt like there WAS a resolution to this story--that being that not everything in life has such a tidy ending as we want our stories to have. Of all the people who end up dead in the US every year, how many do you think go unsolved as to cause of death, or in the case of murder, capturing a perpetrator? Life--this roller-coaster ride that we get onto daily and hang on to since our very lives depend on it--is not black and white, and it sure as heck doesn't offer us up tidy conclusions at the end of every day.

THE COLORADO KID is, quite simply, a character study of not knowing. We can get the facts, we can extrapolate what we believe happened based on those facts, but in the end, it's all a mystery.

Kudos to Mr. King for taking an idea, running with it, and showing that he just doesn't give a flying fig if we get it or not. This book left me with questions, yes, and I actually thank him for that. A book that makes you think and question will always be worth more than a book that doesn't. ...less

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Alex

Alex rated it:

08/14/07

Read in August, 2007

recommends it for: People who love Car Talk

At three dollars and change it seemed time to revisit Mr. King and his oh-so-practiced story telling ways. I haven't read King since my sophomore year in High School... during that year I read everything the man had written. I haven't read anything of his since. Wait. That's not true. I did re-read The Stand in my twenty-something days as it fell into my lap via a youth hostel book exchange while I was doing the world-traveler thing. Anyway- I got to the point where I could see the moves King wa...more

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Andrew

Andrew rated it:

04/03/08

Read in April, 2008

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Hunter

Hunter rated it:

01/23/08

bookshelves: crime, fiction, mystery

Read in January, 2008

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Mike

Mike rated it:

03/30/08

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in March, 2008

What a terrible book. I read this one on the way to Harrisonburg and back and I would have much rather spent my time staring at the yellow line until I got car sick. Actually, car sickness would have been a better feeling than the one I got when I finished this book. As far as mysteries go, this one can't even be called that. The story starts to build and we learn all the facts of the case and then BAM!, it ends leaving you like WTF??? (Note: I don't mean cliffhanger, I mean like the author just...more

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Kevin

Kevin rated it:

01/25/08

bookshelves: stephen-king

Read in January, 2008

I didn't know what to expect from this, but it sure wasn't what I got. Putting out a book with "Hard Case Crime" as the publisher implies that you're in for a hard-boiled violent good time, gangsters and private detectives and gorgeous, evil women with alterior motives. This is also what the cover would lead you to believe.

But, well... no. The writing is good-- I don't think Stephen King is capable of writing something unreadable at this point-- but the story just sort of leaves ...more

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Dani

Dani rated it:

06/07/08

bookshelves: crime-drama, fiction, suspense-mystery

Read in June, 2008

Well... I love the King...... but I did not love this. It's not at all what I expected? In fact... I'm still not sure what it was? It's almost like he's messing with us on purpose. The cover pic has nothing to do with the story by the way... doesn't even represent any characters therein as far as I could tell? I kept thinking I was getting background info and character development a ton up front... which King usually does... and then the story would finally take off with a bang. It never t...more

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Julianne

Julianne rated it:

05/19/08

Read in May, 2008

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Mark

Mark rated it:

07/18/07

bookshelves: kingstephen

Read in May, 2006

recommends it for: stephen king fans, mystery fans

Sometimes it is just fun to read something that is well written. Not everything we consume with our senses has to be important, educational perfection. If that was the case many popular books would not exist. Stephen King gives us this novella as an offering that sometimes good writing is enough. No, the plot isn't much. No, the mystery isn't solved by a hard-bitten man in a trench coat. But what of it? I'm not sure the book would have been improved by the clichéd ending for which some reviewer...more

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Matt

Matt rated it:

03/20/08

This book has been, I think, unfairly criticized because it doesn't really fit into the promised content of the "hard case crime" line. Is that King's fault, though? The publisher obviously wanted a big name original, and knew what he was publishing. I guess enough time has passed that I had no other expectation than being entertained, and the book delivered for me.

Yes, it's just three people talking... and YES, there are no Miss Marple-style solutions given in the last chapte...more

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Danielle

Danielle rated it:

11/13/07

Read in November, 2007

recommends it for: no one

Two old men 'mentor' a young, up-and-coming, beautiful journalist-to-be. There's a mystery woven into the fibers of this story, but its rotting stem comprises of the age-old myth: paternalism vs. grateful, luscious youth. The young woman literally quivered with happiness as the two wise-old-men poured their wisdom upon her.

What would us silly-but-fully-breasted young thangs do without the caressing hand of wisdom outstretched toward ours? Spin about in our own insipidities, a...more

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Carolyn Heinze

Carolyn Heinze rated it:

11/08/07

bookshelves: stephen-king

Read in July, 2007

Couldn't resist plucking this off the tiny English language bookshelf at the library down the street to see what Stephen King would do if asked to write a crime novel. Written as a long conversation, it's a nice piece of story-telling; you can imagine yourself in the room with the two quirky old guys. King himself admits that many readers will either love it or hate it, because it's not 'normal' King and the ending isn't what you'd expect out of a crime novel. I love his style, and reading it wa...more

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Kalli

Kalli rated it:

08/01/07

Read in July, 2007

The Colorado Kid is a true mystery that is never solved. It leaves the reader with many unanswered questions. I felt that the best part of this book was the 2 1/2 page "afterword" written by Stephen King at the end of the story. The afterword explains why he wrote a book that may be very disappointing to a reader who wants the mystery solved. I thought his explaination was excellent. I don't know that I'd recommend reading the book. It's just a very bizarre mystery with so many u...more

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Outpost Road

Outpost Road rated it:

05/29/08

bookshelves: reviewed, stephen-king

Read in January, 2005

It is very hard, I mean very hard, for me to admit when I just don't care for something written by Stephen King, and I can't bring myself to give any of his books less than three stars. I'll even defend From a Buick 8 and say things like, "At least the characters were great, even though the plot was weak." But this...this is just not good. It reads like the Hard Case Crime folks asked him to write them a story and he procrastinated until he had to churn it all out in one ...more

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Badmuthagoose

Badmuthagoose rated it:

01/05/08

Read in December, 2007

I should have known not to get sucked into a recent Stephen King, even if he is trying out a different genre (crime/mystery) and the cover looked intriguing, like an old pulp fiction novel.

It was crap. It didn't even start off well, I had to force myself to read it. And then resented the time I spent reading it (which was blissfully short). It has no resolution. Two old guys, telling a young woman who works on a newspaper, the story of an old unsolved mystery.

It stays unsolved, the e...more

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lynn

lynn rated it:

04/02/07

Read in April, 2007

i listened to this book on CD and chose it because i read that it was a Stephen King novel that was NOT gruesome, scarey, violent or weird. It was a interesting story...and ...it is. A decent novel...no yuckiness..It is a story told by two old time newspaper guys about a murder that happened 25 yeARs ago. The murder has not been resolved..infact...was it a murder or an accident?? They were discussing this with a newspaper intern.. I enjoyed it ...It was nothing like your usual Stephen King work....more

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Bill

Bill rated it:

07/31/07

bookshelves: avoid-at-all-costs, mystery

Read in January, 2005

recommends it for: Absolutely no one.

Stephen King owes me for the money and time I spent reading this. Neither amount adds up to much, but it's the principle involved here. It's a story about two guys telling a story that has no actual conclusion. Might have made an okay anecdote if any of it had really happened, but as a book, it fails more than the failingest failure you could ever imagine. It is Mr. Faily McFailingfail from Failuretown, in the great state of Failingsvania.

In other words, avoid like the plague.

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Andy

Andy rated it:

02/14/08

Read in February, 2008

King says in the afterword that he thinks people will either like or hate the book and that there wouldn't be much middle ground. It's different from what I normally read and different from what King is known for, but I was in the "liked" camp. It's a quick read and the way the story unfolds really held my attention. Although the interaction between the storytellers seemed a bit contrived at times, I bought into it. A good, very quick read.

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book data (includes all editions)

avg rating (all editions): 2.94 (794 ratings)
avg rating (this edition): 2.93 (770 ratings)
number of reviews: 85

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