Never Flinch (Holly Gibney #4)

Title: Never Flinch (Holly Gibney #4)

Author: Stephen King

Published in: 2025

Date read: Not yet read

Score: /5

Genre: Crime, Detective, Thriller

Plot: (Warning, may contain spoilers):
"Never Flinch" by Stephen King was published on May 27, 2025, marks the latest return for Stephen King's beloved detective, Holly Gibney. It’s a straight-up, chilling crime thriller, eschewing the supernatural elements of some of her previous adventures for the horrors of very real human obsession and vengeance. The story expertly weaves together two parallel, high-stakes investigations:
The Atonement Killer: A disturbing letter is sent to the Buckeye City Police Department, where Detective Izzy Jaynes (a returning character) works. The writer, a man known as "Trig," threatens to kill "thirteen innocents and one guilty" as twisted atonement for a man who was wrongfully convicted and murdered in prison. Izzy enlists Holly's unique investigative skills to track down this methodical, justice-obsessed serial killer.
The Bodyguard Assignment: Holly is simultaneously hired for a different kind of job: acting as a bodyguard for controversial feminist activist and author, Kate McKay. Kate's national lecture tour has attracted a stalker—a religious extremist driven by intense ideological rage—and the threats are escalating from public disruption to outright violence, forcing the socially anxious Holly into a challenging new role.
The twin narratives, which also feature Holly's friends Jerome and Barbara Robinson (whose literary success and new connection to a gospel singer, Sista Bessie, add an unexpected layer), eventually converge in an explosive climax in Buckeye City, forcing Holly and her allies to face down two separate, deadly villains.
Key Characters:
Holly Gibney: The private investigator, now running the Finders Keepers agency. In this novel, she grapples with her own anxieties while stepping out of her comfort zone as a protector and facing down very human monsters.
"Trig" (Don Gibson): The first antagonist, a serial killer and recovering addict whose murderous impulses are a new form of addiction, fuelled by guilt over a miscarriage of justice.
Kate McKay: The outspoken feminist speaker who becomes Holly's client and a central target of extremist violence.
Christopher "Chris" Stewart: The second antagonist, a religious fanatic with a fractured identity, used as a weapon by a radical church to target Kate McKay.
Detective Izzy Jaynes: A detective with the Buckeye City Police Department who brings Holly into the first murder investigation

Comments:

Books that we've read by Stephen King (69):
Carrie (1974), 'Salem's Lot (1975), The Shining (The Shining, #1) (1977), The Stand (1978), Night Shift (1978), The Dead Zone (1979), Firestarter (1980), Cujo (1981), The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower, #1) (1982), Different Seasons (1982), Christine (1983), Cycle of the Werewolf (1983), Pet Sematary (1983), The Talisman (The Talisman, #1) (1984), Skeleton Crew (1985), It (1986), The Drawing of the Three (The Dark Tower, #2) (1987), The Eyes of the Dragon (1987), The Tommyknockers (1987), Misery (1987), The Dark Half (1989), Four Past Midnight (1990), The Waste Lands (The Dark Tower, #3) (1991), Needful Things (1991), Dolores Claiborne (1992), Gerald's Game (1992), Nightmares and Dreamscapes (1993), Insomnia (1994), Rose Madder (1995), The Green Mile (1996), Desperation (1996), Wizard and Glass (The Dark Tower, #4) (1997), Bag of Bones (1998), The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (1999), Hearts in Atlantis (1999), On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft (2000), Black House (The Talisman, #2) (2001), Dreamcatcher (2001), Everything's Eventual (2002), From a Buick 8 (2002), Wolves of the Calla (The Dark Tower, #5) (2003), Song of Susannah (The Dark Tower, #6) (2004), The Dark Tower (The Dark Tower, #7) (2004), The Colorado Kid (2005), Cell (2006), Lisey's Story (2006), Duma Key (2008), Just After Sunset (2008), Under the Dome (2009), 11/22/63 (2011), Full Dark, No Stars (2011), The Wind Through the Keyhole (The Dark Tower, #4.5) (2012), Dr. Sleep (The Shining, #2) (2013), Joyland (2013), Mr. Mercedes (Bill Hodges Trilogy, #1) (2014), Revival (2014), The Bazaar of Bad Dreams (2015), Finders Keepers (Bill Hodges Trilogy, #2) (2015), End of Watch (Bill Hodges Trilogy, #3) (2016), Sleeping Beauties (2017), Elevation (2018), The Outsider (2018), The Institute (2019), If It Bleeds (2020), Billy Summers (2021), Later (2021), Fairy Tale (2022), Holly (2023), You Like It Darker (2024)