Mr. Mercedes

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. Do you feel like you have a strong relationship with your job or the work you do? How much does it define your identity? How might you relate with Bill Hodges’s challenges in coping with life after retirement?

2. King challenges the conventional notions of good and evil through the characterization of Brady Hartsfield when he explores how the character’s home environment may have influenced his psychopathy. How does this align with your personal views on moral integrity? Was there ever a possibility that Brady Hartsfield could have been a good man in spite of his circumstances?

3. How does Bill’s treatment of Olivia align with your personal concept of “innocent until proven guilty”? Do you think Bill’s actions toward her were justified, given the evidence he had at the time?

4. Bill’s partnership with Holly allows him to correct the mistakes of his relationships with Olivia and Janey. Have you ever found yourself working with someone whose experience you did not understand or someone who imposed their biases on you? How did you work with them in order to achieve your shared objective?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. How does the novel frame the use of technology to commit and solve crimes? How does this resonate with the growing social concern over technology’s infringement on personal security and privacy?

2. Evaluate the novel’s depiction of living with mental illness and disability. Did the novel take a sensitive and nuanced approach to these kinds of experiences? What could it have done better to portray them?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. Discuss the symbolic role of the Happy Slapper. How does it figure into Hodges’s journey? What does it mean for Holly to use it at the end of the novel?

2. How does King use point-of-view to drive tension and subvert the tropes of detective novels? Consider the gap between what the characters know and what the readers know as the plot moves forward.

3. Comment on Jerome’s character arc. Does King give him the same level of characterization and development as the white characters in this novel? Discuss how King develops non-white or non-male characters.

4. Based on the novel, what is King trying to say about trust, prejudice, and bias? Consider the way Brady Hartsfield presents himself to people to gain trust and access to exclusive spaces.