Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  For this latest Waiting on Wednesday, I highlight a book that is probably going to be one of the best things I read in 2025 with Never Flinch by Stephen King.

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Stephen King is an author who honestly needs no introduction, considering how much he has shaped our cultural landscape over the last 50 years (Carrie literally came out in 1974 people).  Despite his impact on the world of fiction, I’ve only started getting into King quite recently, although I have been making up for lost time by getting through some of his intriguing new releases.  This includes exceptional books like Later, Fairy Tale, Billy Summers (one of my favourite books of 2021) and the short story collection You Like It Darker (one of my favourite books from the first half of 2024), all of which have greatly impressed me and I’m barely scratching the surface of King’s many, many books.

Out of all the novels I have so far enjoyed from King, my favourites have been some of the author’s distinctive crime fiction novels, as King examines elaborate dark thrillers and murder mysteries primarily through the eyes of a truly unique protagonist.  This protagonist is the quirky and brilliant investigator Holly Gibney, who has emerged as one of King’s more distinctive and loveable long-term characters.  Holly made her debut in the awesome novel, Mr. Mercedes, where she served as a compelling supporting character to protagonist Bill Hodges.  King expanded the roll of Holly throughout the Bill Hodges series, before eventually spinning her off on her own adventures.  This included the gripping book, The Outsider, which I had the great pleasure of reading earlier this year.  The Outsider was a particularly impressive and dark novel that saw a man with an unimpeachable alibi framed for a terrible murder.  I deeply enjoyed the initial concept of The Outsider and King expanded it out into a powerful horror read that brought Holly in for its gripping second half.

I cannot emphasise how much I enjoyed The Outsider, and it turns out that King was only just starting with Holly Gibney.  That’s because last year King published an exceptional read simply titled Holly, that set the titular character on her first solo adventure.  Holly was a gripping and complex novel that saw the protagonist investigate a series of disappearances around town, only to discover a horrifying and disturbing secret in the most unlikely of places.  Holly was such an incredible book, and I still have chills from some of the big reveals that came out of it.  Due to its addictive plot, brilliant characters, and incredibly dark moments, Holly got an easy five start rating from me, and it ended up being one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2023, as well as being one of my favourite horror novels of all time.

Due to how much fun I have been having with King’s books I am always eager to see what he’s releasing next, and that is why I was so happy to find out some details about his next book, Never Flinch.  A fascinating and awesome novel coming out in late May 2025, Never Flinch sounds extremely cool as King spins together another elaborate mystery.  I was also particularly excited to see that Never Flinch was another Holly Gibney novel, which frankly is all I needed to become completely obsessed with this awesome upcoming book.

Plot Synopsis:

From master storyteller Stephen King comes an extraordinary new novel with intertwining storylines—one about a killer on a diabolical revenge mission, and another about a vigilante targeting a feminist celebrity speaker—featuring the beloved Holly Gibney and a dynamic new cast of characters.

Thrilling, wildly fun, and outrageously engrossing, Never Flinch is one of King’s richest and most propulsive novels.

Wow, I am so damn excited for this upcoming novel.  It looks like King has come up with another epic and enticing story concept for Never Flinch with two separate gripping cases that his protagonist becomes involved with.  The first case of the fourteen citizens about to be murdered is very interesting, and I am curious to see how that unfolds what twisted motivations lay behind it.  At the same time, the threat to the women’s rights activist should add some intense social commentary to Never Flinch, and a determined and ‘righteous’ stalker should make for a fascinating opponent.  While both cases sound extremely awesome on their own, I am very curious to see how King brings them all together and in what way the two distinctive crimes converge.  I feel that if King manages to combine the storylines in a particularly ingenious way, which is something King is perfectly capable of doing, then Never Flinch is going to be extremely impressive.  As such, I look forward to seeing how this new story unfolds, and I have no doubt that King is going to turn this upcoming novel into something very special.

In addition to these two complex cases, a key part of Never Flinch that I am keen on are the compelling and damaged characters that will no doubt fill the pages.  King has always excelled at creating captivating figures with unique life stories, and I have enjoyed seeing these characters used to their full potential in some of his previous novels.  I am especially keen to see more of Holly Gibney, who has really stood out as a protagonist to me in recent years.  An unusual and socially awkward figure who also proves to be a skilled investigator and a surprisingly effective monster killer, Holly has been expertly used as both a supporting character and the main protagonist, and I have appreciated seeing her continued growth as she grows more confident in herself.  It will be very interesting to see what happens to her in Never Flinch, especially after the chaotic events of Holly and the various secrets about her mother that came to light.

In addition to Holly, I am keen to see how some of the recurring characters from the previous Holly Gibney books will be utilised.  This includes siblings Jerome and Barbara Robinson, Holly’s younger friends and assistants who have been such a key part of the previous novels.  Both Jerome and Barbara have had compelling ongoing storylines throughout their previous inclusions, and it will be interesting to see how their lives have continued to change.  In addition, I will be very keen to see what sort of antagonists that King will feature in Never Flinch.  So many Stephen King books rise on the backs of their brilliant antagonists, and I know that I deeply enjoyed the outstanding and often disturbing villains of Mr. Mercedes, The Outsider and Holly.  As such, King has some big villainous shoes to fill with Never Flinch, and I cannot wait to see what complex and memorable antagonists appear in this next cool book.

Honestly, there is no way in hell I am missing out on Never Flinch next year and it is already firmly at the top of my to-read list for 2025.  Indeed, thanks to how I loved The Outsider and Holly, and the fact that it’s Stephen King writing this book, Never Flinch is one of my most anticipated book for next year at this point, and I think the only book I am currently as excited for in 2025 is The Devils by Joe Abercrombie.  I honestly believe that Never Flinch will be one of, if not the absolute best, novels I will read next year, and I cannot wait to get my hands on it.