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Never Flinch
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Overview
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.
When the Buckeye City Police Department receives a disturbing letter from a person threatening to “kill thirteen innocents and one guilty” in “an act of atonement for the needless death of an innocent man,” Detective Izzy Jaynes has no idea what to think. Are fourteen citizens about to be slaughtered in an unhinged act of retribution? As the investigation unfolds, Izzy realizes that the letter writer is deadly serious, and she turns to her friend Holly Gibney for help.
Meanwhile, controversial and outspoken women’s rights activist Kate McKay is embarking on a multi-state lecture tour, drawing packed venues of both fans and detractors. Someone who vehemently opposes Kate’s message of female empowerment is targeting her and disrupting her events. At first, no one is hurt, but the stalker is growing bolder, and Holly is hired to be Kate’s bodyguard—a challenging task with a headstrong employer and a determined adversary driven by wrath and his belief in his own righteousness.
Featuring a riveting cast of characters both old and new, including world-famous gospel singer Sista Bessie and an unforgettable villain addicted to murder, these twinned narratives converge in a chilling and spectacular conclusion—a feat of storytelling only Stephen King could pull off.
Thrilling, wildly fun, and outrageously engrossing, Never Flinch is one of King’s richest and most propulsive novels.
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Details
- ISBN-13: 9781668089330
- ISBN-10: 1668089335
- Publisher: Scribner
- Publish Date: May 2025
- Dimensions: 9.55 x 6.4 x 1.5 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1.35 pounds
- Page Count: 448
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The legendary Stephen King weaves a complicated case for Holly Gibney to untangle in Never Flinch. The most recent outing for the beloved sleuth—who was introduced as a side character in 2014’s Mr. Mercedes and now headlines her own series—shows how random evil can be when two sociopaths seeking twisted versions of justice converge on Holly’s hometown of Buckeye City, Ohio.
A letter sent to the Buckeye City police department promises that “thirteen innocents and one guilty” will be murdered in retribution for the death of a wrongly imprisoned man. As the bodies pile up, each one with a slip of paper bearing the name of a member of the jury who decided the man was guilty tucked into their hands, Detective Izzy James reaches out to Holly for help with the investigation.
Meanwhile, feminist activist and bestselling author Kate McKay is on a national lecture tour. Thanks to her staunch support for women’s rights, including abortion rights, Kate is no stranger to receiving threats. But when her tour is interrupted by actual physical danger, she hires Holly as a bodyguard as she crosses the Midwest toward her stop in Buckeye City.
Staccato chapters cut back and forth between the two storylines, building suspense as they ultimately intertwine in a finale that is breathtaking, even if the cases themselves don’t have an obvious thematic alignment. Still, series are as much about character as plot, and Never Flinch will satisfy readers by bringing back not only Holly but also her occasional assistants and friends Barbara and Jerome, and giving Barbara a juicy plotline as her poetry career spins off in an unexpected direction. Kate is another standout personality; like many famous people and activists, she is admirable but not particularly lovable, driven as much by ego and ambition as by altruism.
Never Flinch will satisfy readers by bringing back not only Holly but also her occasional assistants and friends Barbara and Jerome, and giving Barbara a juicy plotline as her poetry career spins off in an unexpected direction.
King always shines when it comes to depicting evil, so it’s no surprise that he’s created two chilling killers. He slowly unveils motives and histories for this deadly duo that are as complex as those of any main character. One of them is driven by fanaticism, a member of a church that sees abortion as murder. The other, Trig, realizes that, after years of sobriety, killing has become his new addiction. King has often addressed addiction in his fiction, including in The Shining and in Misery, which he has said was a metaphor for his own experiences with substance abuse. This latest twist on the topic is a haunting and memorable one; as Trig’s murders become more reckless, they mimic the way his alcoholism once spun out of control. He’s aware of the parallel, but can’t stop himself from chasing the high.
Holly is the unifying thread of Never Flinch’s disparate storylines, displaying the grit, fortitude and very human quirks that have made her so beloved (and inspired two excellent actors in TV adaptations). She’s also made great strides in self-confidence since her debut, though like any good hero she’s still more modest than her qualifications really merit. Readers will be biting their nails as Holly makes her way through her latest adventure.
The legendary Stephen King weaves a complicated case for Holly Gibney to untangle in Never Flinch. The most recent outing for the beloved sleuth—who was introduced as a side character in 2014’s Mr. Mercedes and now headlines her own series—shows how random evil can be when two sociopaths seeking twisted versions of justice converge on Holly’s hometown of Buckeye City, Ohio.
A letter sent to the Buckeye City police department promises that “thirteen innocents and one guilty” will be murdered in retribution for the death of a wrongly imprisoned man. As the bodies pile up, each one with a slip of paper bearing the name of a member of the jury who decided the man was guilty tucked into their hands, Detective Izzy James reaches out to Holly for help with the investigation.
Meanwhile, feminist activist and bestselling author Kate McKay is on a national lecture tour. Thanks to her staunch support for women’s rights, including abortion rights, Kate is no stranger to receiving threats. But when her tour is interrupted by actual physical danger, she hires Holly as a bodyguard as she crosses the Midwest toward her stop in Buckeye City.
Staccato chapters cut back and forth between the two storylines, building suspense as they ultimately intertwine in a finale that is breathtaking, even if the cases themselves don’t have an obvious thematic alignment. Still, series are as much about character as plot, and Never Flinch will satisfy readers by bringing back not only Holly but also her occasional assistants and friends Barbara and Jerome, and giving Barbara a juicy plotline as her poetry career spins off in an unexpected direction. Kate is another standout personality; like many famous people and activists, she is admirable but not particularly lovable, driven as much by ego and ambition as by altruism.
Never Flinch will satisfy readers by bringing back not only Holly but also her occasional assistants and friends Barbara and Jerome, and giving Barbara a juicy plotline as her poetry career spins off in an unexpected direction.
King always shines when it comes to depicting evil, so it’s no surprise that he’s created two chilling killers. He slowly unveils motives and histories for this deadly duo that are as complex as those of any main character. One of them is driven by fanaticism, a member of a church that sees abortion as murder. The other, Trig, realizes that, after years of sobriety, killing has become his new addiction. King has often addressed addiction in his fiction, including in The Shining and in Misery, which he has said was a metaphor for his own experiences with substance abuse. This latest twist on the topic is a haunting and memorable one; as Trig’s murders become more reckless, they mimic the way his alcoholism once spun out of control. He’s aware of the parallel, but can’t stop himself from chasing the high.
Holly is the unifying thread of Never Flinch’s disparate storylines, displaying the grit, fortitude and very human quirks that have made her so beloved (and inspired two excellent actors in TV adaptations). She’s also made great strides in self-confidence since her debut, though like any good hero she’s still more modest than her qualifications really merit. Readers will be biting their nails as Holly makes her way through her latest adventure.