The Outsider had me hooked from sentence one, and I stayed enthralled until the very end. Stephen King proves once again that he's an absolute master of pacing, characterization, and suspense. Without getting into spoilers, the Outsider brings compelling elements of legal drama, crime fiction, and genuine horror all wrapped up with King's signature style and fascinating characters. The whole thing was a joy to read and while it probably won't be ranked among his other masterpieces (The Stand, IT, etc.) it's a powerful novel in its own right and decidedly deserves your attention.