Holly – Steven King (Rating A)

Rating: A — A graphic, cannibalistic nightmare of a thriller that cements Holly as one of King’s most unforgettable characters.

Stephen King’s Holly proves you don’t need ghosts or monsters to terrify—sometimes the darkest horrors come from ordinary people. What begins as a missing persons case pulls Holly Gibney into the shadows of a small town, where a string of disappearances hides something far more grotesque. King doesn’t flinch from the graphic: locked basements, unspeakable captivity, and even the chilling presence of cannibalism as a driving force behind depravity. It’s the kind of horror that crawls under your skin because it’s disturbingly plausible.

And yet, amid the brutality, Holly emerges as the light that cuts through the darkness. Vulnerable but relentless, haunted by grief yet unwilling to turn away, she embodies quiet resilience in the face of unimaginable evil. King balances her emotional journey with shocking detail, creating a thriller that is as human as it is horrifying. Holly is less about the supernatural and more about the cruelty people can justify—and that makes it all the more unsettling.