All 6 of Holly Gibney's Appearances in Stephen King's Books, Ranked

So far, the character Holly Gibney has appeared in six different Stephen King books, with the seventh book, Never waveron the way this year. Holly Gibney has become something of an anti-Randall Flagg, appearing in several series as a force for good. Although Holly Gibney has been controversial among Stephen King readers, King himself clearly loves her and she has become an integral character.

Interestingly, Holly is one of the only Stephen King characters to appear in multiple screen adaptations of Stephen Kingwith Cynthia Erivo playing Holly in The stranger miniseries and Justine Lupe in Mr Mercedes TV program. Clearly, she's here to stay. For those curious about delving into her story, reading the books in chronological order is always the best way, but it's also fun to look at her appearances so far and rank them.

6

Discoverers

2015

The second book in the Bill Hodges trilogy, Discoverers, is the book that establishes Holly as an integral and recurring character in Stephen King's world. It isn't in last place because of any particularly glaring weakness or because of poor storytelling, but simply because, while it does many things well, the other books on this list do them better. This includes Holly Gibney and the development of her character and her role in the story.

Holly undoubtedly gets more development and more story as she and Bill Hodges grow closer, and it's great to see her character start to grow. That being said, because it is the middle book of the trilogy, Discoverers it benefits from neither being an entirely new introduction nor the culmination of a full growth arc. As such, while it's a fun read, in terms of Holly, it's not the strongest entry.

5

The stranger

2018

The stranger It's not a bad book by any means, but In terms of Stephen King novels, it's not the strongest, with the supernatural twist of the shapeshifter/El Cuco behind the murders coming a little out of left field. However, it is the first book outside of the Bill Hodges trilogy in which Holly appears and the first to establish the Holly Gibney books as the second major Stephen King universe after The Dark Tower.

Considering Holly's social awkwardness and fear of the outside world, it's really fascinating to see her interact with a whole new group of people, this time without Bill Hodges to trust. Your story in the standalone romance is that of the proverbial newbie flying the nest, so to speak. The stranger illustrates how much Holly has grown and provides the perfect sequel to her own stories. Still, due to its uneven history, it comes in second-to-last on the list.

4

If it bleeds

2020

Novel If it bleedsthe story highlighted in the 2020 collection of the same name, is the first Stephen King story to feature Holly as the protagonist. The story is fun as it sees Holly taking on the role of leader instead of follower for the first time. It's up to her to direct her allies as they pursue the monstrous antagonist, and Holly stepping out of her comfort zone is a new and interesting scenario for both the character and the reader.

Still, Holly doesn't get that much development in If it bleeds due to the length of a novel rather than a full-length novel. Likewise, the supernatural antagonist is somewhat similar to the shapeshifter from The stranger, making it sometimes feel like a path Holly has walked before.

3

End of Vigil

2016

End of Vigilthe final part of the Bill Hodges trilogy, It was a great ending to the series. Although some of King's constant readers are less enamored with his crime thriller novels, there's no doubt that it's a satisfying conclusion to a solid trilogy. It's especially fun to see where all the characters end up after three books, none more so than Holly.

In End of Vigil, Holly is much more of a co-star than playing a supporting role, and because of this, more time is spent on her character development and backstory. End of Vigil is surprisingly heartfelt, allowing the surrogate father-daughter bond that has grown between Bill Hodges and Holly over three books to become the emotional core of the story. In it, Holly finally goes from a somewhat boring and naive girl to a unique and fully formed character. It's not at the top of the list, but it comes in at a solid third place thanks to that.

2

Mr Mercedes

2014

However Mr Mercedes It's not the best book on this list, it's one of the best with Holly Gibney, mainly because it was her first appearance in Stephen King's universe. From the beginning, Holly was unlike any other character Stephen King had created. King sometimes had difficulty writing three-dimensional female characters, especially in his early books, with them getting smaller arcs or serving as support for the male protagonist.

However, although Holly starts out as clumsy, socially anxious, obsessive-compulsive, and almost agoraphobic in Mr Mercedesthere are glimpses of the character she could be and would become in later episodes. It's a satisfying introduction that sparks King's and readers' fascination with Holly Gibney.

1

Holly

2023

The best book with Holly Gibney is also the most recent, from 2023 Holly. It's not entirely surprising, as although it's not King's first work in which Holly takes the lead rather than just providing support, as the first full-length novel, it is substantially more elaborate.

Holly has grown a lot through several romancesand Holly it is the culmination of this growth, allowing the newly qualified private detective to truly thrive and develop. In addition to the satisfaction of seeing how far Holly has come in the present, the novel also offers a much deeper glimpse into her story, making it the most complete. Stephen King book that Holly Gibney has appeared in so far.