4.5 out of 5
5,957 global ratings
The #1 national bestseller about a woman who escapes an abusive marriage is “one of Stephen King’s most engrossing horror novels. Relentlessly paced and brilliantly orchestrated…fueled by an air of danger immediate and overwhelming” (Publishers Weekly).
After surviving fourteen years of hell in a violently abusive marriage, Rosie Daniels has finally summoned the courage to flee for her life. But leaving her husband Norman for a new city and a new start is a very daunting prospect. It’s hard for Rosie not to keep looking over her shoulder, and with good reason—Norman’s a police officer with the instincts of a predator, a force of relentless terror and savagery…a man almost mythic in his monstrosity.
He’s very good at finding people, even if he is losing his mind. Rosie’s only hope for salvation may lie in a far more dangerous place, where she must become her own myth and the woman she never knew she could be.
560 pages,
Kindle
Audiobook
Hardcover
Paperback
Audio CD
First published July 16, 2018
ISBN 9781501192302
Stephen King
Stephen King is the author of more than fifty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. His first crime thriller featuring Bill Hodges, MR MERCEDES, won the Edgar Award for best novel and was shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger Award. Both MR MERCEDES and END OF WATCH received the Goodreads Choice Award for the Best Mystery and Thriller of 2014 and 2016 respectively.
King co-wrote the bestselling novel Sleeping Beauties with his son Owen King, and many of King's books have been turned into celebrated films and television series including The Shawshank Redemption, Gerald's Game and It.
King was the recipient of America's prestigious 2014 National Medal of Arts and the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for distinguished contribution to American Letters. In 2007 he also won the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America. He lives with his wife Tabitha King in Maine.
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5
Another Stephen King Novel, I couldn't put down.
Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2023
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Great storyline, that gets to the heart of a woman's revenge to an abuser who deserves it....it's how and who helps her that makes this another great novel from my favorite author! Recommend it to those dedicated readers who know you can put the book down and come back to it, but you don't because it's in your mind when you try to close your eyes.
8 people found this helpful
edward
5
Excellent read as
Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2024
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My wife absolutely enjoys and has read twice. some times she will read a Stephen King book five times. she loves them. (also is an avid reader)
3 people found this helpful
Michelle
5
Page turner
Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2024
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Who knew Stephen King could write in such a way to keep you flipping pages long after everyone is asleep, besides me! You can see the characters understand each one. Edge of your seat and keep you guessing
Cindy P.
5
fantastic
Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2024
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I could not put this book down. It kept you on the edge waiting for something to happen. Loved it
Peggy Payne
5
Loved the book
Reviewed in the United States on June 30, 2024
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Couldn't put it down. As usual Stephen King does it again. I love the way he develops characters. He has a knack for making you think you are right there with them.
Tim Yingling
4
The Good, The Bad, The Ugly: Rose Madder
Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2017
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How can someone take something as simple as domestic abuse and turn it into something that is related to the rest of their stories? If you’ve ever wondered, then this is the story for you. So, here we go.
The Ugly: For me, it was the domestic abuse. I can’t stand that stuff. It was really hard for me to get through some of the things that King wrote in the book. Now, I have been through some hard things in life, but when it comes to beating of women and children it is really hard for me to stomach it.
The Bad: Having said that, I think you can guess who I am putting in the bad. He isn’t as bad as Annie Wilkes, but he is still exceptionally evil. Norman is the type of man that I would confront if I saw him acting the way he was in public. He should have been shot a long time ago.
The Good: Everything else about the book. This is another that is in my top five that a lot of people won’t put in there for some reason or another. Making this part of his greater universe added in an element that was really missing. I think that element was love. Love was something that got Rosie through the matter at hand. The love for her picture, the love for her new life, and the love for her new man. She survived because she found something that she thought she had, but didn’t realize how much she missed it.
Final Thoughts: So there you have it. A book that most people love and want to keep reading over and over again. This is one of those that has great re-readability. If you haven’t read it, give this one a chance.
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17 people found this helpful
Sandy Nathan
4
A little too gory to really love
Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2024
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This looks shows good old Stephan KING magic – – the glorious metaphors and similes descriptions, wonderful way of describing people and their motivations. But it’s hard to really love and look who’s primary character or OK secondary character is the homicidal maniac who kills people the most disgusting fashion. I read the whole thing. Of course this was by Stephen King, but I look for something a little lighter in the future.
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2 people found this helpful
Jack
4
Real good.
Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2024
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As usual, an excellent tale by a master at his craft. It has the elements which we all in some way can relate and understand.
Kindle Customer
4
King knows insanity
Reviewed in the United States on October 23, 2013
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You know, this book was literate schizophrenia in my opinion. One minute I felt I like I was reading something as gentle and inspirational as something you might read in a Chicken Soup for the Soul book - this I felt when I was reading about Rose making her getaway from that psycho with a badge she was married to. Then when the perspective shifted to the haunting fine italics that was Norman's sick mind, suddenly the mask fell and I saw how dark and twisted this story really was.
That Norman was a weirdo even for me and I have a tendency to find the whack-jobs in stories like these pretty provocative (Well, Normie was a biter so I guess he had that going for him, at least - if he were real, I bet he'd want to talk to me UP CLOSE for that one). This guy was just plain evil and what made him so freaky was that he acted with little to no provocation. Poor Rose had to put up with fourteen years of random abuse that served no purpose other than it got him off.
I give spoiler free reviews so there's not much I'm willing to say about the plot of the story itself, but I think the supernatural angle in this one was less horrific and more phantasmic. This story was very practical of the circumstances and, frankly, I think even without the 'otherworld' angle the most haunting thing about this story was the abuse suffered by Rose herself. Norman was terrifying all by himself not just because this was a man who his own wife couldn't even trust to protect her, much less the public trust him as a cop to protect them, but because he was just so demented. How does a guy like this get a badge, I'm wondering.
I feel like this story was good, but not great. The content was a bit more uplifting than I like for a story with a character like Norman in it. I have nothing against a good inspirational story, but I felt this story had an underlying message meaning to empower women in situations like this. I suppose there's nothing wrong with that, but when I read thrillers like these I want to enjoy myself without all of the heavy stuff.
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11 people found this helpful
Caitlyn Sanders
3
Expected More
Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2024
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It’s a good book - don’t get me wrong but I expected more. My partner hyped this book up so much and I felt a bit let down. The characters felt like they needed more developing. It was slow to get into and the brief point that it got me hooked - they pulled out the mythology. Pros: The details are amazingly detailed and it was easy to follow along. I wanted to love this book but it’s okay. Not bad. Not the best.
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