Stephen King – Never Flinch (2025 – Review)

2025 is proving to be a significant year for Horror-Master Stephen King. On the big screen we have seen adaptations of The Monkey directed by Osgood Perkins (Longlegs), and The Life of Chuck which is the latest interpretation of King’s work from director Mike Flanagan (Doctor Sleep / Gerald’s Game). A series based on King’s 2019 novel The Institute hit MGM+ this summer, while two adaptations from his Richard Bachman pseudonym; The Long Walk (directed by Francis Lawrence – I Am Legend) and The Running Man (directed by Edgar Wright – Hot Fuzz) will drop before the end of the year.

In addition to all of this, Never Flinch is his new novel, a follow on and sequel of sorts to 2023s Holly, and a further revisit to the life of private-detective Holly Gibney. Holly first featured in his trilogy of supernatural-crime thrillers – Mr Mercedes (2014) / Finders Keepers (2015) / End of Watch (2016) – before returning in The Outsider (2018) and If It Bleeds (2020). She’s clearly been an integral part of King’s creative thought process over the last decade or so, becoming the most prominent character from his modern era of writing.

Holly (2023) was a fairly strong standalone novel, which worked well due to the highly engaging main antagonists that King crafted for his private-eye to spar against. In Never Flinch the narrative focuses on two separate antagonists. One, a rather sloppy and inexperienced serial killer on a revenge mission. Picking off people at random, but leaving calling cards linking them back to the trial of a particular former case. The other being a stalker who tails a controversial women’s rights activist during her latest American tour.

As King often does, he provides scenes from multiple points of view throughout, allowing us to experience the mind-set of each antagonist. Giving the reader a direct insight into the planning and execution of their crimes, as well as that of Holly herself on the flip-side of the coin. In fact there are multiple story threads that weave throughout Never Flinch, with King completing the puzzle in the final act. They are all satisfying enough, but it can feel a little bit of a slow-burn at times – although the pace does quicken during the climax as King eventually brings everything together.

For me, one of the main storylines is significantly stronger than the rest, and I can see a more focused version of this story that could have perhaps developed this particular thread a little more. It feels as if King is meandering from one to another a little too frequently at times. Thematically, Never Flinch covers many basis as King takes us on a journey which examines addiction, celebrity culture, fanaticism, fundamentalism, women’s rights, and identity disorders. The latter is explored in more than one character, with nods at times to Psycho’s Norman Bates.

In terms of coming back to Holly and the other recurring characters of her world, it is easy to see that this is like slipping on an old pair of comfortable shoes for King. He clearly enjoys writing them and has now been nurturing their personalities for many years, sliding easily back into their skins – especially that of Holly of course. Her quirky mannerisms are now all too familiar for his constant readers, while King also supplies many call-backs to her previous adventures in order to remind us of her past.

It’s also clear to see that King is enjoying a particularly prolific detective-story phase of his legendary writing journey. Here he makes reference to Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes, as well as another particular renowned writer of the genre; “ That’s some real Agatha Christie shit right there.” He references red herrings, whilst dropping a few himself, but also proclaims at one point; “Life isn’t a mystery novel.” This is interesting, as the Mr Mercedes Trilogy and his recent two Holly novels are not whodunnits per se. Instead King likes to place the reader inside the mind of both killer and investigator, with the mystery being how the case that we are in on will be unravelled and solved.

In King’s author note he remarks: “This was a difficult book to write … Never Flinch has gone through multiple rewrites and three title changes. I’m finally happy with it. Or – let us be truthful – happy enough. It’s never all I’d hoped for, but there comes a point when you must let it go.” This is an incredibly open and honest assessment of his own work, from an author whose groundbreaking stories from the 70s and 80s really shaped modern Horror literature as we know it today.

I would agree that Never Flinch is certainly not up there with his best work. The story is not quite as strong as what he delivered with Holly, and personally I’d like to see King lay Holly Gibney to rest for the time being. However much of his work in the 2024 collection You Like It Darker proves that he still has one of the extraordinarily unique imaginations in modern genre writing. Rumour has it he’s returning next to the world of The Talisman – the fantasy-horror story first created with Peter Straub (Ghost Story) back in 1984. But whatever Stephen King does write next, as always, I’ll certainly be looking forward to adding it to the bookshelf. KZ

Stephen King – Never Flinch – 6.5/10

Words by Mark T. Bates

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