“King sets his sights higher in other novels, takes on bigger fish. But this is Indiana Jones 4, …”

True to form, King generates a fast-paced “race against time” story while our anything-but-fearless trio of investigators work to discover the cause of a group of suicides. By now, we already know it is the near-vegetative villainous survivor of Book 1, but can they all figure out what the readers have spelled out for them in time?

And, true to genre, King sets a number of clocks ticking all at once to come together in a climactic scene. Our heroes fumble and stumble a bit often, but so does the villain, and the result would be almost comedic if it was not so deadly. Yes, it’s a tried and true thriller.

And that’s . . . all it is. King sets his sights higher in other novels, takes on bigger fish. But this is Indiana Jones 4, just another ride for characters we have come to love (in the first novel), appreciate in personal growth (in the second), and now complete the stories for (a yeoman’s task here). Do I sound disappointed? Yeah, a bit. The plotline for our horror is overly convoluted and overly contrived; at times I found myself crying, “Oh, come on!”

But then I remember what I asked for: I wanted a trilogy ending, wanted to see the return of Brady, wanted to feel more of that Stephen King acid detail and character grit. And he gave it. Case closed.