Audiobook Review: Never Flinch by Stephen King

I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.

Never Flinch by Stephen King

Mogsy’s Rating (Overall): 3.5 of 5 stars

Genre: Suspense, Thriller

Series: Book 4 of Holly Gibney

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio (May 27, 2025)

Length: 14 hrs and 44 mins

Author Information: Website

Narrators: Jessie Mueller, Stephen King

When Never Flinch was first teased as Holly Gibney’s return, I was immediately hyped. Over the course of the several books, from the Mr. Mercedes trilogy (that I binged last summer) to The Outsider and Holly, she’s quietly wormed her way into my heart and become one of my favorite Stephen King characters.

In this story, Holly has fully stepped into the role of seasoned private investigator, when her friend Izzy Jaynes on the police force reaches out with a unique and disturbing case that has them stumped. A mysterious letter had been sent to the station anonymously, and its writer promised to commit fourteen calculated killings as revenge for an innocent man murdered in prison. Intrigued, Holly agrees to help investigate on the side, especially when the body count begins to rise as feared.

Meanwhile, in another part of the country, feminist author and motivational speaker Kate McKay is on the road promoting her new book when she starts receiving a string of threatening messages. When the threats begin escalating toward something more dangerous, Kate’s assistant Corrie Anderson calls up Holly to see if she would be interested in a bodyguard gig while the book tour is in town, and maybe possibly help them catch their stalker.

With Holly already knee-deep in two investigations, things only get busier as Buckeye City gears up for the arrival of soul legend Sista Bessie, in town as part of her comeback tour. Naturally, Holly’s close friends, the Robinson siblings, are pulled into the action, with Jerome lending a hand to help with the event while Barbara takes on an even more involved role, collaborating with Bessie for a special on-stage performance. Between concert preparations and the upcoming police-versus-firefighters baseball fundraiser game—all while a serial killer is on the loose—the city’s attention is pulled in all directions. However, these two events will prove to become more than just background noise, forming the focal point where threads from both of Holly’s cases end up colliding in spectacular fashion.

Personally, I really enjoyed Never Flinch, but it was nowhere close to being King’s best. Still, the storytelling was as ever compelling, building a solid sense of tension with the multiple plotlines running in tandem. As someone who has been following Holly’s growth through the works she’s appeared in, I found it satisfying to see how far she’s come with her character development. She feels more confident, capable, and fully in control, which made me all the most invested in the cases she was juggling. Even when the narrative meandered, I was always eager to see how she would piece everything together.

So perhaps that was also why I found myself growing frustrated with some of the other perspectives, which occasionally felt overstuffed. For example, Corrie and Kate’s chapters stretched on for a while without moving the novel forward in meaningful ways, and I often caught myself impatient for the momentum to return elsewhere, preferably with Holly. Instead, we got more of the same with the Barbara and Sista Bessie subplot, which often dragged more than it added, feeling disconnected from the main thrust of the dual investigations. Plus, it didn’t help that there wasn’t much of a mystery, since the identities of both perpetrators were known early on and were even given POV chapters. At times, it felt less like King was building suspense and more like he was ruminating on themes and mood, thus undercutting the tension and pacing.

However, the novel’s afterword does shed some light. King was apparently recovering from hip surgery while writing this book, and during that time, it underwent multiple rewrites. That context could explain some of the uneven stops and starts, and the meandering sections that didn’t always resonate.

That said, while Never Flinch might not be a Stephen King masterpiece, it is still a solid and satisfying thriller. With its strong lead and the excitement of dual mysteries, this one kept me interested despite its pacing hiccups. And one highlight that definitely did not disappoint was the audiobook. Narrator Jessie Mueller was incredible, delivering one of the best performances I’ve ever had the pleasure of listening to. And boy, can she sing! Her narration elevated the story, making it a must-listen if you are a King fan and enjoy audiobooks.