The Outsider (2019)

The Outsider tells the story of a shocking child murder and a seemingly easy arrest. This novel is less hard-boiled crime than it is a traditional detective story, but features Holly Gibney, one of the main characters from King’s Mr. Mercedes series.

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Mr. Mercedes (2015-2016)

The first entry in the series, Mr. Mercedes follows an ex-cop as he tries to track down a mass murderer. Stephen King considers the Mr. Mercedes series his first hard-boiled detective series. A supernatural element is introduced in the third book of the series, End of Watch (2016).

Joyland (2014)

In Joyland, a college student discovers a string of dark secrets while working at the titular amusement park. This novel contains minor supernatural elements, but is mostly a hard-boiled detective story.

The Colorado Kid (2005)

In the face of a mysterious death, two newshounds and a graduate student seek the truth. This novel contains no supernatural elements, but conforms to the hard-boiled genre.

It (1986)

It is probably the most popular and well-known of King’s books, in which a group of children attempt to defeat a supernatural monster.

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Christine (1984)

Christine tells the story of a boy whose obsession with a symbol of adulthood (his car, Christine) destroys him.