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The Colorado Kid (Hard Case Crime, 013-I) Paperback – May 7, 2019

by Stephen King (Author)

10,222 ratings

Part of: The Hard Case Crime Novels of Stephen King (3 books)

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Stephen King's bestselling unsolved mystery, THE COLORADO KID -- inspiration for the TV series HAVEN -- returns to bookstores for the first time in 10 years in an all-new illustrated edition.

On an island off the coast of Maine, a man is found dead. There's no identification on the body. Only the dogged work of a pair of local newspapermen and a graduate student in forensics turns up any clues, and it's more than a year before the man is identified. And that's just the beginning of the mystery. Because the more they learn about the man and the baffling circumstances of his death, the less they understand. Was it an impossible crime? Or something stranger still...? No one but Stephen King could tell this story about the darkness at the heart of the unknown and our compulsion to investigate the unexplained. With echoes of Dashiell Hammett's THE MALTESE FALCON and the work of Graham Greene, one of the world's great storytellers presents a moving and surprising tale whose subject is nothing less than the nature of mystery itself.Age Range: Adult

Editorial Reviews

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“this little meditation is absolutely something that should be read by all crime and mystery fans. Stephen King is a master, and this is one of his most finely-wrought works” - The Crime Review

“a gentle mystery, one that explores the genre as well as small town life in a way that I found utterly beguiling” - SciFi and Scary

About the Author

Stephen King was born in Portland, Maine in 1947, the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. He made his first professional short story sale in 1967 to Startling Mystery Stories. In the fall of 1973, he began teaching high school English classes at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels. In the spring of 1973, Doubleday & Co., accepted the novel Carrie for publication, providing him the means to leave teaching and write full-time. He has since published over 50 books and has become one of the world's most successful writers. Stephen lives in Maine and Florida with his wife, novelist Tabitha King. They are regular contributors to a number of charities including many libraries and have been honored locally for their philanthropic activities.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Hard Case Crime; Reissue edition (May 7, 2019)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 208 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1789091551
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1789091557
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.94 x 0.57 x 7.99 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #37,930 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,338 in Murder Thrillers
- #1,725 in Women Sleuths (Books)
- #2,839 in American Literature (Books)

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Stephen King

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Stephen King is the author of more than sixty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. His recent work includes NEVER FLINCH, YOU LIKE IT DARKER (a New York Times Book Review top ten horror book of 2024), HOLLY (a New York Times Notable Book of 2023), FAIRY TALE, BILLY SUMMERS, IF IT BLEEDS, THE INSTITUTE, ELEVATION, THE OUTSIDER, SLEEPING BEAUTIES (cowritten with his son Owen King), and the Bill Hodges trilogy: END OF WATCH, FINDERS KEEPERS, and MR. MERCEDES (an Edgar Award winner for Best Novel). His novel 11/22/63 was named a top ten book of 2011 by the New York Times Book Review and won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller. His epic works THE DARK TOWER, IT, PET SEMATARY, DOCTOR SLEEP, and FIRESTARTER are the basis for major motion pictures, with IT now the highest-grossing horror film of all time. He is the recipient of the 2018 PEN America Literary Service Award, the 2014 National Medal of Arts, and the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He lives in Bangor, Maine, with his wife, novelist Tabitha King.

Customer reviews

10,222 global ratings

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Customers find the book to be a breezy read with excellent writing and rich character development. However, the mystery content receives mixed reactions - while some enjoy it, others find it unengaging. Moreover, the story quality and King's work receive negative feedback, with customers describing it as not a good story and not the best from Stephen King. Additionally, the book's length and TV series adaptation are also mixed aspects, with some appreciating its brevity while others note it's very short, and some finding it nothing like the TV show.

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Readability Writing style Character development Mystery content Shortness Tv series Story quality King's story

501 customers mention "Readability"483 positive18 negative

Customers find the book readable and enjoyable, with one customer noting that the narrative flows simply.

"Enjoyed greatly, have very large Stephen King collection." Read more

"...the story - it's not vintage Stephen King storytelling, but it's pretty darn good. The trouble only comes at the end, as it's a bit of a let-down...." Read more

"A quick, somewhat insubstantial novel, which feels more like a short story, "Kid" is a slight effort from King...." Read more

"...in early spring, through the clues set out in the story, the story is compelling...." Read more

95 customers mention "Writing style"72 positive23 negative

Customers praise the author's writing style, with one noting their ability to create authentic dialogue and another highlighting their vivid descriptions.

"...the setting, the interesting characters, and the mystery, simple I. The telling, yet complex...." Read more

"...is, who is the man? King’s brilliance is his ability to write dialogue that rings true...." Read more

"...folks sound, then judiciously (and sparingly) reinforces it with occasional phonetic renderings, and the magic is done - every time Vince and Dave..." Read more

"...This book is an overlong conversation peppered with "witticisms" (being generous because they weren't all that witty), and it becomes tedious quickly..." Read more

68 customers mention "Character development"55 positive13 negative

Customers appreciate the rich characters in the book, with one review noting how locations become characters of their own, and another mentioning how the beautiful Maine setting plays a significant role in the story.

"...bulk of King books in its presentation, but definitely has King’s identity in the setting, the interesting characters, and the mystery, simple I...." Read more

"...need to square with before you pick up this excellent little character-driven philosophical piece on the nature of mysteries themselves." Read more

"...noir, and just a little of that Stephen King mysticism and unfinished character threads that make things interesting...." Read more

"...of this mystery were explored thoroughly, revealed through dialogue and remembrances by characters who rightly claim ownership of it; the elders..." Read more

312 customers mention "Mystery content"187 positive125 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the mystery content of the book, with some enjoying a good mystery and appreciating the story to figure out, while others find it not engaging.

"...King's Afterword, though, puts everything into perspective and changes your viewpoint of the entire story - it's the saving grace that allowed this..." Read more

"...The story is extremely padded and often redundant. It feels like something King pounded out on a weekend...." Read more

"...King keeps you asking questions, looking for clues, and trying to find what the main characters have missed...." Read more

"...that I took a second look at this little book. A good mystery lays out the clues and leads the reader around different theories, allowing said..." Read more

26 customers mention "Shortness"16 positive10 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the book's length, with several noting it is short.

"...That aside, this is an interesting story. It's really not long so you can read it pretty quick...." Read more

"...show "Haven" that claims to be based on this story, and it is very short. Still, it is enjoyable...." Read more

"A clever short, one I read in under four hours to give you some idea of its length, The Colorado Kid is less about the ending than the journey...." Read more

"...A short, enjoyable read, great for the beach. I only read it once, and will be passing it on to someone else. But it was worth taking the time." Read more

22 customers mention "Tv series"10 positive12 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about how the book relates to the TV series Haven, with several noting that the series is loosely based on the story, while others point out that the show bears little resemblance to the book.

"...as being apart of Haven TV series so this book is very loosely translated into the show. If your looking for a Haven book this is not it lol...." Read more

"...I enjoyed this short story (which, I understand, inspired the TV series Haven)..." Read more

"...about Haven...remember that the show is loosely, very loosely based on the story...." Read more

"...The show is loosely based on this book. The show continues to give nods toward King, by referencing several of his books on the show." Read more

183 customers mention "Story quality"33 positive150 negative

Customers find the story quality of the book unsatisfactory, describing it as boring and not as interesting or exciting as expected.

"A quick, somewhat insubstantial novel, which feels more like a short story, "Kid" is a slight effort from King...." Read more

"...Colorado Kid a short(ish) piece, perhaps for SK a novella; too long for a short story at just under 200 pages according to amazon, but I read it on..." Read more

"...Its really just a very very short story made longer simply by having the characters repeating the same 5 or 6 pointless facets of the story over and..." Read more

"...still cover this up by a well composed plot, it is exactly this lack of storyline that adds to the misery and makes reading it so unsatisfactory...." Read more

26 customers mention "King's story"6 positive20 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the story, with several noting it's not the usual Stephen King book, and some specifically mentioning it's not one of his best works.

"...though, I was fully engrossed in the story - it's not vintage Stephen King storytelling, but it's pretty darn good...." Read more

"...To me the book lacked the Stephen King touch, but maybe I was spoiled by the movie, which I really enjoyed." Read more

"Decent story. Held interest. Not the normal King story. Preview at the end for another early King made me buy the book so I could finish the story." Read more

"...ever written, starting with Salem's Lot years ago, and this is vintage Steven King...." Read more

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Snakelady
Good read
Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2025
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Enjoyed greatly, have very large Stephen King collection.

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Daniel Jolley
King has really done something interesting here
Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2005
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I would say that Stephen King has earned his wily old codger wings with the publication of this Hard Case Crime novel. The Colorado Kid is unlike anything King has done before. For starters, this King fan didn't even know about this little red book until after it was published. It doesn't even look like a Stephen King novel, with its nour-ish cover and provocative tease line. It didn't read like Stephen King, either - not the first chapter anyway. My first impressions were in no way encouraging. When King starts telling the story of the mystery, though, I was intrigued - so much so that I didn't put the book down until I had finished it. I can't say I'm a big fan of the ending, but I don't have a problem with it either. King does an eloquent job of explaining what he has done here in the Afterword. There, he admits that readers will most likely either love or hate the book - and I think he's right, at least to a degree. As intrigued as I was by the story, I can't say I love it, just because of that ending. Those who criticize The Colorado Kid, though, have legitimate reasons for doing so.

The Colorado Kid is the initial moniker given to a middle-aged man who turned up dead on the beach of Moose-Lookit Island (off the Maine coast) back in 1980 - just another John Doe to the local cops. He would never have been identified without the help of the two old men running The Weekly Islander; they did more investigating than anyone with a badge ever did. Over the courser of a quarter of a century, they've returned time and again to the mysterious death of this stranger on their little island. They've turned up a number of facts about the dead man, every one of which only seemed to deepen and complicate the whole picture of who this man was and how he came to die there on a beach far away from his home in Colorado.

In these pages, the two old newspaper men tell the story of The Colorado Kid to Stephanie, a young intern there at The Weekly Islander. It's a rite of passage in a way, showing the young lady she has been fully accepted into the local island family. It lets the two vets test their young charge while also providing her with important insights into the twin arts of journalism and storytelling. I found myself just as intrigued as Stephanie with the increasingly confusing depth of the mystery; like her, I wanted a solution to clear up all of the confusing facts. And there we have the proverbial rub.

Most likely, hard-boiled crime story enthusiasts will have more problems than Stephen King fans with The Colorado Kid - although a right many of King's most loyal subjects may well balk at what the master has done in this odd endeavor off the beaten path. As long as I was flipping the pages, though, I was fully engrossed in the story - it's not vintage Stephen King storytelling, but it's pretty darn good. The trouble only comes at the end, as it's a bit of a let-down. King's Afterword, though, puts everything into perspective and changes your viewpoint of the entire story - it's the saving grace that allowed this loyal King fan to really appreciate The Colorado Kid for what it is.

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16 people found this helpful

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connicutie
The Story’s in the Telling
Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2025
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Such a different approach to a real mystery. King keeps you asking questions, looking for clues, and trying to find what the main characters have missed.
Each protagonist in Colorado Kid, are well formed and fleshed out. You’ll feel as if you know them.
This story is unique to the bulk of King books in its presentation, but definitely has King’s identity in the setting, the interesting characters, and the mystery, simple I. The telling, yet complex.
I thoroughly enjoyed The Colorado Kid in a different way.

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Jose Jones
A so-so short story by King.
Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2006
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A quick, somewhat insubstantial novel, which feels more like a short story, "Kid" is a slight effort from King. The story is told through the voices of two old grizzled newspapermen as they relay the mysterious tale of the title character, a man who ended up dead on a beach. Considering King's love for hardboiled fiction, and given the cover photo, it's hard not to be a little disappointed in this. The story is extremely padded and often redundant. It feels like something King pounded out on a weekend. The central mystery will get you interested, but King offers no answers, which is his point. The best part of the book is actually his afterword, in which he tells us that the story of "Kid" is no less than a metaphor for man's primal existential quandary. I know King's point was to not tie things up nice and neat and give an answer to anything -- because that never happens in real life -- but people come to these types of stories expecting just that. I wouldn't call them wrong if they felt a little cheated.

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5 people found this helpful

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Elizabeth Horton-Newton, Author
Brilliant Dialogue Makes a Five Star Read
Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2019
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I’m Stephen King’s second biggest fan. Annie Wilkes holds that honor, sort of. That being said, I confess I have had “The Colorado Kid” both in paperback and on my Kindle for a long time. Usually, I cannot resist a new King book and plunge in as soon as I grab hold of one. It wasn’t until I started writing my own crime mysteries that I took a second look at this little book.
A good mystery lays out the clues and leads the reader around different theories, allowing said reader to draw a few conclusions of his own. Starting off with the likable team of journalists who make up a small-town Maine newspaper, King sets the stage for the story of the ‘Colorado Kid’. After Vince Teague and Dave Bowie share some stories of unsolved mysteries of the area with a Boston Globe feature writer, they return to their office with intern Stephanie McCann. It’s there that the tale of the twenty-five-year mystery is told.
Vince and Dave talk about other Maine and New England mysteries until Stephanie presses them to reveal the story they wouldn’t share with the outsider. Despite the fact that Stephanie came to the Weekly Islander from Ohio, she had gained the respect of the older men during her three months in the small town.
From the discovery of the dead body by a couple of high school students running near Hammock Beach in early spring, through the clues set out in the story, the story is compelling. The evidence is right there in front of them but putting it all together is a challenge before DNA, computers, and the internet.
Was the man a murder victim? Had he had a heart attack? Did he somehow commit suicide? Or was it some kind of accident? But the most important question is, who is the man?
King’s brilliance is his ability to write dialogue that rings true. It’s like standing behind and listening to the town constable and the local doctor discuss the body and what might have occurred. Each character seems to hold a piece of the story. But it’s only the persistence of “a pair of local newspapermen and a graduate student in forensics” that the identity of the kid comes to light.
While the story doesn’t end there, it does add to the mystery of what the body of the dead man was doing on a beach in Maine. I leave it to the reader to discover how the story ends… or doesn’t end. A word of warning, not all mysteries are solved. This book is not about answers but about man’s natural curiosity and need for solid endings. In “The Colorado Kid” King brings to mind the Rolling Stones lyrics, “You can’t always get what you want.” But sometimes you get what you need.

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49 people found this helpful

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Nor Bert
Stephen King's brilliante Version eines hardboiled Krimis
Reviewed in Germany on May 5, 2005
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Zum einjährigen Jubiläum der amerikanischen Taschenbuchreihe Hard Case Crime hat Kultautor Stephen King einen neuen, bisher unveröffentlichten Roman beigesteuert. In "The Colorado Kid", einem Krimi im Hardboiled Stil, erzählt er die Geschichte von zwei alten Lokaljournalisten, die im Fall eines mysteriösen Toten ermitteln, der auf einer Insel vor der Küste Maines aufgefunden wird, und es dauert ein Jahr, bis der Mann identifiziert werden kann. Die Umstände seines Todes sind höchst merkwürdig. Und je mehr die beiden herausfinden, umso weniger begreifen sie. Das Buch steht in der Tradition von Raymond Chandler oder Dashiell Hammett, bleibt jedoch ein typischer Stephen King, welcher hiermit wieder einmal beweist, daß er einer der großen amerikanischen Autoren ist.

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ME LEIDINGER SANDRINE
Super
Reviewed in France on January 14, 2023
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Du Stephen King, quoi dire d'autre ?

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Donna Lee
great product
Reviewed in Australia on July 20, 2024
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great product excellent value for money

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papa
とてもいいです
Reviewed in Japan on February 6, 2024
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面白い

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Karla
Excellent
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 24, 2019
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Book was excellent read hadn’t come across the original so this was very first time i had the pleasure to read and experience the illustrated version . Absolutely brilliant book not too long , but not necessarily a short story either it was just right. Great mystery / pulp fiction / noir feel . A real treat will check out the other stories in this crime “ series” .

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5.0 out of 5 stars Good read

4.0 out of 5 stars King has really done something interesting here

5.0 out of 5 stars The Story’s in the Telling

3.0 out of 5 stars A so-so short story by King.

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant Dialogue Makes a Five Star Read

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5.0 out of 5 stars Stephen King's brilliante Version eines hardboiled Krimis

5.0 out of 5 stars Super

5.0 out of 5 stars great product

5.0 out of 5 stars とてもいいです

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent

Good read

King has really done something interesting here

The Story’s in the Telling

A so-so short story by King.

Brilliant Dialogue Makes a Five Star Read

Stephen King's brilliante Version eines hardboiled Krimis

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great product

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