Never Flinch
{{Short description|Novel by Stephen King}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox book
| name = Never Flinch
| image = Never Flinch Stephen King book cover.jpg
| alt =
| caption = First edition cover
| author = Stephen King
| audio_read_by = Jessie Mueller{{cite web|url=https://stephenking.com/news/never-flinch-reader-announced-766.html|title=NEVER FLINCH Reader Announced! |date=April 25, 2025|website=stephenking.com|access-date=April 25, 2025}}
| cover_artist =
| language = English
| series =
| release_number =
| genre = Crime fiction
| publisher = Scribner
| pub_date = {{Start date|2025|05|27}}
| media_type = Print (hardcover), e-book, audiobook
| pages = 439
| isbn = 978-1-66808-933-0
| isbn_note = (First edition hardcover)
| oclc =
| dewey =
| congress =
| preceded_by =
| followed_by =
}}
Never Flinch is a crime novel by American author Stephen King. The book was published on May 27, 2025, by Scribner.{{Cite book |url=https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Never-Flinch/Stephen-King/9781668089330 |title=Never Flinch |date=May 27, 2025 |isbn=978-1-6680-8933-0 |language=en |last1=King |first1=Stephen |publisher=Simon and Schuster }} The story follows recurring character Holly Gibney who also appeared in Mr. Mercedes (2014), Finders Keepers (2015), End of Watch (2016), The Outsider (2018), If It Bleeds (2020), and Holly (2023). The book was announced on November 18, 2024, with an excerpt published in Entertainment Weekly.{{cite magazine|last=Lenker|first=Maureen Lee|date=November 18, 2024|title=Stephen King announces new book Never Flinch, shares exclusive excerpt|url=https://ew.com/stephen-king-announces-new-book-never-flinch-shares-exclusive-excerpt-8744864|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|access-date=November 23, 2024}}
Premise
Holly Gibney assists a detective in uncovering a vigilante threatening retribution. Meanwhile, a celebrity feminist activist is being pursued by a stalker and Holly signs on as her bodyguard.
Background
In August 2023, speaking as a guest on an episode of the Talking Scared podcast, King confirmed plans for another novel featuring Holly Gibney, titled We Think Not.{{Cite news |last=Creamer |first=Ella |date=August 16, 2023 |title=Stephen King says he may continue the Talisman series |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/aug/16/stephen-king-says-he-may-continue-the-talisman-series |access-date=September 4, 2024 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} In July 2024, in his second appearance on the podcast, King announced that he had been working on a novel titled Always Holly since February 2023. He stated that his early inspiration for the novel was the February 2021 dognapping case involving singer Lady Gaga.{{Cite web |last=Eisenberg |first=Eric |date=July 9, 2024 |title=Stephen King Reveals The Lady Gaga Dognapping Case Helped Lead Him To The Story In His Next Novel |url=https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/stephen-king-reveals-lady-gaga-dognapping-case-helped-lead-story-next-novel-always-holly |access-date=November 23, 2024 |website=CinemaBlend |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Vespe |first=Eric |date=July 10, 2024 |title=Stephen King Reveals The Title of His Next Book And Teases A Return To THE TALISMAN |url=https://www.fangoria.com/stephen-king-reveals-new-book-title-more-talisman/ |access-date=November 23, 2024 |website=Fangoria |language=en-US}}
Reception
Publishers Weekly commended the novel's structure, writing, "Holly shines as a quirky but lovable beacon of hope amid the plot's grisly violence, and King never lets his Rube Goldberg–esque plot overshadow his characters' humanity."{{Cite web |date=April 3, 2025 |title=Never Flinch |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781668089330 |access-date=May 29, 2025 |website=Publishers Weekly}} Writing for The New York Times, Ainslie Hogarth noted the novel's cinematic style and commended King's social critique of virtue signalling, writing that it "works well to draw so many initially disparate threads together over the course of the novel".{{Cite news |last=Hogarth |first=Ainslie |date=May 27, 2025 |title=A New Stephen King Novel Asks, Does the World Have Heroes Anymore? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/27/books/review/stephen-king-never-flinch.html |access-date=May 29, 2025 |newspaper=The New York Times}} Kirkus Reviews similarly characterized at as "[reading] like a big-screen thriller" and concluded, "The action is well paced, the settings are vividly drawn, and King's choice to focus on the real and deadly dangers of extremist thought is admirable. But the book is hamstrung by cliched characters, hackneyed dialogue (both spoken and internal), and motives that feel both convoluted and overly simplistic."{{Cite web |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/stephen-king/never-flinch/ |title=Never Flinch |date=February 1, 2025 |website=Kirkus Reviews |access-date=May 29, 2025}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{Stephen King}}
{{Holly Gibney}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:American detective novels