When I saw that over 200 plus people had reviewed Stephen King’s The Colorado Kid at Amazon—and that it received a median review of only three stars!—I had to laugh. Either people don’t like it when an author “breaks genre,” or they don’t like an unresolved ending. Of course, there’s also a leading photo on the book’s cover that hints at more resolution.

Me? I like both. I don’t think it’s fair to peg authors based on one or two works and then expect them to keep creating similar works. Yes, it’s made King into a multimillionaire—but it also made him branch out under a pseudonym to try other genres. (Which isn’t that true, considering that much of Bachman’s work was as scary, if not moreso, than King’s!)

And while some of my favorites are scary horror novels—Bag of Bones, Rose Madder, It—I am a huge fan of his other works that don’t delve in too much horror, such as his dramatic novellas (particularly The Body) and Eyes of the Dragon. Truth be told, I would love to see some more fantasy novels from King.

I really enjoyed The Colorado Kid. Yes, at first I was a little angry with the unresolved ending, but the story was a fun one to read—and isn’t that the point of reading mystery novels, to have a bit of fun? OK, I’ll grant that the point is also to try to solve the mystery along with the detectives or whoever, but it’s not unheard of to leave a story open for reader interpretation.

It’s a story about a fledgling journalist, Stephanie McCann, and her intern job. She doesn’t cover anything really big—just local interest stories—but she’s intrigued by a story that her bosses hint at. They slowly reveal an unsolved mystery on the island about a dead body found on the beach. There were hardly any clues, and while you think McCann might be able to figure out whodunit, you get nada at the end—it’s still a mystery.

It’s an enjoyable read, though, and the characters are very likeable. Maybe that’s why I like this one—he doesn’t kill off the characters I like! At any rate, if you don’t like unsolved mysteries, you won’t like this quick read; but if you do, why not bring it along during your next flight or doctor’s appointment? You can always leave it for the next reader.