Stephen King is returning to a beloved character in new novel

Stephen King is returning to the character of Holly Gibney in a new novel titled Holly.

Gibney, a private investigator with OCD, previously appeared in King's Bill Hodges trilogy of novels (Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers, End of Watch), the novella If It Bleeds, and his 2018 book The Outsider. The character was portrayed by Justine Lupe in the Audience show Mr. Mercedes and by Cynthia Erivo in the HBO series The Outsider.

King made the announcement on the new episode of the The Kingcast podcast.

"I could never let Holly Gibney go from the Mr. Mercedes books," King told hosts Eric Vespe and Scott Wampler. "I mean, she was supposed to be a walk-on character and she just kind of stole the book and stole my heart and so I just finished a novel that's called Holly and it's all her, man."

King was appearing on Kingcast to publicize his just-published book Gwendy's Final Task, a collaboration with writer Richard Chizmar. As EW previously announced, the prolific King's next book to arrive on shelves is titled Fairy Tale and concerns a 17-year-old boy named Charlie Reade who inherits the keys to a parallel world where good and evil are at war. Fairy Tale is out Sept. 6.

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