Description

Book Synopsis

The No.1 Sunday Times bestseller featuring a stand-alone sequel to The Outsider as well as the novella 'Mr Harrigan's Phone', now with a stunning new cover look.

News people have a saying:

'If it bleeds, it leads'.

Following a horrific explosion at a school, Holly Gibney of the Finders Keepers detective agency notices something suspicious about the TV reporter who is first on the scene. In this riveting title story, Holly sets out to discover what he is hiding in her first solo crime case.

Dancing alongside this stand-alone sequel to The Outsider are three more irresistible long stories: 'Mr Harrigan's Phone' sees young Craig introduce a curmudgeonly retired businessman to the wonders of the smartphone; 'The Life of Chuck' is a three act life-story - told in reverse order - about a man whose face appears on a billboard; and 'Rat' sees a struggling author head to a remote cabin in the woods of North Maine, where a deal-making rodent offers him a life-changing pact.



Trade Review
Full of vividly drawn characters and unsettling themes, If It Bleeds is another tour de force by a master storyteller * Daily Express *
Full of vividly drawn characters and unsettling themes, If It Bleeds is another tour de force by a master storyteller * Daily Express *
Such glimpses into King's own mind are riveting and satisfyingly terrifying. Read the book for this * Evening Standard *
Such glimpses into King's own mind are riveting and satisfyingly terrifying. Read the book for this * Evening Standard *
The horror writer is at his familiar best with four suspenseful and sometimes surprisingly tender novellas... If It Bleeds brings together four new stories, all offering vintage King themes with their own particular twist... King, as always, is right on the money * Observer *
The horror writer is at his familiar best with four suspenseful and sometimes surprisingly tender novellas... If It Bleeds brings together four new stories, all offering vintage King themes with their own particular twist... King, as always, is right on the money * Observer *
The titular novella is...an impeccably judged whodunnit...the other three [are] readable, engaging studies of male lives at different stages * The Sunday Times *
The titular novella is...an impeccably judged whodunnit...the other three [are] readable, engaging studies of male lives at different stages * The Sunday Times *
You may wonder if the great yarn spinner of the supernatural possesses psychic abilities of his own because this collection of short stories is so timely... Spine-chillingly brilliant * The People *
You may wonder if the great yarn spinner of the supernatural possesses psychic abilities of his own because this collection of short stories is so timely... Spine-chillingly brilliant * The People *
You'll fly through IF IT BLEEDS * Daily Telegraph *
You'll fly through IF IT BLEEDS * Daily Telegraph *
You are drawn in immediately and kept guessing until the end * the Sun (On the audiobook) *
You are drawn in immediately and kept guessing until the end * the Sun (On the audiobook) *
Four wonderful stories * Press Association *
Four wonderful stories * Press Association *
full of vividly drawn characters ... another tour de force by a master storyteller * Daily Mirror *
Full of vividly drawn characters ... another tour de force by a master storyteller * Daily Mirror *
His achievements... are dazzling in scope... immensely enjoyable * London Review of Books *
His achievements... are dazzling in scope... immensely enjoyable * London Review of Books *
The straightforward cadences of King's voice, paired with his signature sit-down-and-let-me-tell-you-a-story style, were immediately soothing. And the stories he was telling - about the seductions and corruptions of technology, the extremes of beauty and depravity in even the most ordinary life, the workings of a universe we can never entirely understand - were somehow exactly what I wanted to read right now... As sirens blare outside my Brooklyn window and the headlines grow more apocalyptic by the day, I might start working my way through King's backlist. He's good company in the dark * New York Times *
The straightforward cadences of King's voice, paired with his signature sit-down-and-let-me-tell-you-a-story style, were immediately soothing. And the stories he was telling - about the seductions and corruptions of technology, the extremes of beauty and depravity in even the most ordinary life, the workings of a universe we can never entirely understand - were somehow exactly what I wanted to read right now... As sirens blare outside my Brooklyn window and the headlines grow more apocalyptic by the day, I might start working my way through King's backlist. He's good company in the dark * New York Times *
Four new, exceptionally compelling novellas that reaffirm his mastery of the form... stories that cover a surprising amount of emotional territory but can still be read in a sitting... King's affection for [Holly] is evident on every page... deeply empathetic and compulsively readable * Washington Post *
Four new, exceptionally compelling novellas that reaffirm his mastery of the form... stories that cover a surprising amount of emotional territory but can still be read in a sitting... King's affection for [Holly] is evident on every page... deeply empathetic and compulsively readable * Washington Post *
The iconic author will keep you up late at night engrossed in four tales about our dreams and our frailties * USA Today *
The iconic author will keep you up late at night engrossed in four tales about our dreams and our frailties * USA Today *
King is rightly acclaimed as one of the greatest - and most inventive - storytellers of our time and The Institute is a dazzling achievement * Daily Express (on The Institute) *
King is rightly acclaimed as one of the greatest - and most inventive - storytellers of our time and The Institute is a dazzling achievement * Daily Express (on The Institute) *
A genuinely intriguing mystery, one that uses many of the tropes of both so-called "grip-lit" thrillers and more conventional forensics-driven crime fiction... The Outsider gives King fans exactly what they want * Guardian (on The Outsider) *
A genuinely intriguing mystery, one that uses many of the tropes of both so-called "grip-lit" thrillers and more conventional forensics-driven crime fiction... The Outsider gives King fans exactly what they want * Guardian (on The Outsider) *
One of the greatest storytellers of the past century...If you read only one thriller this summer, make it this one * Daily Mail (on The Outsider) *
One of the greatest storytellers of the past century...If you read only one thriller this summer, make it this one * Daily Mail (on The Outsider) *

If It Bleeds: The No. 1 bestseller featuring a

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Order before 4pm today for delivery by Sat 13 Dec 2025.

A Paperback / softback by Stephen King

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    View other formats and editions of If It Bleeds: The No. 1 bestseller featuring a by Stephen King

    Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
    Publication Date: 10/06/2021
    ISBN13: 9781529391572, 978-1529391572
    ISBN10: 1529391571

    Description

    Book Synopsis

    The No.1 Sunday Times bestseller featuring a stand-alone sequel to The Outsider as well as the novella 'Mr Harrigan's Phone', now with a stunning new cover look.

    News people have a saying:

    'If it bleeds, it leads'.

    Following a horrific explosion at a school, Holly Gibney of the Finders Keepers detective agency notices something suspicious about the TV reporter who is first on the scene. In this riveting title story, Holly sets out to discover what he is hiding in her first solo crime case.

    Dancing alongside this stand-alone sequel to The Outsider are three more irresistible long stories: 'Mr Harrigan's Phone' sees young Craig introduce a curmudgeonly retired businessman to the wonders of the smartphone; 'The Life of Chuck' is a three act life-story - told in reverse order - about a man whose face appears on a billboard; and 'Rat' sees a struggling author head to a remote cabin in the woods of North Maine, where a deal-making rodent offers him a life-changing pact.



    Trade Review
    Full of vividly drawn characters and unsettling themes, If It Bleeds is another tour de force by a master storyteller * Daily Express *
    Full of vividly drawn characters and unsettling themes, If It Bleeds is another tour de force by a master storyteller * Daily Express *
    Such glimpses into King's own mind are riveting and satisfyingly terrifying. Read the book for this * Evening Standard *
    Such glimpses into King's own mind are riveting and satisfyingly terrifying. Read the book for this * Evening Standard *
    The horror writer is at his familiar best with four suspenseful and sometimes surprisingly tender novellas... If It Bleeds brings together four new stories, all offering vintage King themes with their own particular twist... King, as always, is right on the money * Observer *
    The horror writer is at his familiar best with four suspenseful and sometimes surprisingly tender novellas... If It Bleeds brings together four new stories, all offering vintage King themes with their own particular twist... King, as always, is right on the money * Observer *
    The titular novella is...an impeccably judged whodunnit...the other three [are] readable, engaging studies of male lives at different stages * The Sunday Times *
    The titular novella is...an impeccably judged whodunnit...the other three [are] readable, engaging studies of male lives at different stages * The Sunday Times *
    You may wonder if the great yarn spinner of the supernatural possesses psychic abilities of his own because this collection of short stories is so timely... Spine-chillingly brilliant * The People *
    You may wonder if the great yarn spinner of the supernatural possesses psychic abilities of his own because this collection of short stories is so timely... Spine-chillingly brilliant * The People *
    You'll fly through IF IT BLEEDS * Daily Telegraph *
    You'll fly through IF IT BLEEDS * Daily Telegraph *
    You are drawn in immediately and kept guessing until the end * the Sun (On the audiobook) *
    You are drawn in immediately and kept guessing until the end * the Sun (On the audiobook) *
    Four wonderful stories * Press Association *
    Four wonderful stories * Press Association *
    full of vividly drawn characters ... another tour de force by a master storyteller * Daily Mirror *
    Full of vividly drawn characters ... another tour de force by a master storyteller * Daily Mirror *
    His achievements... are dazzling in scope... immensely enjoyable * London Review of Books *
    His achievements... are dazzling in scope... immensely enjoyable * London Review of Books *
    The straightforward cadences of King's voice, paired with his signature sit-down-and-let-me-tell-you-a-story style, were immediately soothing. And the stories he was telling - about the seductions and corruptions of technology, the extremes of beauty and depravity in even the most ordinary life, the workings of a universe we can never entirely understand - were somehow exactly what I wanted to read right now... As sirens blare outside my Brooklyn window and the headlines grow more apocalyptic by the day, I might start working my way through King's backlist. He's good company in the dark * New York Times *
    The straightforward cadences of King's voice, paired with his signature sit-down-and-let-me-tell-you-a-story style, were immediately soothing. And the stories he was telling - about the seductions and corruptions of technology, the extremes of beauty and depravity in even the most ordinary life, the workings of a universe we can never entirely understand - were somehow exactly what I wanted to read right now... As sirens blare outside my Brooklyn window and the headlines grow more apocalyptic by the day, I might start working my way through King's backlist. He's good company in the dark * New York Times *
    Four new, exceptionally compelling novellas that reaffirm his mastery of the form... stories that cover a surprising amount of emotional territory but can still be read in a sitting... King's affection for [Holly] is evident on every page... deeply empathetic and compulsively readable * Washington Post *
    Four new, exceptionally compelling novellas that reaffirm his mastery of the form... stories that cover a surprising amount of emotional territory but can still be read in a sitting... King's affection for [Holly] is evident on every page... deeply empathetic and compulsively readable * Washington Post *
    The iconic author will keep you up late at night engrossed in four tales about our dreams and our frailties * USA Today *
    The iconic author will keep you up late at night engrossed in four tales about our dreams and our frailties * USA Today *
    King is rightly acclaimed as one of the greatest - and most inventive - storytellers of our time and The Institute is a dazzling achievement * Daily Express (on The Institute) *
    King is rightly acclaimed as one of the greatest - and most inventive - storytellers of our time and The Institute is a dazzling achievement * Daily Express (on The Institute) *
    A genuinely intriguing mystery, one that uses many of the tropes of both so-called "grip-lit" thrillers and more conventional forensics-driven crime fiction... The Outsider gives King fans exactly what they want * Guardian (on The Outsider) *
    A genuinely intriguing mystery, one that uses many of the tropes of both so-called "grip-lit" thrillers and more conventional forensics-driven crime fiction... The Outsider gives King fans exactly what they want * Guardian (on The Outsider) *
    One of the greatest storytellers of the past century...If you read only one thriller this summer, make it this one * Daily Mail (on The Outsider) *
    One of the greatest storytellers of the past century...If you read only one thriller this summer, make it this one * Daily Mail (on The Outsider) *

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