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The Colorado Kid
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The Colorado Kid (2005) (edit title/settings)

by Stephen King (Author) (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

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. But that's just the beginning of the mystery. Because the more they learn about the man... read more

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Summary edit see section history

Opening in medias res as the news staff of The Weekly Islander pays for lunch at a restaurant, editor Dave Bowie and founder Vince Teague test young intern Stephanie McCann's powers of deduction regarding their tipping procedure. The friendly assessment becomes more intense as the elderly... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

Opening in medias res as the news staff of The Weekly Islander pays for lunch at a restaurant, editor Dave Bowie and founder Vince Teague test young intern Stephanie McCann's powers of deduction regarding their tipping procedure. The friendly assessment becomes more intense as the elderly island natives and Stephanie return to the office, and she asks if the veteran reporters have "ever come across a real unexplained mystery". Dave and Vince take turns recounting a strange incident and investigation, with intermittent breaks for our narrators to crack open a fresh soda.

On April 24, 1980, two teenagers stumbled across a body, early in the morning. Slumped against a trash can, and carrying no identification, the body bore no clear indicators of foul play. Cause of death was determined to be asphyxiation, as a large chunk of meat was extracted from the victim's throat. Every potential clue leads to small revelations, but bigger mysteries. Though the investigation is lightly bungled, everything seems inexplicable, from how the fish-dinner stomach contents could line up with his ferry boat crossing, to the single Russian coin in his pocket.

More than a year later, thanks to a sharp-eyed rookie spotting an out-of-state cigarette tax stamp, the John Doe becomes known as The Colorado Kid. Eventually the man's identity is traced, and he is identified as James Cogan of Nederland, Colorado. Everyone involved with the case is at a loss as to how or why the man could have gotten to a beach on a Maine island in the five hours since he had last been seen alive in Colorado.

In the Weekly Islander offices, the three friends, old and new, ferret out all the answers they can from the facts of the 25-year-old investigation, then speculate on what might have happened, and meditate on the nature of true mysteries. Vince and Dave tell Stephanie that while they were "the last people alive who know the whole thing", having heard the tale of The Colorado Kid, "Now there's you, Steffi." The warm proclamation seems to signal the young woman's final approval by the old guard of the Islander.

Characters edit see section history

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First Sentence edit see section history

"There came a morning in the spring-- April, it would have been-- when they spied a man sitting out on Hammock Beach."

Table of Contents edit see section history

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Series & Lists edit see section history

This is book 13 of 78 in Hard Case Crime. (publisher series)

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Stephen King (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Country: USA
Publication Date: October 4, 2005
ISBN: 9780743292764
Page Count: 179

Classification edit see section history

  • Library of Congress: CPB Box no. 2385 vol. 29
  • Dewey: 813.54

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Reading Level: Young Adults

Murder Mystery Violence

Movie Connections edit see section history

  • Haven (IMDb): In 2010, E1 Entertainment will produce a TV show adaptation directed by Adam Kane. The one-hour drama is set to premiere on July 9, 2010 on Syfy.

More Books Like This edit see section history

   
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