Holly Gibney is the deuteragonist of the Mr Mercedes series of the Stephen King mythos.
Serving as the tritagonist of the Bill Hodges trilogy, a major character of the horror novel The Outsider, the main protagonist of the short story If It Bleeds, included in the collection of the same name, and as titular main protagonist of the mystery novel Holly.
She is a private investigator, who is the cousin of Olivia Trelawney and Janey Patterson. She later becomes Bill Hodges’ partner, on trying to investigate the crimes of the Mercedes Killer.
Biography[]
Holly is Janey’s emotionally unstable cousin, who wants Hodges help, because of her mother. But after Janey gets killed by an explosion by Brady Hartsfield, (which was originally for Hodges), she becomes Hodges partner, and along with Jerome Robinson, to find the Mercedes Killer.
The Outsider[]
Holly appears in The Outsider, after the death of Frankie Peterson in Flint City, Oklahoma, and all evidence have been collected that the killer is Terrence Maitland, a local sports coach. This would lead for detective Ralph Anderson to make a public arrest, despite this, Maitland claims he is innocent. After Maitland’s death by an assassin, Holly Gibney was hired by investigator Alec Pelley. During her investigation, Holly learns of a case in which two girls were killed in a similar fashion to Frankie Peterson. All the evidence in that case pointed directly to Heath Holmes. Holmes claims that he was out of town when the two girls were killed, and upon being arrested, commits suicide.
Holly, Pelley, Howie, Ralph Anderson and his wife Jeannie, Terry Maitland's wife Marcy, police lieutenant Yune Sablo, and district attorney Bill Samuels all meet at Howie Gold's office. Holly shows them a few minutes of a Mexican luchadora film which depicts a mysterious presence kidnapping and murdering a child, leaving evidence that points directly to one man, who expresses his innocence but is found guilty and subsequently hanged. At the hanging, the man sees the presence, called "El Cuco".
Holly states how she believes El Cuco, which she refers to as an "outsider", is responsible for the murders—it is able to mimic a person's appearance by absorbing their blood. Since Maitland was cut by the Outsider imitating Holmes before the murder, they realize that Claude Bolton, a witness who testified being cut by Maitland's fingernail the day of the murder, is the Outsider's next victim.
The group deduce the Outsider is hiding in a cave and when they arrive, they are immediately fired upon by Hoskins, who is in a sniper position overlooking them after being sent there by the Outsider. Howie and Pelley are both killed and Sablo is wounded. Following a brief standoff, Ralph kills Hoskins. Ralph and Holly make their way further into the cave where they are then greeted by the Outsider, who resembles a mixture of Bolton and Maitland.
Ralph prepares to shoot the Outsider, but is told that a gunshot could cause another cave-in, killing all of them. Instead, Holly insults the Outsider and hits it repeatedly over the head with a sock full of ball bearings when it lunges at her. The Outsider begins to disintegrate and worm-like creatures begin crawling from its body. With the Outsider appearing destroyed, Ralph and Holly exit the cave. Holly and Sablo go to the Bolton residence to get their stories straight with them, while Ralph waits with the bodies of Howie and Pelley.
Later, Samuels announces Maitland's exoneration, alleging defective DNA samples as well as planted fingerprints, and confirming the video proof supporting Maitland's alibi. Ralph says goodbye to Holly, thanking her for telling him to keep an open mind.
Personality[]
She has been described as very observant, refreshingly unfiltered and unaware of her innocence with savant-like memory, razor sharp observation skills, as well as a computer whiz.
