Never Flinch

Never Flinch is a 2025 crime thriller novel by prolific author Stephen King. Though King is best known for his supernatural horror novels and adaptations, he has published many works in the crime and thriller genres, including works published through Hard Case Crime, which focuses on recreating classic mystery and crime styles. Beginning with Mr. Mercedes, King has crafted a series of novels in this genre featuring Bill Hodges and Holly Gibney. Never Flinch comments on political and social phenomena of its era, including the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and the fight for women’s and reproductive rights.

Never Flinch follows Holly Gibney as she investigates two cases, exploring themes of The Corrosive Nature of Guilt, The Challenges of Maintaining Authenticity in Activism, and The Power of Solidarity in Overcoming Challenges. The Surrogate Juror Murders are taking place in Buckeye City, where someone is killing innocent people and leaving scraps of paper on their bodies bearing the names of the jurors in Alan Duffrey’s trial, in which Duffrey was wrongfully convicted before being murdered in prison. While Holly helps detective Izzy Jaynes with these murders, she gets recruited to serve as Kate McKay’s bodyguard. McKay is touring the country promoting her newest book on feminism and reproductive rights, and she is being targeted by a religious fanatic who wants to kill her. As the novel progresses, it becomes clear that Holly needs to identify and stop both killers with help from a large cast of characters, many of whom feature in prior novels in King’s repertoire.

This guide uses the Nook, Simon & Schuster e-book edition of the text, published in 2025.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of cursing, gender and/or transgender discrimination, antigay bias, mental illness, child abuse, pregnancy termination, child death, death by suicide, substance use, addiction, graphic violence, illness, physical abuse, emotional abuse, self-harm, and sexual abuse.

Plot Summary

Trig attends an Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meeting and laments the death of an unspecified person in prison. He plans to do something dangerous as a way to “atone.” Lieutenant Lewis Warwick of the Buckeye City Police shows Detective Isabelle “Izzy” Jaynes a letter from “Bill Wilson” threatening to kill 14 people as “atonement” for Alan Duffrey’s death. Duffrey was convicted of possessing child pornography before being killed in prison, but Cary Tolliver, a former coworker of Duffrey’s, recently confessed to framing Duffrey. Izzy reaches out to Holly Gibney, a private detective working for the Finders Keepers agency she inherited from Bill Hodges. Holly agrees to secretly help Izzy with the case.

Kate McKay, a notable feminist figure, begins her lecture tour with assistant Corrie Anderson. Before a show in Reno, Corrie is attacked by a woman who throws bleach in Corrie’s eyes, mistaking Corrie for Kate. Kate pushes on with the show anyway, using a photo of Corrie after the attack to both stoke interest in her tour and show the dangers of activism. Though Corrie agreed to work with Kate because she idolized her, she gradually realizes that Kate is a difficult person to work with. At a later show, Kate receives an envelope filled with anthrax, leading Kate and Corrie to hire more police protection. After a male police officer assaults a fan at one of Kate’s shows, though, they decide to hire a woman and reach out to Holly.

Holly’s friend and another member of Finders Keepers, Barbara Robinson, invites Holly to see Sista Bessie, a musician who is coming out of retirement and beginning a new tour in Buckeye City. Holly agrees, and Barbara meets Sista Bessie, whose real name is Betty. Betty is a fan of Barbara’s poetry, and she invites Barbara to perform with her and the Dixie Crystals on tour. Kate is furious when she realizes that she has lost her performance date at the Mingo Auditorium in Buckeye City to Sista Bessie, but Corrie reschedules Kate’s performance for the night before Sista Bessie’s.

Trig kills random, innocent people, placing the names of jurors on their bodies to signify his surrogate targets. Trig continues to attend Narcotics Anonymous (NA) and AA meetings, comparing his urges to continue killing people to his addiction to alcohol. As Trig kills more people, he becomes more comfortable with murder, but he also begins to have extended conversations with the hallucinated voice of his father. When Trig realizes that a fellow AA attendee, Reverend Mike, might know Trig’s identity, he kills him, omitting any jurors’ names. Trig begins to plan an extravagant end to his plot, scheming to gather and kill multiple people in Holman Rink, an ice rink in Buckeye City’s Dingley Park. Trig’s targets include Kate, Corrie, Sista Bessie, and Barbara, and he considers killing himself as well.

The person stalking Kate is Christopher “Chris” Stewart, who has a split identity with his deceased sister, Christine “Chrissy” Stewart. Chris is a member of Real Christ Holy, a church in Wisconsin that participates in protests against reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and gun control. When Chris was a child, his sister Christine died of a heart attack brought on by Brugada Syndrome, after which he adopted Chrissy’s identity as a facet of his own. Though Chris’s split identity was a contentious topic in the church, Deacon Andrew Fallowes decided to use Chris as an agent of the church’s goals. Fallowes sent Chris to kill Kate for her progressive views on women’s and reproductive rights, and Chris follows Kate and Corrie across the country, sometimes as Chrissy.

As Trig kills people outside Buckeye City, Izzy loses the case to the state police, forcing her to focus on pitching in the Guns and Hoses charity softball game between the police and fire departments. Izzy strikes up a rivalry with George Pill, a fireman who insults her based on her gender. Izzy practices for the game, but she keeps in touch with Holly regarding the investigation into Trig, including the discovery of Trig’s nickname from an address book in Mike’s house. Holly and Izzy fail to figure out who “Trig” is, but they request help from John Ackerly, a bartender and AA attendee, and Jerome Robinson, Barbara’s brother who is another member of Finders Keepers.

Kate struggles to follow Holly’s instructions, and Holly grows closer to Corrie, sympathizing with how Kate mistreats them both. Holly stops an attack on Kate when a man charges her after a show, but the newspaper reports that Corrie stopped the attack. Holly asks Jerome to investigate churches involved in violent protests, discovering Real Christ Holy through a protest at which Chris helped stop a counter-protest by Brenda’s Bitches. When one of Kate’s shows is cancelled due to a threat, Kate publicly denounces the cancellation and looks forward to performing in Buckeye City. When they arrive in Buckeye City, Holly discovers Chris’s dual identity as both Chris and Chrissy, printing out pictures of Chris to give to Mingo staff and police, though Kate insists that they keep publicity to a minimum.

Betty agrees to sing at the Guns and Hoses game, hiring Jerome and John as bodyguards. Trig reveals that he is Donald Gibson, the Program Director at the Mingo and one of the jurors on the Duffrey trial. Trig kidnaps Corrie and binds her in Holman Rink, where Chrissy finds her. Chrissy plans to wait for Trig to lure in Kate and then kill her. Trig kidnaps Barbara, as well, then reaches out to both Kate and Betty, threatening to kill Corrie and Barbara if they do not come to Holman Rink alone. When Kate arrives, she fights Trig, but Chrissy interrupts. Trig kills Chrissy and kicks her body, all while loudly conversing with the hallucinated voice of his dead father, who killed Trig’s mother and abused Trig as a child. Betty sings at the Guns and Hoses game, but she cannot escape until a brawl breaks out, starting with George attacking Izzy during the game. Though Betty takes a friend’s gun with her, she cannot make it to Holman Rink. Jerome finds Betty and goes to the rink in her place.

Holly, discovering that Kate is not in her room, tracks her to Holman Rink, where she finds Jerome. Holly and Jerome trick and kill Trig, who has already started a fire in the middle of the rink. Holly and Jerome release Corrie, Barbara, and Kate, escaping with Chris and Trig’s bodies. After recovering from the events at the rink, Holly meets with Izzy, Barbara travels with Betty, Jerome and Corrie comfort each other, and Kate attains a new level of fame. In the final scene, the janitor at the Mingo hears Trig’s voice.