This was my first Stephen King book. Did I enjoy it? Yup. Do I know it's not his best one? Of course. Do I regret having it as a first? Maybe. 
 I liked it overall. Awesome characters, awesome writing, but the plot could've been more interesting. Anyway, it's pretty clear that King is a very skilled author. I'm definitely reading more from him in the future (Misery, The Shining and Under the Dome are on my list). 
 It had some disturbing content, though. I know he used it for making the characters seem more real; I could get over that, but keep this detail in mind if you ever thin about reading Mr. Mercedes. For example (view spoiler)[Brady making out with his mother (hide spoiler)]. Brady was a very interesting guy. He was a twisted person, but the moments when he talked about (view spoiler)[ his brother, Frankie, and how he killed him (hide spoiler)], that was heartbreaking. 
 I loved that unlike other crime books, in Mr. Mercedes you knew who the criminal was. And that was a brilliant idea. So, my only problem was the boring plot. The story wasn't boring at all, but I'm 99% sure the plot could've been much more interesting.