Dolan's Cadillac by Stephen King | Goodreads
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Dolan's Cadillac

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Wealthy crime-boss Jimmy Dolan brutally murders a woman who is scheduled to testify against him, and her husband spends the next seven years plotting his revenge. Haunted by the voice of his dead wife, he will stop at nothing to exact his vengeance and allow his wife to rest in peace.

64 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1989

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About the author

Stephen King

2,472 books844k followers
Stephen Edwin King was born the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. After his father left them when Stephen was two, he and his older brother, David, were raised by his mother. Parts of his childhood were spent in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where his father's family was at the time, and in Stratford, Connecticut. When Stephen was eleven, his mother brought her children back to Durham, Maine, for good. Her parents, Guy and Nellie Pillsbury, had become incapacitated with old age, and Ruth King was persuaded by her sisters to take over the physical care of them. Other family members provided a small house in Durham and financial support. After Stephen's grandparents passed away, Mrs. King found work in the kitchens of Pineland, a nearby residential facility for the mentally challenged.

Stephen attended the grammar school in Durham and Lisbon Falls High School, graduating in 1966. From his sophomore year at the University of Maine at Orono, he wrote a weekly column for the school newspaper, THE MAINE CAMPUS. He was also active in student politics, serving as a member of the Student Senate. He came to support the anti-war movement on the Orono campus, arriving at his stance from a conservative view that the war in Vietnam was unconstitutional. He graduated in 1970, with a B.A. in English and qualified to teach on the high school level. A draft board examination immediately post-graduation found him 4-F on grounds of high blood pressure, limited vision, flat feet, and punctured eardrums.

He met Tabitha Spruce in the stacks of the Fogler Library at the University, where they both worked as students; they married in January of 1971. As Stephen was unable to find placement as a teacher immediately, the Kings lived on his earnings as a laborer at an industrial laundry, and her student loan and savings, with an occasional boost from a short story sale to men's magazines.

Stephen made his first professional short story sale ("The Glass Floor") to Startling Mystery Stories in 1967. Throughout the early years of his marriage, he continued to sell stories to men's magazines. Many were gathered into the Night Shift collection or appeared in other anthologies.

In the fall of 1971, Stephen began teaching English at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels.

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5 stars
790 (30%)
4 stars
938 (36%)
3 stars
661 (25%)
2 stars
163 (6%)
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34 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 102 reviews
Profile Image for Karla.
1,159 reviews324 followers
July 21, 2022
Story 3.75 stars**
Audio 4 stars**
Narrator Rob Lowe
Profile Image for Karl.
3,258 reviews320 followers
June 25, 2018
This hardcover is numbered 112 of 1000 produced and is signed by Stephen King.

I purchased this book while on vacation in California is a book store in Santa Monica. It was originally published in Castle Rock, King's official newsletter, in monthly installments.

A bit overly melodramatic in mu opinion.
Profile Image for Afifa Habib.
89 reviews215 followers
October 25, 2020
আমি শেষ করিনাই। অর্ধেক পড়েই রেখে দিসি। কারোর স্টিফেন কিং পড়ার ইচ্ছা থাকলে এই অনুবাদ বইটা দিয়ে অন্তত শুরু করবেন না।
এত বাজে আর বিচ্ছিরি অনুবাদ আমি জীবনেও পড়িনাই। উনি অনুবাদ করসে না গুগোল ট্রান্সলেটর থেকে ছাপায়ে দিসে সেই ব্যাপারে আমার যথেষ্ট সন্দেহ আছে। উনার কাছে অনুরোধ প্লিজ আপনি অনুবাদ করা ছেড়ে দেন।
এতদিনে রিভিউ দেখে দেখে আমার স্টিফেন কিং সম্পর্কে অনেক উচ্চমানের ধারনা হয়ে গিয়েছিল। ভাবসিলাম কি না কি। সেইদিক থেকে দেখলে কাহিনির ব্যাপারেও অনেকটা আশাহত। তবে স্টিফেন কিং এখনই ছাড়ছি না। আরোও কয়েকটা পড়ে দেখি।
Profile Image for Jamie.
1,270 reviews158 followers
February 20, 2021
Such a delicious revenge story, the avenger just your average, middle aged third grade teacher battling his inner demons and playing a very, very long game to get back at the Vegas mobster responsible for his wife's death. King masterfully depicts his despair, sense of futility and unrelenting focus as he realizes the near impossibility of his venture but is determined to find a way, no matter how hard, how long or how crazy.
Profile Image for Crime Addict Sifat.
177 reviews94 followers
July 27, 2017
It is about the development, holding up and watching, arranging revenge. But the arrangement seems so boring and slow; readers would have to fight with their nerves to carry on.

Dolan's Cadillac recounts the tale of Robinson, a teacher from Las Vegas, and his mission for retaliation against the man, a wrongdoing manager named Dolan, who has his wife killed.

Robinson does not get fulfillment rapidly or effectively, holding up finished a time of seven years before the methods and open door for his striking back is perfect.

Guided by his significant other Elizabeth, her voice frequenting his psyche, Robinson devises an arrangement to cover Dolan inside his Cadillac utilizing the street development on the parkway further bolstering his good fortune.

Robinson does not do this rapidly, but rather plans, studies, and prepares for the ideal chance to set everything into movement.

Dolan's Cadillac achieves its pinnacle when the trap is set and Dolan drives to his demise, asking, arguing, and shouting for his life once got inside his Cadillac. Yet, Robinson does nothing to prevent himself from tossing more soil and rock onto the Cadillac with Dolan inside it.
Profile Image for Benjamin Stahl.
1,963 reviews54 followers
December 2, 2015
A very strong opening for the Nightmares & Dreamscapes anthology. They made a film that wasn't entirely terrible either.
Profile Image for Farzana Raisa.
457 reviews136 followers
November 13, 2023
গল্পের স্টোরি লাইন মোটামুটি। অনুবাদ বিচ্ছিরি। এক স্কুল টিচার তার স্ত্রীর মৃত্যুতে প্রতিশোধ নেয়ার গল্প। অনুবাদে গল্পের ভিলেন কখনও ডোলান আবার কখনও ভোলান হয়ে গেছে :3 মাত্র ৭৮ পৃষ্ঠার একটা বই শেষ করতে বিশেষ বেগ পেতে হয়েছে 🐸
Profile Image for Patrick .
453 reviews48 followers
June 17, 2020
This main guy is not crazy but incredibly persistent in revenge. Great short story....
59 reviews1 follower
March 2, 2021
Essentially "The Cask of Amontillado" retold / re-envisioned by Stephen King. I teach those two stories together, as they work wonderfully in tandem. I first heard this story on a book-on-tape as my wife and I were driving back from Las Vegas, and it really hooked me in. A well-told REVENGE tale. It's commonly said that King's strength is in characterization, which fits this story well, since it's the tale of a man getting revenge for the death of his wife.

side note - the movie version of this story kinda stinks.
Profile Image for Peter.
3,210 reviews544 followers
July 13, 2018
read it and afterwards see the movie with the same title, compelling...
Profile Image for Ishraque Aornob.
Author 24 books323 followers
January 18, 2020
খুবই সাধারণ একটা প্রতিশোধের গল্প। স্ত্রী হত্যার প্রতিশোধের। কিন্তু খুব ভালো লেগেছে। প্রতিশোধ নেয়ার অভিনব ধরনের কারণেই হয়তো। কুইক রিড। পড়ে ফেলতে পারেন।
Profile Image for GRIS.
466 reviews99 followers
January 23, 2020
❝ ‘She was in pieces,’ I croaked. ‘I loved her and she was in pieces.’ ❞

Revenge never felt so satisfactory.

La venganza nunca se ha sentido más satisfactoria que esto.
Profile Image for Anjan Das.
185 reviews2 followers
September 29, 2022
Exceptional revenge thriller...new way of taking revenge...so enjoyable..
Profile Image for  Charlie.
477 reviews225 followers
September 29, 2014
The strength of one mans resolve is beautifully told in this tale of ultimate revenge.

When a goods man wife is killed because she knows too much, he makes it his mission to take out the powerful and seemingly untouchable man that is behind her death. His only shot at success is when "Dolan" is being driven across the country in his cadillac and it is on the road, laying the most incredible trap, that he makes his move. The personal pain and struggle our protagonist must endure in order to give his plan the best chance of success is gruelling and torturous....but well worth it.

Profile Image for Ostap Andrusiv.
51 reviews19 followers
August 17, 2014
Перша книжка, прочитана в 2013-му. Вирішив нарешті почитати Кінга. Випадково тапнув по рендомній книжці — попав на “Каділак”. Книжка супер. Проста і, водночас, цікава історія. Кінг розказує про життя дуже цілеспрямованої людини, яка крок за кроком, міліметр за міліметром досягає своєї цілі. Щодня живе заради її здійснення. Кінг гарно тримає у напруженні, аж до останньої сторінки.

Резюме: цікава пригодницька книжка з коханням, кров’ю, напруженим сюжетом і кінцем. Такі я люблю найбільше.
Profile Image for Eveline Kleijn.
71 reviews
October 7, 2015
Ik had dit verhaal lang geleden al eens gelezen en het bleef altijd zo'n beetje in mijn onderbewuste rondhangen! Steeds als ik wegwerkzaamheden zie moet ik er aan denken! Geweldig wraakverhaal! Heb er weer van genoten!
Profile Image for P.S. Winn.
Author 84 books349 followers
September 10, 2017
Jimmy Dolan, is a crime-boss who murders a woman because she is going to testify against him.
Her husband wants revenge. His dead wife won't let him stop seeking that revenge in a great thriller from the master of making readers have sleepless nights.
December 7, 2017
The idea that is heavily ingrained in the mind of Edmond Dantès in the brilliant novel of "The Count of Monte Cristo" is that of the the ideology of revenge is a dish best served cold, so, in layman's terms, revenge is better when it's not made in the fury and passion of the damage, but after planning, preparation, and a perfected yet precise plan. Stephen King takes this idea and portrays it in a manner that takes it from 1807 Nîmes, France to nearly modern Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and state route 71, where the grieving husband of a brutally executed woman strategically forms and executes a thought out and meticulously planned revenge, perfected down to the smallest crack in a nearly deserted state road.

The protagonist who is known only by Robinson, his surname, is driven to revenge by the almost haunting voice of his late wife compelling him to exact revenge on a powerhouse mob-boss who caused her untimely death with a few pounds of explosives to protect himself from her upcoming testimony in court. Driven nearly insane by the grief and sense of loss Robinson plans, studies, leans, and exacts a perfected plan that knocks off the single most loathed and hated enemy that Robinson can fathom, the mighty and conceivably untouchable mob-boss Dolan.

Once a satisfied school teacher Robinson turns into a revenge driven yet cautious man working a small, entry level road construction job to work his way into his grand scheme to capture and torment Dolan to punish him for taking his wife from him. Countless hours of research of a road atlas as well as spying on and stalking Dolan and his top of the line Cadillac, that chauffeurs him from his weekend getaways and eventually to his long awaited death buried deep below a desolate Nevada highway.

Stephen King has an almost sinister way of showing how far an innocent, regular man an can be pushed into doing what he justifies as right and turning themselves into that they would originally fear and despise.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Dawie.
223 reviews9 followers
May 9, 2019
For the time it was written in, this short actually reads like a true event...
Profile Image for Lacivard Mammadova.
574 reviews67 followers
March 30, 2020
Bir dəfə müəllifini xatırlamadığım "İdeal qətl" adlı kitab oxumuşdum. Buradakı qətlin ideyası onu döyər. Bu qədər.
Kitab qısadır. İdeyanı sevdim.
Profile Image for Chris Hendrickx.
216 reviews
September 25, 2020
Korte novelle met als inhoud weer een bijzonder maf verhaal zoals alleen Stephen King dit kan bedenken.
Profile Image for Teo.
10 reviews1 follower
April 26, 2022
it was okay, i am not the most fond of the authors writing style but i did like the story. I feel like the whole story was just following this now turned psychopath and his plan to murder someone which made it fairly interesting even though there were some boring parts.Also really easy read i read it within an hour and a half
Profile Image for Hafsa Sabira.
227 reviews43 followers
May 19, 2018
Abstract:

The protagonist is a school teacher, living a simple and peaceful life with his wife who's also a school teacher. However, his simplistic life turns upside diwn when his wife is brutally murdered by the wealthy crime-boss Jimmy Dolan. Since then the husband starts plotting hus revenge upon the man who's not only powerful but also utouchable. After seven years of planning and keen observation, he finally succeeds in avenging his wife's death and putting her restless soul in peace.

Verdict:

Not only the exaxt reason of the wife's murder is unknown but also there's only a vague portrayal of the husband. Moreover; the planning and the progress of the trap takes such a long time with such intricate description that it became very hard for me to concentrate on the story. Probably people with vast knowledge of cars and roads will enjoy this story but being a person with nearly zero idea about both, I couldn't enjoy this much.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 102 reviews

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