The protagonist in Holly, by Stephen King, is a private detective who was a popular minor character in other King work who has earned her own novel. Holly is a private detective hired to find a missing girl. The investigation leads to other disappearances, but not bodies. Turns out the bad guys are husband and wife professors with medical conditions. She has sciatica, he has arthritis and early-onset dementia, and they believe consuming human flesh will make them better. (There has to be a joke about academia hidden somewhere in there). The action picked up during the last 100 pages of the book, but you have to wade through the first 350 pages to get there. Kirkus Reviews says the narrative is framed as a mystery without delivering the pleasures of a mystery.

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/stephen-king/holly-king/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwv-2pBhB-EiwAtsQZFGtuSkIo28RF4isDOZ5TKlZrBprDK7nlJ-tZyaFLn74bPsNgJnuN8RoC4JQQAvD_BwE

The title character in Billy Summers, Stephen King’s latest novel, is a contract killer hired to do what he believes will be his final job. Like all King’s books, the mundane details of ordinary life are and most of the characters are regular people, but there’s nothing supernatural in this King book. It’s a thriller and, in the second part of the book, a love story. You will have no problem liking the protagonist – even though he’s a contract killer, he only kills bad guys who deserve it. For a taste of the plot, see what Kirkus Reviews says:

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/stephen-king/billy-summers/