Holly Gibney
Holly Rachel Gibney is a fictional character created by American author Stephen King. Originally appearing in the Bill Hodges trilogy of novels, she later appears as a major supporting character in The Outsider and as the main character in If It Bleeds, a novella included in the collection of the same name, as well as the novels Holly and Never Flinch.
Character biography
King has characterized Gibney as "an obsessive compulsive with a huge inferiority complex". 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". She first appeared in Mr. Mercedes, where she is first shown as a shy recluse with many emotional issues and social awkwardness. By the end of Mr. Mercedes her intelligence and courage play a major role in assisting main protagonist, Bill Hodges, to bring down the villain. In Finders Keepers she has evolved into a private detective in partnership with Hodges. In Holly, Gibney returns as a solo private detective.It has been suggested by media outlets, but not confirmed by King, that Gibney is on the autism spectrum; the portrayal of Gibney in HBO's adaptation of The Outsider was described as being on the spectrum
Television adaptations
Holly has been portrayed onscreen by Justine Lupe in Mr. Mercedes, and by Cynthia Erivo in the miniseries adaptation of The Outsider.Richard Price, the developer and showrunner of The Outsider, reworked the character to some extent, without keeping the continuity with the Mr. Mercedes TV series or Bill Hodges novels, and asked King to rename the character, but he insisted on keeping the name Holly Gibney.
A third series is in development, which will adapt the novel Holly.