AN unidentified man’s found dead on the beach of an island off the Maine coast in The Colorado Kid by Stephen King (Hard Case Crime, £7.99). Establishing who he is increases, instead of decreasing the baffling nature of his death and the days that preceded it.

Originally published in 2005, and out of print for years, this much admired puzzler is a very curious little book. It warns you from the start that the mysteries it presents will not be solved within its pages. Essentially a three-way conversation between two elderly, small-town newspapermen, and the young woman “from away” who is their cherished protege, it’s an open-ended meditation on mystery itself.

Why are humans drawn to mysteries? And what do we learn about ourselves from our reaction to those that remain unsolved? I found it bewitching, as many others have, but if you’re prone to frustration from whodunnits that don’t end properly, avoid it.