100,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock πŸ‡³πŸ‡Ώ

Auckland Bookstore open Sunday until 5pm! πŸŽ‰

Needful Things

3.98 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating.
( 272,396 ratings, 7,615 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Needful Things by Stephen King is a gripping horror novel set in the small town of Castle Rock. When a mysterious shop called Needful Things opens, the proprietor, Leland Gaunt, offers items that seem to fulfil the deepest desires of the townsfolk. However, the cost for these desires spirals into chaos, pitting neighbour against neighbour and unravelling the community with devastating consequences.
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$2999
OVERNIGHT NZ-WIDE DELIVERY

Found a better price? Request a price match

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book may appeal to you if you enjoy thrilling tales with a supernatural twist. Stephen King's mastery of suspense and intricate character development draws you into a small town's descent into chaos, driven by a sinister presence. Ideal for fans of horror who appreciate a blend of psychological terror and dark fantasy.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

As part of our exciting King reissue programme (2020-2024), we are relaunching his paperbacks with a stunning new cover look. NEEDFUL THINGS is a captivating EPIC THRILLER.

Hodder are boosting Stephen King's backlist with new covers, new author brand lettering and a marketing campaign which directs readers to the right King title for them.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

In the quiet and seemingly idyllic town of Castle Rock, Maine, a new shop opens, shrouded in mystery and intrigue. This shop, with the enigmatic name of Needful Things, is run by a stranger who captivates the curiosity of the townspeople. As whispers and gossip ripple through the community, everyone is eagerly awaiting the shop's grand opening.

The very first customer is eleven-year-old Brian Rusk, who finds a rare treasure that he could hardly believe his luck in discovering – a 1956 Sandy Koufax baseball card, and it's signed. Next is Cyndi Rose Martin, who is drawn to a beautiful Lalique vase – a piece that would fit perfectly in her living room, completing her decor in a way she always dreamed of.

Needful Things has something for everyone. Each item on display seems to call out to the deepest desires of every individual who steps through its doors. The prices always seem just within reach, a tempting offer that's hard to refuse. However, there's always a catch. While the monetary price is something they can afford, the true cost of their heart's most secret and earnest yearning could come at a far steeper price.

As more townspeople flock to the store, they find themselves unable to resist the lure of these needful things. But even as their desires are fulfilled, strange occurrences begin to unsettle Castle Rock. The once peaceful town starts to spiral into chaos, revealing the sinister undercurrents tied to the seemingly innocuous shop and its mysterious owner. The true nature of Needful Things slowly unfurls, leading to shocking and unforeseen consequences that no one could have anticipated.

Needful Things by Stephen King weaves a tale of human nature, exploring the lengths people will go to in order to obtain what they most desire. It is a gripping story that delves into the dark corners of the human soul, making readers ponder the price of desire and the cost of temptation. As the plot thickens with tension and suspense, King masterfully unveils a chilling and unforgettable narrative that will grip you from beginning to end.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Needful Things by Stephen King has been praised for its fluid writing style and sophisticated literary craftsmanship. Reviewers highlight King's ability to intricately examine the social dynamics of small-town American life.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781444707878

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 12 May 2011

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Hodder & Stoughton

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 46.0mm

Width: 128.0mm

Height: 196.0mm

Weight: 620g

Pages: 944

About the Author

Stephen King has been described by the Guardian as 'one of the greatest storytellers of our time', by the Mirror as a 'genius' and by The Sunday Times as 'one of the most fertile storytellers of the modern novel.' In 2003, he was given the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He lives with his wife, the novelist Tabitha King, for most of the year in Maine, USA.

Also by Stephen King

View all
  • Never Flinch
    From master storyteller Stephen King comes a thrilling new novel with intertwining storylinesβ€”one about a killer on a diabolical revenge mission, and another about a vigilante targeting a feminist celebrity speakerβ€”featuring the beloved Holly Gibney and a dynamic new cast of characters. When the Buckeye City Police Department receives a disturbing letter from a person threatening to 'kill thirteen innocents...
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Long Walk
    Soon to be a major motion picture coming September 2025 In this powerful novel from master storyteller Stephen King, writing as Richard Bachman, the tale of the contestants of a gruelling walking competition is unveiled, where there can only be one winnerβ€”the one that survives. In a dystopian near-future, America has fallen on hard times. Sixteen-year-old Ray Garraty is about...
    Paperback
    $2300
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Shining
    The Shining by Stephen King is a spine-chilling masterpiece that delves into the horrifying and supernatural. The story revolves around the Torrance family: Jack, Wendy, and their five-year-old son, Danny, who possesses an extraordinary psychic ability, referred to by the hotel's cook, Mr Hallorann, as "shining". This gift allows Danny to see the horrific past and foreboding future of the...
    Paperback
    $2999
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • 11.22.63
    WHAT IF you could go back in time and change the course of history? WHAT IF the watershed moment you could change was the JFK assassination? 11.22.63, the date that Kennedy was shot – unless . . . King takes his protagonist Jake Epping, a high school English teacher from Lisbon Falls, Maine, 2011, on a fascinating journey back to...
    Paperback
    $2500
    Elsewhere:
    $2999
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Fairy Tale
    WELCOME TO THE DARK SIDE OF HAPPILY EVER AFTER Charlie Reade looks like a regular high school kid, great at baseball and football, a decent student. But when Charlie is seventeen, he meets a dog named Radar and her aging master, Howard Bowditch, a recluse in a big house at the top of a big hill, with a locked shed...
    Paperback
    $2700
    Elsewhere:
    $2999
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • It
    To the children, the town was their whole world. To the adults, knowing better, Derry, Maine was just their home town: familiar, well-ordered for the most part. A good place to live. It was the children who saw and felt what made Derry so horribly different. In the storm drains, in the sewers, It lurked, taking on the shape of...
    Paperback
    $2700
    Elsewhere:
    $2999
    Backorder
    Ships mid August
  • The Life of Chuck
    Stephen King's The Life of Chuck is a 'phenomenal' (USA Today) tale of life and legacy - and now a feature film directed by Mike Flanagan and starring Tom Hiddleston, Mark Hamill, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Karen Gillan out in the UK from August 2025. Available for the first time in a beautiful standalone edition in June. Originally featured in the...
    Hardback
    $3100
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Bachman Books
    The Bachman Books is a compelling collection authored by Richard Bachman, a pseudonym for the world-renowned writer Stephen King. This volume brings together three gripping novellas that delve into dystopian futures, human resilience, and chilling socio-political commentaries, showcasing King's masterful storytelling ability. The Long Walk envisions an ultra-conservative America, where an annual event known as "The Long Walk" is the...
    Paperback
    $2700
    Elsewhere:
    $2999
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Misery
    Misery by Stephen King is a gripping psychological thriller that pulls the reader into a world of fear, obsession, and survival. Renowned author Paul Sheldon has enjoyed great success with his popular romance series, featuring the beloved character Misery Chastain. After deciding to finally end the series and pursue more serious literary ambitions, he pens what he believes to be...
    Paperback
    $2999
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Holly
    Holly Gibney, one of Stephen King's most compelling and ingeniously resourceful characters, returns in this thrilling novel to uncover the gruesome truth behind multiple disappearances in a Midwestern town. Bonnie Dahl is missing... Holly Gibney of the Finders Keepers detective agency is meant to be on leave. But she finds it impossible to turn down Bonnie's mother's desperate request for...
    Paperback
    $2799
    (1)
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Pet Sematary
    Pet Sematary by Stephen King is a haunting tale that explores the darkest corners of grief, family, and the boundaries of life and death. When Dr Louis Creed and his family move to the quaint town of Ludlow, Maine, they believe they have found an idyllic new beginning. The house is rambling and old, offering comfort and a sense of...
    Paperback
    $2700
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    Backorder
    Ships mid August
  • The Stand
    In The Stand by Stephen King, humanity is brought to its knees by an unstoppable plague, an influenza strain known as "Captain Trips," which devastates the globe, wiping out nearly the entire population. As civilisation collapses, survivors are haunted by vivid dreams that pull them towards two opposing figures: the benevolent, elderly Mother Abagail and the sinister Randall Flagg, the...
    Paperback
    $2700
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow

More from Horror & Supernatural

View all
  • The Buffalo Hunter Hunter
    The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Etsy Beaucarne follows the journey of an academic striving to achieve professional success by uncovering hidden family history. When a journal written in 1912 by her grandfather, Arthur Beaucarne, a Lutheran pastor, is discovered within a wall during renovations, Etsy sees it as her opportunity to publish and secure tenure. As she delves into the...
    Paperback
    $2299
    Elsewhere:
    $2899
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Shirl's Picks
    Strange Houses
    A sinister hidden room. A dead space between two walls. A sealed cellar. A child's face glimpsed at a window. Every house hides secrets. But some secrets are far darker than others. More than a million readers have discovered the terrible truth behind these strange houses. Now it's your turn.
    By Uketsu
    Paperback
    $3000
    Elsewhere:
    $3699
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    Molka
    'Brutal and unflinching...You won't be able to look away as this book cuts you to pieces.' β€” Kylie Lee Baker, author of Bat Eater 'Combining feminist fury with creeping horror... Fans of Bunny will love this.' β€” Eve Kellman, author of How to Kill a Guy in Ten Ways The new novel by the Sunday Times bestselling author of The...
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • There Is No Antimemetics Division
    Mind-bending science fiction about antimemes: ideas that attack memory, identity, and the fabric of reality itself. An antimeme is an entity with self-censoring properties. Some are benign, but others, less so... These entities can feed on your most cherished memories, the things that make you youβ€”and you'll never even know anything changed. And they aren't just feeding on us. They're...
    By qntm
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The End of the World as We Know It
    Since its initial publication in 1978, The Stand has been considered No. 1 bestselling author and master storyteller Stephen King's seminal masterpiece of apocalyptic fiction, with millions of copies sold and adapted twice for television. Although there are other extraordinary works exploring the unravelling of human society, none have been as influential as this iconic novel - with generations of...
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Home Before Dark
    Clever, twisty, and altogether spine-chilling... A deliciously terrifying story. You'll want to read this one after dark, ideally with the wind whistling in the eaves and a window banging somewhere just out of reach. But keep the light switch handy. You just might need it. - Ruth Ware, Book of the Month What was it like? Living in that house....
    Paperback
    $2200
    Elsewhere:
    $2499
    (3)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    Trad Wife
    Your favourite influencer is about to be exposed . . . A deliciously sinister novel from three-time Bram Stoker award-winner Sarah Langan. Every day, millions watch Mia Wright, the "trad wife" queen, on her idyllic 300-acre farm. With her handsome husband, seven perfect children, and a life of from-scratch meals and pastoral bliss, she's an icon of modern femininity. But...
    Paperback
    $3000
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Horrorstor
    It's a classic old-fashioned haunted house story - set in a big box Swedish furniture superstore. Designed like a retail catalog, Horrorstor offers a creepy read with mass appealβ€”perfect for Halloween tables! From the New York Times best-selling author of The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires comes a hilarious and terrifying haunted house story in a thoroughly contemporary...
    Paperback
    $2700
    Elsewhere:
    $2999
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Frankenstein
    One of the BBC's '100 Novels That Shaped Our World' HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. Frankenstein β€˜The rain pattered dismally against the panes, and my candle was nearly burnt out, when, by the glimmer of the half-extinguished light, I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open…’ Victor Frankenstein’s monster is stitched...
    Paperback
    $1299
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Thinner
    Thinner, by Stephen King writing as Richard Bachman, is a chilling tale of one man's descent into a nightmarish curse. Billy Halleck is a successful attorney living in Connecticut with his loving wife and daughter. Overweight but content, Billy's life takes a horrifying turn after a chance encounter with an old Romani woman. Driving through town, Billy accidentally hits her...
    Paperback
    $2500
    Elsewhere:
    $2999
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Shining
    The Shining by Stephen King is a spine-chilling masterpiece that delves into the horrifying and supernatural. The story revolves around the Torrance family: Jack, Wendy, and their five-year-old son, Danny, who possesses an extraordinary psychic ability, referred to by the hotel's cook, Mr Hallorann, as "shining". This gift allows Danny to see the horrific past and foreboding future of the...
    Paperback
    $2999
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • On Sale
    11% off
    The Arachnid (The Poisoner #2)
    Paperback
    $3400
    Elsewhere:
    $4500
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 80,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.