Episode 1 of Lisey's Story begins with a woman swinging. This seemingly innocent scene is undermined by an ominous bite of text confirming that every marriage holds secrets. Well, the marriage in question here is between award-winning writer Scott Landon and his wife Lisey. Scott is listed as a national treasure and prepares to accept an award during flashbacked moments interspersed throughout the episode. A crazed gunman shows up at his conference and shoots Scott in cold blood. Lisey grabs a shovel and swipes at the man, leaving a nasty gash across his face. Scott survives the blast though, while this gunman eerily claims that Scott "stole his mind". In true Stephen King fashion, Lisey's story gets off to a suitably weird and eerie start, with a mystery involving Lisey's deceased husband Scott and seemingly mind control too. It seems like Scott may have actually hidden his secrets within the papers, and the unpublished stories may be the "Stolen" memories Scott's shooter mentioned.
However, the visions and numerous eerie occurrences really lend themselves to the hallmarks of other King stories we've seen adapted to the small screen. There are echoes of The Outsider and Castle Rock here, feeding into an enticing mystery and a pretty artistic one at that. This is a serious slow burn though and with lots being hidden beneath the hood, Lisey's Story bows out with a suitably ominous ending. As the episode closes out, Lisey thinks back to her husband's manuscripts and believes the secrets and clues she seeks may well be lying there. This eight-part Apple TV+ limited series is based on the 2006 Stephen King novel. Suggested by some to be an ode to King's wife and fellow author Tabitha King, the horror master has called this blend of romance and psychology horror his favorite among his works.