Blurb: Billy Summers is a man in a room with a gun. He’s a killer for hire and the best in the business. But he’ll do the job only if the target is a truly bad guy. And now Billy wants out. But first there is one last hit. Billy is among the best snipers in the world, a decorated Iraq war vet, a Houdini when it comes to vanishing after the job is done. So what could possibly go wrong?
How about everything.
Review: Billy Summers is hired to kill a bad man. He promises this will be his last job. All he needs to do is go deep into cover until the day for the hit comes and then disappear. It sounds easy. He's done it dozens of times before, but will this one final job be a piece of cake?
My synopsis of the story is short, but there is so much more to it than a hitman doing doing one final job. The thing I love most about King's books is his characterization. He can make any character fascinating. It's all the little things and, of course, the big things, but the little things matter greatly. Billy is good at what he does. Very good. He might play dumb, but he's far from it. He might be a guy who kills bad men while working for bad men, and while he sees himself in that same light, there is also a good side to him. A gentle side, an introspective side, a creative side. So many layers that are peeled and peeled away. This tale is of Billy and his whole heart-wrenching life.
This isn't a paranormal story. There is a brief nod to The Shining, but it's a story where the monsters are human. And oh, there are some loathsome humans. There are also some amazingly wonderful humans, and many who are in the gray area in-between.
I try to review mostly indie books on my site, because there are amazing indie books that need to be celebrated. Yet I still do have my favorite big authors and Stephen King has been one of my idols since I was a preteen. Back then, I ate up his books because of the horror aspect. No one could scare me, more so, unnerve me like he could. These days, I may get a little of the creeps, but it's King's characterization that I aspire to with my own writing. His characters are incredibly real and compelling. I'm in that character's world. I live their life. This book has reminded me how well King does his job. I was kind of sad at the beginning of the novel when I realized there would be nothing supernatural going on, but as I read on, it didn't matter. Not one bit. I was so engrossed in Billy's life, that's all I needed.
You can find Stephen King's website here and grab your own copy of Billy Summers.
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