REVIEW:

Crime fiction. That’s what Billy Summers is. Let’s get that out of the way from the outset so Uncle Stevie’s Constant Readers can prepare themselves accordingly and the “I’ve never read Stephen King!” people can open their minds to finally giving him a try.

And I do hope they will, because Billy Summers is a damn fine book by any measure. Many are saying its his best in years, and I have to agree with them. It’s a non-horror jewel in King’s crown that could possibly be mistaken for a novel by an author like S.A. Cosby or maybe even Dennis Lehane. No horror, no ghosts. (Well, unless you count the ghosts of King’s canon that float through the story in the form of delightfully placed Easter eggs. I see you, clown in the backseat! I adore you, Overlook Hotel hedge maze!)

While Billy Summers the book comes close to perfection, Billy Summers the character is imperfectly perfect. He’s an Iraq war sniper who puts his post-battle skills to use as a hitman for hire. But he’s a hitter with a heart of gold, because he only takes jobs to take out “bad people.” (Yes, it’s a little “Barry” meets “Dexter.”) The first part of the novel meanders through the set up of his character and his “final job,” and then at the midway point it takes off in a direction I never saw coming. And that direction is in the form of a relationship between two characters I’ll remember for a long time.

Billy Summers also features the book-within-a-book device, because Billy is writing a memoir about his childhood and war experiences. Readers get even more context to his motivations through those sections.

Now, there is violence. There are very graphically described sexual assaults. There is a lot of anti-Trump sentiment. BUT, there is a beautiful ending. King has finally landed the plane on the runway of repletion.

This one did indeed leave me satisfied from start to finish. Thanks, Uncle Stevie.

PUBLISHER SYNOPSIS:

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.