Billy Summers was a Marine sniper in Afghanistan, and he's been working for many years now as a hired killer. He's not only an excellent shot but is very good at disappearing afterward. And he has a moral code: he will only agree to kill really bad guys. Now, a Vegas crime boss named Nick whom he's worked with before wants to hire Billy for a big job. The pay-off for this one is so huge that Billy decides it will be his last job, and he will retire afterward. The more Billy learns about this job, though, the more nervous it makes him (and he is not a nervous man). The job requires him to move into a small southern city and become a part of the community, blending in so that his presence there seems normal. He'll be waiting until his target, who is currently imprisoned in California for a lesser charge, is extradited back to be tried for murder. The cover story concocted for Billy is that he's a first-time novelist who wasn't meeting his deadlines, so his agent (the cover for another man he's worked with before) moves him to this city and sets him up in an office in a half-empty building (his office window conveniently looks out over the courthouse across the street). Billy moves into a decent neighborhood, goes to the office every day, and begins to get to know his neighbors at home and at work. As long as he's pretending to be a writer, he decides to really attempt to write, something he's always wanted to do. Billy is very smart and an avid reader, but as a hit man, he adopts what he thinks of as the "dumb self" in front of those who hire him. As time moves forward and Billy waits for his target, he gets more and more concerned about this whole situation.
As you might expect, things go wrong! This is a very twisty, suspenseful novel, especially in the second half, but the beginning is focused on Billy himself. In the present day, he settles into this new place, but he's writing about his past, starting with a horrific childhood. Billy's writings are a book-within-the-book, providing background and understanding of Billy for the reader, as Billy himself slowly lets himself remember everything he's been through. The novel is aptly titled, as it is an in-depth look at the complexities of Billy Summers: who he is, what he's experienced, and how that all affects him. And, of course, it's written by Stephen King, who is supremely talented at creating intricate, real-feeling characters. In fact, I liked Billy right from the start and was rooting for him (yes, for the hit man) and have missed him since I finished the book. As things go wrong after the hit, the action and suspense ramp up with lots of surprises in store, but the entire book, right from the first pages, is thoughtful, compelling, and engrossing. Billy Summers has taken its place among my favorite Stephen King novels (including 11/22/63 and Hearts in Atlantis).
514 pages, Scribner
Simon & Schuster Audio
This book fits in the following 2023 Reading Challenges:
Mount TBR Challenge
Literary Escapes Challenge - Arkansas (my best guess)
Big Book Summer Challenge
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This is the kind of Stephen King that I like (can't do the horror ones) and this one was so good.
ReplyDeleteYes!! I don't read much horror anymore, either, though I read all his classics back in the day :)
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