Stephen King keeps delivering; so far this year we’ve seen his latest novella for Hard Case Crime, Later (which is an excellent ghost story), the new adaptation of The Stand (which … exists) and the Apple TV adaptation of Lisey’s Story (which also … exists). And now he’s back with his latest novel, Billy Summers.
A former sniper for the US military, Billy Summers is one of the best in the business; the business of being a hitman for the criminal underworld. His moral compass means that he only accepts jobs where the target is a genuine bad guy, and now Billy is being offered enough for this latest job that he’ll be able to retire after, provided nothing goes wrong. But, this job is a hard one. He has to take the hit in broad daylight, in public as the target is moved from a jail to a courthouse. In order to blend in, Billy moves to the town under an assumed identity and poses as an author working to a tight deadline on a new book.
Billy Summers is another foray into the world of crime and thriller writing for King. While recent examples like the Bill Hodges series (Mr Mercedes, Finders Keepers, End of Watch) and The Outsider featured detective protagonists and supernatural elements, this time the protagonist is a criminal, and (this isn’t much of a spoiler), there isn’t a supernatural force at play.
I was initially reminded of 11/22/63, in which the time-travelling protagonist has to build a false identity and blend in with a community while he prepares to stop the Kennedy assassination. And just like that novel, Billy Summers does an excellent job of building tension before the inevitable violence. But making that comparison early on made me think I knew what kind of book Billy Summers would be, and where it would go. Turns out I was wrong.
Billy Summers takes an unexpected turn, which I won’t spoil here, but it is a turn that’s sure to spark discussion. The story takes on some heavy subject matter and then winds up going to some surprising places.
Ultimately, Billy Summers is a book about trauma and survival. What we do to survive, how we make our peace with it, and who we really are underneath the surface we choose to show the world. The assumed identity Billy takes is that of an author, and he uses the job of writing to work through trauma from his childhood, and the horrors he witnessed in Iraq, which King creates as a book within the book.
While Billy Summers probably won’t wind up being heralded as one of his great works of fiction, it’s still a very solid, highly entertaining read from one of the best writers working today.
Stephen King meta-verse connections: constant readers will no doubt be aware that most of King’s books take place in the same universe (because ka is a wheel and all things serve the beam), and Billy Summers is no exception, with a small link to the broader universe that fans are going to love (provided they don’t overlook it).
—Billy Summers by Stephen King (Hachette Australia) is out now.
Billy Summers
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...
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