Book Review: Billy Summers

Crime novels are not my usual genre. But since I am a huge Stephen King fan and have yet to dislike any of his books, I gave it a shot, trusting in the storyteller to be able to draw me in. My trust was not misplaced.

The first half of the book felt like a standard one-last-job assassin story, the sort of thing I'd skip if it came up in a blurb on Netflix. But there was a little niggle of doubt laced through it, suggesting that maybe there was more to this story. By the time I got to the middle, this doubt was realised and I was hooked. I read the last half of the book in a day or so, sneaking off to read more every chance I got.

There's precious little of the supernatural in this one (barring a lovely inclusion about a certain haunted hotel), but the magic of it is in the way King writes the title character as he in turn writes his own story. It's the magic of writing, of creating new worlds or changing the one you're in, and this carries throughout the book. It's a magic King knows well and is adept at practicing. The ending isn't surprising, but is is handed beautifully.

Billy Summers will never be my favourite Stephen King novel, because I am too fond of my ghosts and monsters and things that go bump in the night. But if you're looking for a story about human monsters, this one is a good one, and well worth your time.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4543970464