Fiction

Billy Summers

Billy Summers

  • Downloads：1042
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-09-02 02:41:11
  • Update Date：2025-09-23
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Stephen King
  • ISBN：1982182059
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

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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Reviews

Regina ，

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 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。 https://www。confettibookshelf。com/ 。。。more

Joan ，

Billy is a soldier who bonded with his fellow soldiers and learned to be a sniper。 He became an assassin who only killed bad men。 He is hired to kill a man for two million。 It takes 5 months to complete the killing。 The people set Billy up to be a writer and because he has to spend days in an office， he starts to write。 He begins to write the story of his horrible life， beginning with killing of the boy friend of his mother who stomped his sister to death。 Billy had a really terrible life。 While Billy is a soldier who bonded with his fellow soldiers and learned to be a sniper。 He became an assassin who only killed bad men。 He is hired to kill a man for two million。 It takes 5 months to complete the killing。 The people set Billy up to be a writer and because he has to spend days in an office， he starts to write。 He begins to write the story of his horrible life， beginning with killing of the boy friend of his mother who stomped his sister to death。 Billy had a really terrible life。 While waiting in the hid out， he sees a girl， Alice thrown out of a car after she was raped。 He helps Alice to recover from the rape， and he treats her like a daughter。 Billy is determined to get the money he is owed。 Very good story。 。。。more

Debra Lowman ，

Full of twists and turns。 I couldn't put this one down。 Full of twists and turns。 I couldn't put this one down。 。。。more

Deb Gripp ，

Excellent book！ I love the new Stephen King。 There was just a hint of the supernatural， done in a very clever！ Otherwise， this is a story of an unlikely pair who befriend each other。 The man， Billy， a hitman， and the young woman， Alice， recovering from a traumatizing experience， become essential to each other。 So good！

Jennifer ，

Listened to audiobook - it took a little bit to get into the book， but once I did I really enjoyed it。 As always Stephen King has to give the ending I didn’t want to happen！

Karen Squires ，

King never disappoints This book was so rich， the writing classic King！ The story quite different from earlier book。 I couldn’t put it down。 Highly recommend

Karin Meinen-Benjamins ，

Wat een ge-wel-dig goed en indrukwekkend boek is dit。 Niet normaal hoe veelzijdig King is。 Diepe， diepe buiging。 Petje duizend keer af。

Lois Bouchard ，

I listened to this one。 It was a different story from anything he's written before。 It had no supernatural element （well， only a tiny one anyway）。 The title character is a hit man （no spoiler there。 You know that from the opening paragraph）。 King makes him so likable and so poignant a character that you can't help rooting for him。 The narrator is Paul Sparks， an actor who， among other things had a role in Boardwalk Empire。 He does an outstanding job of narrating this book。 I thought his voice an I listened to this one。 It was a different story from anything he's written before。 It had no supernatural element （well， only a tiny one anyway）。 The title character is a hit man （no spoiler there。 You know that from the opening paragraph）。 King makes him so likable and so poignant a character that you can't help rooting for him。 The narrator is Paul Sparks， an actor who， among other things had a role in Boardwalk Empire。 He does an outstanding job of narrating this book。 I thought his voice and presentation were perfect。I liked the way King hands this story to his audience in the present tense。 It makes you feel as if you are there and witnessing everything that happens。 The introduction of Alice was surprising but fit perfectly with the rest of the story。 I think this book will stay with me as one of my favorites by Stephen King。 That's really saying something since I've been reading his novels for 50 years。 。。。more

Luke Wardford ，

Not Dr。 king's best， but can't complain。The story has a strong 11/22/63's vibe， which is good。I recommend it， but not a lot。 Not Dr。 king's best， but can't complain。The story has a strong 11/22/63's vibe， which is good。I recommend it， but not a lot。 。。。more

Maggie Partipilo ，

I wish I would have been told before reading this that it falls into the "non-supernatural" list of King's books。 I've so read so much of his lately that I kept waiting for a monster， ghost， alien。。。etc。 This was a really good story， but it's style is more similar to Misery or some of his older short stories。 He's such a great storyteller， and this is a perfect example of how well he does it without requiring much suspension of disbelief。 This may not be one of my favorites of SK's， but I did en I wish I would have been told before reading this that it falls into the "non-supernatural" list of King's books。 I've so read so much of his lately that I kept waiting for a monster， ghost， alien。。。etc。 This was a really good story， but it's style is more similar to Misery or some of his older short stories。 He's such a great storyteller， and this is a perfect example of how well he does it without requiring much suspension of disbelief。 This may not be one of my favorites of SK's， but I did enjoy it。 。。。more

Ashley Ashley ，

It's hard for me to write a review on a Stephen King book because I'm such a unabashed fan girl。 No shame。 But MY GOD this book was MOTHER EFFING GOOOOOOOD！！！ I almost want to stop there because that's really all that anyone needs to know。 But my God do I have some things to say。This book is a slow burner for sure。 No jumping you right in to the action， no crazy events popping up in （could safely say the whole first half） of the story， no whirlwind action taking hold of you and carrying you on。。 It's hard for me to write a review on a Stephen King book because I'm such a unabashed fan girl。 No shame。 But MY GOD this book was MOTHER EFFING GOOOOOOOD！！！ I almost want to stop there because that's really all that anyone needs to know。 But my God do I have some things to say。This book is a slow burner for sure。 No jumping you right in to the action， no crazy events popping up in （could safely say the whole first half） of the story， no whirlwind action taking hold of you and carrying you on。。。。and you know what？ That's ok。 You get to slowly sink into the story of Billy Summers， learn who he is， what he's doing。 You got to sit at the house with him and wait with him， knowing that wild events are on their way but you have to be patient to get there。 You get to meet his new neighbors with him and his new office mates。 It's like throwing a blanket over yourself on the really cold day。 It instantly feels good， but it takes a little time to really warm you up。At about the halfway point， the part you've been waiting for finally transpires。 Oh man is there were things really start happening。 Get the popcorn out， setting in your most comfortable seat， turn off your phone。 Alice joins him and you just ride the wave all the way to the end。I liked this book for a lot of reasons。 Sure， it was written well （helloooooo it's STEPHEN fricken KING！） and who doesn't love a good hired assassin story？ But it was just so much more than that。 You get immersed in the raw emotion between Billy and Alice and all the tragedies the come with the natural flow of their "outlaw" life together。 You won't find any horror in this story， but you will find your emotions。 Every。 Single。 One of them。 Powerful。 。。。more

Bre Aasland ，

I like it when Stephen King writes stories where the evil is just a normal dude。 It's scarier in my very humble opinion。 I like it when Stephen King writes stories where the evil is just a normal dude。 It's scarier in my very humble opinion。 。。。more

Jonathan ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Extremely good book - very much on par with The Institute。 One of the best King books I've read in a while。 Really liked how there wasn't any mention of sci-fi， except for the obvious reference to The Shining。 I wish there were more of his books out there like this。 Extremely good book - very much on par with The Institute。 One of the best King books I've read in a while。 Really liked how there wasn't any mention of sci-fi， except for the obvious reference to The Shining。 I wish there were more of his books out there like this。 。。。more

Doris ，

oooh。 Billy。 love you man。 sorry to see it end。 Want more books narrated by Paul Sparks。

Dona ，

Stephen King has hit it out of the ballpark with his latest， Billy Summers。 Mr。 King has proven himself to be an extraordinary storyteller， no matter what the genre。 Billy Summers is not a horror novel; it is a relationship novel。 The story of Billy and Alice is poignant and moving。 This book made me think， we tend to brand people who do bad things as bad – which is not necessarily true。 Billy Summers did bad things （and justified it to himself） but he also was kind and caring。 I loved Mr。 King’ Stephen King has hit it out of the ballpark with his latest， Billy Summers。 Mr。 King has proven himself to be an extraordinary storyteller， no matter what the genre。 Billy Summers is not a horror novel; it is a relationship novel。 The story of Billy and Alice is poignant and moving。 This book made me think， we tend to brand people who do bad things as bad – which is not necessarily true。 Billy Summers did bad things （and justified it to himself） but he also was kind and caring。 I loved Mr。 King’s sly inclusions of places from his previous novels （e。g。， the Overlook） and his not-so-subtle political jabs。 What a master！ This will definitely go down as one of my favorite books of 2021。 。。。more

Paul ，

Not his usual， but still a great read！

Gabriella ，

I am a longtime Stephen king fan， and this is an incredible book even if you haven’t read King before or have disliked his novels in the past。 Gritty， suspenseful， romantic and full of wanderlust， it’s a true page turner。

Trevor ，

Mostly an enjoyable read。 A little bit of a different kind of story than what you usually get from King。 But as with so many of his books， this could have been 100 pages shorter。 Also， I don't love how he wrote the main woman character。 It's 2021， Stephen， woman characters shouldn't only exist to support the main man character。 Mostly an enjoyable read。 A little bit of a different kind of story than what you usually get from King。 But as with so many of his books， this could have been 100 pages shorter。 Also， I don't love how he wrote the main woman character。 It's 2021， Stephen， woman characters shouldn't only exist to support the main man character。 。。。more

Jacek ，

8/10

Erika Kendron ，

Rounded up from 4。5 stars

John Grinstead ，

First， I should say that I listened to this in the Audible version read by Paul Sparks， whose characterisation is fantastic and undoubtedly added significantly to the listening experience。 This perfectly complements the excellence of Stephen King’s story telling - and this is an excellent story and reflects an author at the peak of his craft。Billy Summer is a hitman with a conscience and the moral compass of an ex-Marine who has experienced the trauma of combat of Iraq and of a childhood racked First， I should say that I listened to this in the Audible version read by Paul Sparks， whose characterisation is fantastic and undoubtedly added significantly to the listening experience。 This perfectly complements the excellence of Stephen King’s story telling - and this is an excellent story and reflects an author at the peak of his craft。Billy Summer is a hitman with a conscience and the moral compass of an ex-Marine who has experienced the trauma of combat of Iraq and of a childhood racked with painful memories。 He kills people but only bad people。 He feels uneasy about his last job - the cliche of the Hollywood one job too far - and more so because his cover requires him to blend in with a local community where he makes friends with real people， who really like him。There are plenty of twists and turns along the way， while Billy tells his own story of military Service， and， inevitably， just a hint of Stephen King mystery thrown in for good measure。Never having particularly been a Stephen King reader， I came to this with an open albeit eager mind and wasn’t disappointed。 The story is beautifully put together with great， believable characterisation and with a storyline that is slow to reveal its sub-plots and work towards a thrilling climax。Billy Summers is a likeable anti-hero who will have you rooting for him until the end。 。。。more

Jaksen ，

A definite five stars， one of his best。Character-rich， plot-driven， with nary a fault I can see， it just moves 。。。。。。。Moves and moves and moves， not a dull page， unnecessary bit of dialogue， neither is there tedious back story or info-dumps; this is a really good one。 About a hitman the reader will want to hate， but love。 Billy Summers takes hit jobs， but only if the target is a bad'un。 This is not Dexter; this is not a character with a dark soul beneath a light exterior。 Billy is exceedingly hu A definite five stars， one of his best。Character-rich， plot-driven， with nary a fault I can see， it just moves 。。。。。。。Moves and moves and moves， not a dull page， unnecessary bit of dialogue， neither is there tedious back story or info-dumps; this is a really good one。 About a hitman the reader will want to hate， but love。 Billy Summers takes hit jobs， but only if the target is a bad'un。 This is not Dexter; this is not a character with a dark soul beneath a light exterior。 Billy is exceedingly human， almost to a fault， which the reader will quickly learn。 The details， though， are all there。 How Billy plans his day， his life， and every contingency possible in completing a job。 It's meticulous; it's very real。 To say too much about what happens spoils the story， and I don't want to use spoiler tags here。 Just， if you're a King fan， or a fan of realistic fiction - there's only the slightest supernatural vibe here in the final pages and it doesn't ruin a thing - you need to read this one。 Or own it。 Or both。 Short review， but that's all I got to say。Five stars 。。。more

Laura Laskowski ，

Simply splendidI had forgotten how good it felt to read the amazing Mr。 King。 I am filled with gratitude that he shares his stories with the world and I get to lose myself in the worlds he creates。

Max Poorhang ，

It was okay ， but not one of my favourites。 I find it hard to relate to characters with a military background， so that won't have helped ， but I also just think it wasn't very organic in terms of structure。 The book is essentially two stories ， one for each half of the book 。 It still had some relatable characters though ， and he's still a master at getting the reader inside someone's mind， so still a lot to like overall。 It was okay ， but not one of my favourites。 I find it hard to relate to characters with a military background， so that won't have helped ， but I also just think it wasn't very organic in terms of structure。 The book is essentially two stories ， one for each half of the book 。 It still had some relatable characters though ， and he's still a master at getting the reader inside someone's mind， so still a lot to like overall。 。。。more

Raymond ，

Best King book I’ve read in years。

Linda Fallows ，

A little different from SK’s usual books， but a great storyline and a real page turner。

Lora Starkings ，

A great story from my favourite storyteller！ I enjoyed reading Billy's back story although found it not to be the usual King standard。。。 🤔🤔 A great story from my favourite storyteller！ I enjoyed reading Billy's back story although found it not to be the usual King standard。。。 🤔🤔 。。。more

Denise Nolson ，

The amazing thing about Stephen King is that he just keeps getting better & better as an author。 This is a fabulous thriller， a real pacy page turner that ends up going in directions no one could see coming， least of all the eponymous Billy。 Beautifully realised characters， & a story that engrossed me from start to finish， I'd say this is one of King's finest works。 The amazing thing about Stephen King is that he just keeps getting better & better as an author。 This is a fabulous thriller， a real pacy page turner that ends up going in directions no one could see coming， least of all the eponymous Billy。 Beautifully realised characters， & a story that engrossed me from start to finish， I'd say this is one of King's finest works。 。。。more

Tyler ，

Billy's a war veteran and now killer for hire， and gets offered a last job that seems to good to be true。This is SK at his best - engaging and natural characters， realistic dialogue， and plot turns that keep you on the edge of your seat。 The staging of the main plot was well done too - you know things are going to go wrong， and there's going to be some sort of revenge - it's just when and how it will happen。There's also reference to a certain hotel from one of his earlier books; fans will like （ Billy's a war veteran and now killer for hire， and gets offered a last job that seems to good to be true。This is SK at his best - engaging and natural characters， realistic dialogue， and plot turns that keep you on the edge of your seat。 The staging of the main plot was well done too - you know things are going to go wrong， and there's going to be some sort of revenge - it's just when and how it will happen。There's also reference to a certain hotel from one of his earlier books; fans will like （and get） this。I guess the only downside was the story flicks to the book Billy's writing， and because it switches to a completely different place and timeframe it slows the pace a bit - but it is important to Billy's back story。 Overall a great read！ 。。。more

Tony ，

4。5

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Billy Summers

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Billy Summers&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Billy Summers&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0