Title: Billy Summers
Author: Stephen King
Genre: thriller
Stephen King seems to have mellowed a bit in his old age. So many of his latest books aren’t horror at all. Later, The Institute, The Outsider were supernatural, but not really horror. Billy Summers doesn’t even tick the supernatural box. It’s just a story about a guy. Granted, the guy is a veteran turned sniper-for-hire, but he’s not a terrible person. He only kills bad guys. And as you progress through the book, you see even more what a good guy he actually is.
From Goodreads: 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.
Everything is putting it mildly. Because this synopsis is vague, I’m going to do the same. Billy is hired to kill this guy, and he has to create an alternate identity because he has to wait for this guy to get extradited. So he goes to an office each day, he rents a house, basically, he blends in as best he can. While in the office, he writes his life story. Through this, you learn about Billy’s childhood, his life in the military, and how these shaped him to be the man he is today. I just loved this book. I loved Billy. I loved another character who enters Billy’s world about halfway through the book. I definitely recommend this book, especially for those who shy away from horror. This story is just a good, solid thriller.
Pleasant Nights 