Stephen King will always primarily be known as a horror novelist, said Neil McRobert in The Guardian. Yet his best recent books have been those in which “the ghosts are packed away and the monsters are all too human”. And the 73-year-old’s latest novel – a noirish tale, without a hint of the supernatural, about an assassin doing “one last job” – is his “best book in years”.
Billy, an ex-army sniper turned killer-for-hire, moves to a city in an unspecified southern US state, after being contracted to kill a small-time crook. While waiting for his shot, he passes himself off as a writer – a role he embraces so enthusiastically that he even “fills his time with writing his life story” (excerpts of which are reproduced).
The result is a somewhat meandering tale that “pays only the scantest regard to the rules of narrative structure”. Yet King is “so good at character and making us care” that it grips all the way to its “biblical climax”.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Although Billy Summers starts out seeming “easy to pigeonhole”, it turns into a “dazzlingly shape-shifting novel”, said John Dugdale in The Sunday Times. Halfway through, Billy encounters a rape victim – whereupon he transforms into a Jack Reacher-like figure, “righting wrongs via extrajudicial violence”. The shift is handled with “unshowy aplomb”.
This is a book with “designs on readers’ heartstrings as well as their adrenal glands”, said Jake Kerridge in The Daily Telegraph. Ultimately, its true subject is Billy’s quest to “redeem himself by trying to become a decent man”. There’s something implausible (not to mention sentimental) about the idea of a hitman going “full White Knight” – but it is made credible by King’s “storytelling genius”.
Hodder 432pp £20; The Week Bookshop £15.99
The Week Bookshop
To order this title or any other book in print, visit theweekbookshop.co.uk, or speak to a bookseller on 020-3176 3835. Opening times: Monday to Saturday 9am-5.30pm and Sunday 10am-4pm.
-
The ‘ravenous’ demand for Cornish mineralsUnder the Radar Growing need for critical minerals to power tech has intensified ‘appetite’ for lithium, which could be a ‘huge boon’ for local economy
-
Why are election experts taking Trump’s midterm threats seriously?IN THE SPOTLIGHT As the president muses about polling place deployments and a centralized electoral system aimed at one-party control, lawmakers are taking this administration at its word
-
‘Restaurateurs have become millionaires’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Kia EV4: a ‘terrifically comfy’ electric carThe Week Recommends The family-friendly vehicle has ‘plush seats’ and generous space
-
Bonfire of the Murdochs: an ‘utterly gripping’ bookThe Week Recommends Gabriel Sherman examines Rupert Murdoch’s ‘war of succession’ over his media empire
-
Gwen John: Strange Beauties – a ‘superb’ retrospectiveThe Week Recommends ‘Daunting’ show at the National Museum Cardiff plunges viewers into the Welsh artist’s ‘spiritual, austere existence’
-
Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl: A win for unityFeature The global superstar's halftime show was a celebration for everyone to enjoy
-
Book reviews: ‘Bonfire of the Murdochs’ and ‘The Typewriter and the Guillotine’Feature New insights into the Murdoch family’s turmoil and a renowned journalist’s time in pre-World War II Paris
-
6 exquisite homes with vast acreageFeature Featuring an off-the-grid contemporary home in New Mexico and lakefront farmhouse in Massachusetts
-
Film reviews: ‘Wuthering Heights,’ ‘Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die,’ and ‘Sirat’Feature An inconvenient love torments a would-be couple, a gonzo time traveler seeks to save humanity from AI, and a father’s desperate search goes deeply sideways
-
A thrilling foodie city in northern JapanThe Week Recommends The food scene here is ‘unspoilt’ and ‘fun’
