From the Bookshelf of SpecFic Buddy Reads…

Billy Summers

Stephen King

Start date: October 1, 2021

Finish date: October 31, 2021

Discussion: Group Reads

Discussion leader: Suman Saha

Why we're reading this: Group Read Horror - October 2021
[close] Group Read Horror - October 2021

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What Members Thought

Aug 07, 2021 Bradley rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2021-shelf, horror

Frankly, I’m always happy to read a Stephen King.

It’s as easy as that.

He never disappoints.

Case in point: Billy Summers could easily have turned out to be a Dexter-like romp or a thriller in the vein of all hit men. It could have turned out a Stockholm-type romance spiced up with a little revenge and moral outrage to get all those types of juices flowing, too.

And make no mistake, Billy Summers DOES have those elements.

But King is a king of subversion when it comes to plots. He welcomes us dow ...more

222 likes · Like · see review

Aug 13, 2021 Trish rated it it was amazing

Dear Mr. King,
I hate you for breaking my heart. Again.
Sincerely,
A Very Distraught Reader

In this brand new novel by one of THE best writers of our time, we follow a gun for hire, Billy Summers, as he is doing the fabled "one last job". Naturally, as all those stories go, this goes wrong. And when it rains, it fucking pours.

Billy is a USMC veteran with a code: he only kills bad people. Has to do with his childhood which the reader uncovers together with certain select memories from Billy's ...more

91 likes · Like · see review

May 28, 2022 Emma rated it it was amazing

I have never loved a book so much that I thought 5 stars not enough, but this is definitely the best King I’ve read. And I probably would give it 6 stars if I could.

21 likes · Like · see review

Aug 20, 2021 Justine rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favourites

Completely engaging from beginning to end. The premise of an assassin on his last job provides the bones, but the real substance is in the story of Billy's self discovery.

Writing his past while trying to close the door on his present provides the catalyst for Billy's understanding of who he is and how he got there. I loved the relationship between Billy and Alice. Even with all the dirt and blood and violence, what they mean to each other still comes out feeling clean.

I wished for a different en ...more

12 likes · Like · see review

Mar 25, 2022 Susy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: thriller

4 stars
A typical SK with elaborate descriptions of, well, everyone, everything, everywhere, every…. And at the same time not typical SK at all as this isn't a horror novel. I'm glad the blurb didn't give away too much, making this a surprising but positive experience. Loved the characters! (view spoiler) ...more

11 likes · Like · see review

Dec 28, 2021 Christina Pilkington rated it liked it

This was a fun read for me, but it was no where near one of my favorite King stories.

King shines for me in his characterization, and that was the case with Billy Summers. The main character and another character Billy meets along with way felt fully fleshed out and complex. King also does a great job with building backstory for his characters.

What lost my interest along with way was the plot. Hitman or assassin type stories are not usually my favorite, so there is that. The plot was slow movin ...more

8 likes · Like · see review

Dec 07, 2021 Vavita rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: specficgroupreads2021

Great and engaging characters.
Plot was ok.
It was not a wow book like The Institute or The Outsider. In any case, reading King is a joy. His biggest fans will, for sure, love this book.
Let's see if I still remember the plot of this book in a year...
...more

8 likes · Like · see review

Oct 03, 2021 Lata rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: x2021-read, mystery, sf-f-h

4.5 stars.
I went into this doorstopper with a bit of trepidation because of its size (my reading mojo has been off since last year), but ended up loving it. It's about an assassin who is particular about who he kills: only bad men.

When a months-long job goes south, as in the person requesting the job wants Billy dead, too, our assassin gets mad, and decides to take his revenge. While he's planning this revenge, he also saves the life of a young woman, Alice Maxwell, whom he comes to care for de ...more

7 likes · Like · see review

Oct 09, 2021 Veronique rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read2021

4.25*

Another great story from Stephen King, this time by way of ‘Dexter’. Well, kind of :O)

Once more, I really enjoyed this, following wherever the author wanted to take me. Several times, I wondered if the story was going to go in a certain way, only to be redirected to something else. Actually, any of those 'other’ avenues would have worked too. As I finished the book, I came to the realisation that often with King’s books, I enjoy the journey a lot more than the destination.

P.S. I have read ...more

6 likes · Like · see review

Aug 15, 2021 Ctgt rated it really liked it

8/10

3 likes · Like · see review

Aug 05, 2021 Andrew Tucker rated it liked it

I have a love/hate relationship with SK. I really enjoyed many of his early books (Misery, Pet Sematary) but then I got disenchanted with books that started great and ended horribly (Dreamcatcher). I stopped reading him for a long time and then started again based on recommendations for Mr. Mercedes and The Outsider. The Institute was fantastic.

I was really looking forward to this one, hoping for another good crime novel, but I didnt like it nearly as much as I thought I would. The story is OK b ...more

1 like · Like · see review