Billy Summers

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Billy Summers

Written by: Stephen King

Narrated by: Paul Sparks

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About this listen

Master storyteller Stephen King, whose “restless imagination is a power that cannot be contained” (The New York Times Book Review), presents an unforgettable and relentless #1 New York Times bestseller about a good guy in a bad job.

Chances are, if you’re a target of Billy Summers, two immutable truths apply: You’ll never even know what hit you, and you’re really getting what you deserve. He’s a killer for hire and the best in the business—but he’ll do the job only if the assignment is a truly bad person. But now, time is catching up with him, and Billy wants out. Before he can do that though, there’s one last hit, which promises a generous payday at the end of the line even as things don’t seem quite on the level here. Given that Billy is among the most talented snipers in the world, a decorated Iraq war vet, and a virtual Houdini when it comes to vanishing after the job is done, what could possibly go wrong? How about everything.

Part war story and part love letter to small-town America and the people who live there, this spectacular thriller of luck, fate, and love will grip readers with its electrifying narrative, as a complex antihero with one last shot at redemption must avenge the crimes of an extraordinarily evil man. You won’t ever forget this stunning novel from master storyteller Stephen King…and you will never forget Billy.

Stephen KingPaul SparksSimon & Schuster Audio

Crime Thrillers

Suspense

Thriller & Suspense

Fiction

Thriller

Crime

Mystery

Exciting

Crime Thrillers Suspense Thriller & Suspense Fiction Thriller Crime Mystery Exciting

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What the critics say

"Narrator Paul Sparks's performance is so perfect it challenges the listener to stop listening. Sure—just TRY to turn it off! Sparks is fantastic, whether he's giving voice to a fat Mafioso called Pig or a young rape victim who turns to Billy for help or the other colorful characters from King's work. While Billy's character is a tad far-fetched, it fits the definition of antihero—think Showtime's Dexter. And because the story is told in the first person, listeners see the decent person inside the man with blood on his hands."

Most Relevant

Writing successful horror, supernatural or science fiction stories has defined the career of Mr. King. To write a crime novel without those elements coming into play elevates this author to the top echelon of a different popular category. There are so many entertaining and pleasurable layers to this story about a hired killer. The book within a book, the zig zag to a rescue and rehabilitation of a victim of sexual violence, the final justice to a powerful shadowy figure and several unexpected twists and turns that do not seem forced. For me this book stands beside the best of some of my favorite authors for this genre - Michal Connelly and Joe Nesbo. I remember once misinterpreting an advertisement for the police procedural master. Michael Connelly. A blurb for his book, The Late Shift made a reference to vampires. I was bowled over that this author had changed his stripes and was writing a supernatural book. Turned out that reference was not supposed to be taken literally - it was just detectives solving crimes during the night hours.

It is interesting to see some of the reviews that go against how I experienced this book. One reviewer told Stephen King to stick to horror. I don't know if Michael Connelly could write an entertaining nuanced vampire novel, but I do know Stephen can knock it out of the park changing genres. There are also several reviews that dump on the narrator. I found the relaxed delivery and different voices to be top notch. Some people don't like pauses. For me, the best speeches use pauses for effect. I was transported to another world by the synergy supplied by the author and narrator. There is one narrator that can ruin a book for me - everything sounds like an emergency. I steer clear of books by that person. Fortunately, I like this narrator. He can hit all the emotions at a relaxed pace.

I have listened to three Stephen King books. 11.22.63 was a masterpiece, Under the Dome was interesting but bloated and too long and this book. In my opinion, Billy Summers is worth your attention. I loved it.

This is my first review on the Canadian site. I have about 95 reviews with a few thousand helpful votes on the U.S. site. I scanned those reviews and there are many reviews bashing the book. These reviews indicate the book is too political, it is anti Trump etc. There is scant reference to Trump and no political diatribes. These people are just reacting to Stephen's courageous real life stand against Trump politics. I wanted to add my perspective for this review to the site - it is a good book and has hardly anything to do with politics. But, I was informed - you have to first buy the book to review it. The way some of those hit job reviews were written, I'm convinced they did not read the book. But, they must have bought it. So who wins, I think Stephen does because their hatred is so intense, they have to buy the book first before they can bash the book.