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Billy Summers
By Stephen King
Scribner, 9781982173616, August 3, 2021, 528pp.

The Short of It:

Billy Summers will steal your heart but be prepared, it’s a little different and surprised me in a lot of ways.

The Rest of It:

Billy Summers is a hired assassin. Most assassins are pretty bad guys but this is where it gets complicated. Billy, is an assassin who only kills bad guys. Legit, bad guys who have no business breathing the air we all breathe.

The story opens with Billy accepting a job. This hit requires a bit of prep beforehand. Billy has to establish multiple aliases, secure an office space which puts him in the prime position for the hit, and although the man he has been assigned to kill is a very bad guy, Billy has decided that this will be his last hit. As with most things, as soon as you say this is the “last time” for something, things pop-up unexpectedly.

Without giving anything away. A “someone” pops up which complicates Billy’s entire plan. This was the most wild addition. I was surprised at how the story played out from there. Surprised in the most pleasant way. It’s so different and yet, so King. In feel, it reminded me a lot of the relationships King created in the Mr. Mercedes series. So, if you enjoyed those characters, you will also enjoy this book too.

Much of the story is the setup of the hit. The actual planning. But then the story becomes something else entirely and this is where I really found myself loving these characters. You should know going in, that I am including a trigger warning for rape. It actually plays a very large role in the story and provides the motivation for some of things that happen.

What you need to know is that I loved it. I didn’t want the story to end. It’s somewhat long at over 500 pages but I never felt its length. I was thoroughly taken with this story and highly recommend it. It’s about second chances, making things right, and loyal friendships.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

Vera
By Carol Edgarian
Scribner, 9781501157523, March 2021, 336pp.

The Short of It:

Not the thrilling historical novel I expected.

The Rest of It:

I can’t recall any other stories I’ve read that were set during the San Francisco quake of 1906. For this reason, when Vera showed up on my doorstep I was very excited to read it. Much of the city was destroyed by the quake itself but whatever was left was taken by the fires that resulted from compromised gas lines and the like. In Vera, Vera and her sister Pie are left without a home, their mother killed in the quake. Young, but old enough to fend for themselves, they head to Madam Rose’s house to take refuge. But when they arrive Rose is nowhere to be seen and Vera and Pie are left wondering if she survived the quake.

You may have caught my mention of it above, Rose ran a brothel and was known to many in the area. A brothel is not a place for young girls to take refuge unless you want a reputation to go with it. However, Vera and Pie don’t have many options and when Rose’s hired man, Tan, finds a way to make a living and to keep the food on the table, Vera and Pie stick around while Vera vows to find Rose and to bring her back.

There is an interesting cast of characters in this novel and Vera is likable and plucky and determined. I enjoyed her persistence but felt that overall the story was lackluster. What could have been a thrilling adventure was only lukewarm in the telling. I was in the devastating Northridge quake, right at the epicenter and can speak from experience. It’s a harrowing event to live through and needs become known quite quickly like how will one relieve themselves when no running water exists? How will one buy supplies when there is no power and ATMs don’t work, or even filling up the gas tank to get out of town. Gas pumps do not work when there is no power. Obviously, the story is set in 1906 so these characters don’t worry about such things but I didn’t sense the immediate panic that one experiences after such a devastating event.

All in all, the story was just okay for me. I think it could have been a lot more riveting had we been given a real sense of the panic that these two women felt.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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