Review: BILLY SUMMERS by Stephen King

 

Billy Summers is a seasoned sniper, having previously crafted his trade in war time he’s now a gun for hire – with a catch; he’ll only take the job if the quarry is a ‘bad guy’. Which is where we pick up Billy’s post war occupation – being romanticized by an acquaintance in organised crime to take out another killer who took down the son of a media magnate. The rationale, whilst solid enough to abide by Billy’s morals, isn’t the quencher – the promise of a cool 1.5 million means this hit could be Billy’s ticket to retirement, closing the door on a bloody business.

Stephen King has a knack for writing great characters with equally interesting backstories which steadily seep through the narrative into the present day setting. Billy’s life as a sniper in the armed forces, and the way in which it was introduced via Billy’s present day cover as a budding author writing his memoirs made for a seamless switch across story lines, adding context and emotion to the character and his assignment. But that wasn’t the kicker; it was Alice, a character I won’t delve into because of spoilers but who stole the spotlight in a deserving way whilst emphasising Billy’s ‘hit man with a heart’ narrative. 

Author Max Allan Collins and his excellent Quarry series introduced me to these antiheroes and Billy Summers is a great addition to the theme. Not only does this book entertain, it pulls on the heartstrings, making for a more impactful reading experience. Highly recommend.  

Pick Up A Pulp [65]: KILLING QUARRY by Max Allan Collins

I'm a longtime fan of Max Allan Collins' Quarry series. Ever since I read THE LAST QUARRY years ago I've been hooked and have chased down every book to feature the hitman with a heart, devouring them with the same enthusiasm as Quarry devotes to his love life - which is a lot. 

In KILLING QUARRY, we see the return of QUARRY'S DEAL character Lu; a sexy murderess who has Quarry in her sights. Why? The list. We know Quarry's living the life of selective murder, picking and choosing his targets based on the Brokers list of hitmen. Don't be fooled, Quarry isn't performing a service for the public good; there's good money in taking out a hit-team and profiting off the intended victim's paranoia - and that's exactly how this latest installment kicks off. 

As per the author intro, KILLING QUARRY, takes place approximately a year before QUARRY'S VOTE and sees Quarry tracking and staking out another hitman only to discover the intended victim is him! When Lu appears in Kill Bill fashion, showering Quarry in a deluge of blood and brain matter, after having killed her partner who was subsequently trying to kill Quarry, the murky waters of professional murder become even more complex. 

Readers familiar with the series will know what to expect while first time readers (yes, this does read perfectly well as a standalone) will be in for a fun, pulpy ride of bullets, broads, and brawls. 

News: Help choose the title of the next Quarry book

In a recent email from Hard Case Crime, editor Charles Ardai is giving readers of the popular hitman series by Max Allan Collins, a chance to name the next title in the long running (and awesome series). 

Click here to pick from the 5 choices available and while you're there, answer a couple of extra questions for the fine folk at Hard Case Crime.

From the email:

Max Allan Collins is hard at work writing his next Quarry novel for us. In it, Quarry is going to discover that he's been marked for death himself and is the target of a contract assigned to another professional killer. The question is what to call the book.

In case you're wondering, the choices are:

• QUARRY ON TARGET
• KILLER'S QUARRY
• I, THE QUARRY
• DIE, QUARRY, DIE!
• QUARRY IN THE CROSSHAIRS

Here are some reviews of my favorites in the series so far:

Quarry's Climax

The Wrong Quarry

Quarry's Deal 

Pick Up A Pulp [38]: QUARRY'S VOTE by Max Allan Collins

10 years have passed since Quarry's Cut, with the hitman having carved out a nice little existence; he's got a wife with a baby on the way, owns a dinner, and lives a life of leisure. He now reads about violence in fiction, rather than being the perpetrator with the days of taking lives, and sans Broker, saving them, well and truly over. That is, until a stranger familiar with Quarry's former occupation turns up on his doorstep with an offer of a cool million dollars to take out a presidential candidate. 

Quarry's Vote isn't as strong as the other four Quarry novels preceding it. Quarry himself is still as cold and calculated with an easy air of death emanating from his pores, however the political aspects didn't interest me.

A staple of these books are the pulp overtones and Quarry's Vote is no different; dames, distress, bullets, caskets, and Quarry wading through the mess and coming up spades, which all make for an enjoyable one-sitting read. 

You can read my review of Quarry's Cut by clicking on the link below.

Pick up a Pulp [37]: QUARRY'S CUT by Max Allan Collins

Pick Up A Pulp [37]: QUARRY'S CUT by Max Allan Collins

Quarry's Cut is pitch perfect pulp fiction from beginning to blood-soaked end. 

In the fourth installment in the long-running series, Quarry sans Broker, finds himself smack-bang in the middle of a hit all too close to home. When he learns that a former partner in the murder game is in town and sleeping with the niece of an acquaintance it feels too coincidental to be anything but purposeful. Still raw from an earlier attempt on his life, Quarry immediately goes on the attack, confronting his former partner and learning the true target; a pornographer who is shooting his swan-song in a nearby cottage.

Quarry's Cut contains more elements of a true murder mystery than previous installments thanks to a mass murder at the pornographers cottage. Fingers and guns point in varying directions until suspects are eliminated, either by investigation or death, steadily building towards a crescendo of violence. 

My rating: 3/5 stars. I really liked the first portion of Quarry's Cut prior to the plot shifting towards the pornographers cottage, that said; if you're after a quick pulp, this book certainly fits the bill, however as a long time Quarry reader, I just wanted a little more depth to the story. 

You can read my review of Quarry's Deal (Quarry #3) by clicking on the link below:

Pick Up A Pulp [36]: QUARRY'S DEAL by Max Allan Collins

Pick Up A Pulp [36]: QUARRY'S DEAL by Max Allan Collins

Quarry is to Max Allan Collins as Parker is to Westlake. A likable, somewhat cult-like figure that lives on the wrong side of the law. In Quarry's Deal, the third installment in the hit-man series, Quarry tracks down a fellow operative with designs to make some cash by informing the target of his impending demise. From there Quarry moves with brutal efficiency, thrusting himself in the assassin’s life in more ways than one on track towards a nice payday. 

This is perhaps one of the more calculated and cold Quarry novels I’ve read. Max Allan Collins paints a perfect picture of the subtle yet shockingly effective kill – one of the hallmarks of the series. It was an interested concept; pitting Quarry against his female equivalent, and along with the customary sex came a character dynamic which added some nice depth to the story.  

Like the other Quarry books I found myself unable to put it down and read it in a single sitting (even the second time round on the reread). There is something about Quarry and his method that intrigues and addicts. No longer a traditional hitman, his self made occupation relies upon tracking assassins (for lack of a better word) and dealing for their targets lives. It’s an interesting concept that doesn’t date. 

My rating 4/5 stars. A must for fans of Quarry and the HCC series.

You can read my review of Quarry's List (book #2) by clicking the link below.

Pick Up A Pulp [35]: Quarry's List by Max Allan Collins

Pick Up A Pulp [35]: QUARRY'S LIST by Max Allan Collins

QUARRY’S LIST opens with the swift and ice cold professional killing of an intruder inside Quarry’s home. The midnight attack, the result of a former associate in the murder of hire business looking to take out any competition that may stem the takeover of the Brokers former empire. Not wasting time, Quarry grills the back-up man from the attempted hit for information which leads him to a confrontation and subsequent sit down with the Brokers lawyer, Curtis Brooks, and Ash, a former partner of Quarry’s. 

Originally titled THE BROKERS WIFE, QUARRY’S LIST is aptly titled twice over with both capturing the theme of the second installment in the hitman series. The Brokers wife, Carrie, plays a huge role as she is thrust into the violent world her now deceased husband so flourished by virtue of some over zealous and ambitious business associates. While a 'list' supposedly in Quarry’s possession detailing the Broker's hired guns contact information is coveted by the same associates hoping for a one-two punch in taking over the business while also scoring a monetary windfall by eradicating Carrie in order to obtain her inheritance.

It’s in QUARRY’S LIST that Quarry takes a turn of direction, using his former associates as form of revenue:

“…there were other Brokers. Most of the hit men (and women) named here would be working again, soon, if not already, for new Brokers. If I picked a name from the list, followed whoever it was to a job, found out who the potential victim was, I could go to that potential victim and offer my services. If my offer was rejected, no skin off my ass; let the asshole die, it’s up to him.” 

My rating: 3/5 stars. QUARRY'S LIST contains one of the most mouth watering twists I've read across all the Hard Case Crime books and had just the same impact on the re-read.