Yes King is still a horror writer, even if he does branch out.
OK, mini rant nearly over with. I hate when people complain that King has written something other than a flat out horror novel or that he's not a horror writer any more.
He can write what he wants to. He doesn't owe any readers anything. As long as he keeps up his regular standards, that's all we should expect.
This is a crime novel An assassin for hire on his "one last job" that goes horribly wrong. King even mentions very early on how the "one last job" is practically a sub-genre of its own. And his contribution to the sub genre is vintage King.
Billy Summers only kills bad people. he's known for his ability to blend in, get the job done and escape into the shadows. He wants to retire but the offer of $2m is too much to resist so he takes the infamous one last job.
Once on the job, waiting in his temporary assumed identity, he suspects that something is not quite right on this one. After the hit, things turn bad quickly and he finds himself evading justice and his ex employers and seeking vengeance on a very bad man indeed.
This is a book of two halves. The first half leading up to the hit, and the second half is the fallout. He finds himself teamed up with an unexpected companion and the second half is part buddy movie (with a difference) along with the revenge story.
As per usual, King takes his sweet time in telling the story. He builds the characters and their relationships intricately and convincingly. By the end of the book we know nearly all there is to know about the eponymous Billy. There are emotional highs and lows throughout and we (this reader for definite) really want him to succeed with his shot at redemption.
Despite the genre, this is unmistakably Stephen King, and (as previously mentioned) vintage King at that. The plot unfurls at a leisurely pace and picks up momentum as it goes. It's a challenge to put the book down for any reason in the last 150 pages.
There's a nice couple of Easter Eggs for the constant readers, with some non-too-subtle references to other King novels.
If you like King's writing, you'll like this. I like him. I have 70 of his books on my shelves. and this ranks in with the best of them.
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