Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Billy Summers by Stephen King

20 reviews

rnbhargava's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This mostly character based crime story about a former army sniper hit man is surprisingly quite charming and tender in some aspects, tense, hard boiled and action packed in others. Excellent read. I’m glad this is my first Stephen King. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, War, and Injury/Injury detail

There’s child death, rape, various abuses and war throughout the story as key elements. There’s also a pedophile that’s a target in the story. They share base information about his heinous acts to fully condemn him. This is a crime story so many characters are unsavoury in varying ways. I may have missed some triggers.

lamianoctalis's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

Wie immer ein interessanter Roman von Stephen King.
Ich muss sagen, am Anfang war ich nicht überzeugt von Billy, aber im Laufe der Zeit ist er mir ans Herz gewachsen und die Minuten flogen nur dahin. Ich glaube, das war der erste von Kings Romanen, wo ich nicht zwischendurch überlegt hab, ob ich nachts einschlafen können werde, was aber absolut nicht negatives ist. Ich habe gelacht, Tränen vergossen, mit gefiebert und war entsetzt und entrüstet. Die subtile Einbindung anderer Bücher hat mir auch gefallen, sodass ich mich echt fragte, ob noch mehr aus den vergangenen Geschichten übernommen wird.

(Das war nicht der Fall, aber das Hotel hat mich echt schaudern lassen)

Das was mir in der Vergangenheit bei Büchern von King nie gefallen und mich stets aus der Geschichte gerissen hat, waren die vulgären Ausdrücke und Objektifizierungen, die Frauen beschrieben haben (ich verstehe, dass sie ein Ziel verfolgten und natürlich die Geschichten aus einer Zeit stammen, wo noch nicht so viel darüber nachgedacht wurde), das war jedoch in Billy Summers nicht der Fall. Man merkt, dass sich Kings Schreibstil (oder der der Übersetzer) geändert hat und ich würde sagen nur zum Besseren. Personen, die man hassen sollte, hat man gehasst. Personen, die einen anekeln sollten, haben einen angeekelt und Personen, die man mögen oder sogar lieben sollte, hat man geliebt. 
Und überhaupt nicht Nebenbei bemerkt, hat David Nathan sich selbst übertroffen in der Vertonung.

Ich kann Billy Summers (insbesondere als Hörbuch) nur jedem wärmstens empfehlen, egal ob King Fan oder Neuling (oder Überwältigter von der Dicke seiner Bücher).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Medical content, and War

Minor: Domestic abuse, Vomit, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Die Protagonistin wird von mehreren Personen vergewaltigt, was der Protagonist den Tätern heimzahlt

So wie zu erwarten in einem Buch über einen Auftragsmörder, werden Personen ermordet. Der Protagonist war Soldat im Mittleren Osten. Die Corona-Pandemie wird erwähnt, aber nicht weiter ausgeführt, was auf die Zeit hinweist, zu der King das Buch schrieb.

catcherntheryebread's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I am not typically a King fan (just personal preference) but WOW. Just wow. This was a PHENOMENAL story. Had me on the edge of my seat til the last page. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

graceorose's review against another edition

dark emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes

3.75

The concept is great, I love the characters and their development. It was just so slow for me that it was hard for me to stay engaged and interested, leading to it taking me forever to read. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, and Rape

odette_tbdk's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Reseña llena de spoilers.

No sé por donde empezar siendo honesta, al principio, este libro prometía mucho. La premisa principal del libro donde Billy va a estar encubierto en una ciudad para matar a un convicto se lleva a cabo en las primeras 200 páginas. Tirando todos los conflictos y personajes que habíamos construido hasta este punto A LA BASURA, no se vuelve a hacer más que pequeñas menciones de ellos y se siente desperdiciado.

Aquí es donde entra el mayor de mis problemas con este libro, las 400 páginas restantes, me pregunté a mi misma que iba a haber en ellas ya que el plot principal ya se había resuelto y me encontré con un relleno mal hecho.

Billy se esconde en esta casa que es casi un sótano. Esta parte es larga y no ocurre absolutamente nada más que Billy escribiendo su relato, el cual me pareció interesante hasta que terminó de relatar su infancia y prosiguió con su tiempo en la milicia, específicamente en la guerra de Iraq. Hubo muchas descripciones de armas y su ensamblaje que no servían para nada y fue una parte muy aburrida de leer, puede ser porque en general no me gustan los relatos de guerra, pero no fue nada más que sufrimiento que no me ayudó a empatizar con Billy debido a todo lo que hace a continuación.

Unos hombres dejan tirada a una muchacha enfrente del escondite de Billy, él sale en su rescate y hay una secuencia de escenas con tinte sexual (en la forma en la que se narra como Billy la salva y le quita la ropa que llevaba mojada por la lluvia) que me pareció grotesca, quise excusarlo con que es un libro de Stephen King, pero esto no es terror, son temas reales, que afectan a muchas personas, si él no sabe como se siente una mujer al ser violada, que mejor SE CALLE.

Bueno, en general, Alice (la muchacha rescatada) es muy sumisa con Billy, tiene la mitad de la edad de él y cae perdidamente enamorada, siendo él un asesino. Siento que King no sabe que las mujeres no actuamos así JAJAJA. Incluso accede a participar en el plan donde Billy va a matar a quién realmente lo contrató, el hombre en cuestión es un multimillonario pedófilo, qué sorpresa, y es camuflada como una chava de 16 años para poder entrar a su mansión, es simplemente repugnante como la expone a un abusador sexual habiendo sido ella misma una víctima del mismo crimen anteriormente.

PD: No Billy, vengar a una víctima de abuso sexual no te hace buena persona, solo fomentas más a la corrupción de la sociedad, gracias.

Siento que la gente que amó este libro leyó otro, le doy 2.5 estrellas porque estuvo bien escrito y me gustó el inicio, pero lo demás o simplemente no fue para mí o es una mierda.

No me cierro a leer otros libros de Stephen, pero me limitaré a los antiguos de terror.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Medical trauma, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug abuse, Vomit, Islamophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Confinement, Fatphobia, Kidnapping, and Pandemic/Epidemic

stellavb's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

akvolcano's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

Honestly I expected more from Stephen King. There is so much hype about him. This book is  messed up, and there is a lot of dehumanizing/gross parts that are unnecessary. The story was interesting, but it was due to the multiple personalities. I think out of all the book, I only enjoyed three or four chapters. I kept hoping it would get better, but it never really did. The writing itself wasn’t that great….I don’t see myself reading any more books from this author. He is a sick man. Don’t really recommend. #disappointedanddisgusted

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Murder, and War

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Excrement, Vomit, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and War

bajablasthole's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Trafficking, Medical trauma, Murder, and War

lukerik's review against another edition

adventurous tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

An appalling hypocrite suffers a mid-life identity crisis and begins a process of self-examination, looking for some sort of redemption, but when faced with the choice can’t save himself. Stephen King, the bastard, somehow makes you feel sympathy for this scumbag. The ending is particularly well done. 

The only real problem with the novel is the psychology of the supporting characters. Alice in particular needs a lot of work. The entire supporting cast seems to love the protagonist within seconds of meeting him. But they do so for the same reason we do: because Stephen King has told them to. At lot of the instances you miss as you read as they seem reasonable at the time and the pace is break-neck. Others you can squint at as you go. But as soon as you pause and the spell breaks for a moment… My advice would be to read the whole novel in one sitting. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Murder, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

emmasbookishself's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Strong dialogue and likeable characters have made this an unforgettable book. 

Billy Summers is a hired hit man, and he’s about to finish his final job. He immerses himself in this new community under the guise of a writer, working on a book. He becomes a neighbour and a friend, all while discovering that he’s enjoying writing… His own story. 

This last job takes a turn when Billy accomplishes his final hit, but he doesn’t comply with the provided out. He fears it’s a set up. Billy manages to hideout under yet another identity but once again it gets messy when he discovers a young woman, Alice, beaten and bloody, left in the ditch outside his home. 

The pair take to each other, and soon they’re two outlaws on the run together… 

This kinship between Billy and Alice, could it be Stockholm Syndrome, or could it be two lost souls coming together to find a way to heal?


I felt very connected to the characters and was desperately hoping for a “happy” ending.. or as happy of an ending it could be. In a way, it was.. Alice gets a chance to start fresh and be whoever she wants to be. I think by Billy helping Alice accomplish that, it helped absolve some of the guilt he felt surrounding his sister’s death. 

There are a lot of triggers in this book so be sure to check trigger warnings before reading!! 

Favourite quotes: 

“Fucking Marge!!” 

“A stranger came, and he turned into a neighbour, but here’s the punchline, he turned out to be a stranger all along.” 

“She’s in love with you, and she’ll follow you as long as you let her, and if you let her, you’ll ruin her.” 

“When you give pain, it leaves a scar. It scars your mind, it scars your spirit, and it should because hurting someone, killing someone is no little thing.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail