Billy Summers feels like a retread of Kingâs alternative-history doorstop 11/22/63, told this time from the assassinâs perspective. Indeed, itâs easy to imagine that the genesis of the novel lies somewhere in Kingâs research into Lee Harvey Oswald. Like 11/22/63, the first half is pedestrian in pace but rich in colour and characterisation. King has always excelled at sketching everymanâs US, enriching the details into a minor epic register. Itâs what elevates him above his genre peers, and itâs in full force here. Cook-outs with Billyâs neighbours, games of Monopoly with their children, date nights and diners â all are part of Kingâs mythologising of American life.