Billy [Hardcover]

Whitley Strieber (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Strieber's latest (after Communion ) is by turns gripping, plodding, truly horrifying and, finally, falsely sunny. Fat, 40-ish Barton Royal, kiddy-clown in an L.A. bookstore, is obsessed with pubescent boys. He wants to be their "father" but when they turn against him he has a "black room" for their punishment. Seeing 12-year-old Billy Neary in an Iowa shopping mall, Barton is smitten. He follows the boy home, craftily and boldly abducts him and begins a nonstop drive to L.A. The book alternates scenes of the devastation wrought on Billy's family, a national manhunt, Billy's growing awareness of his peril and Barton's violent mood swings. We get chilling glimpses of Barton's past--he talks of skinning boys alive--and his plans for Billy. Bright, winning Billy is worn down almost to madness. Barton's tortured self-justification and Billy's brainy sweetness are believable but the other characters have much less depth. The bloody pater ex machina climax is followed by worse-than-expected revelations and an oddly upbeat finale that rings not quite true.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 317 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult; First edition (August 20, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399135847
• ISBN-13: 978-0399135842
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,290,251 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must - read, especially for parents., October 5, 2001

By 

fe (New York City, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Billy (Audio Cassette)

I was in high school when I came across this book, just browsing through a NYC public library when I picked it up, out of coincidence. Bottom line - reading this book was an emotionally harrowing experience for me. It is a vivid account of a twelve year old boy who is adbucted from what is supposed to be the safest place in the world - his own bed, a couple doors down from his parents' bedroom. From there, the story takes the reader through a horrendous ordeal of the aftermath of this abduction and what happens to the child. Whitley Strieber tells this tale from multiple points of view. You get the boy, who is living through the worst, most traumatizing nightmare of his life. There's also the mother, experiencing the agony and pain of her only son - missing, possibly even dead, a mother who's only wish is to have him at her side. Then, there's Barton Royal, the darkest character to ever cross the world of fiction, a diabolical child murderer who has an attraction for young boys, someone who wants to make his perverse dreams a reality when he abducts young Billy. This book is not only a tale of suspense. It is a tale that puts things in a frightening real - life perspective. It is a sign that we must truly be aware of children's surroundings. We must make sure that what happened in this book will remain fictional, that it will never, ever become a real - life story. Billy, the book, was engaging from word one. It's a powerful tale with clear prose, a tale that makes the agony, the fear, and the monstrous perversion feel real. That's how powerful the book is. It will truly move anyone who reads it. I recommend it with the highest praise.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Chilling!, April 28, 2003

By 

A. Vegan (Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Billy (Paperback)

Barton Royal, a clown in an L.A. bookstore, is obsessed with young boys. He wants to be their father, he even fantasizes how much they will love being together. In an arcade, he spots Billy Neary with a group of friends. Unfortunately, Billy doesn't pay too much attention, even when Barton offers him more money for the games. He finds out where Billy lives and abducts him. It's a disturbing book because it can happen and I'm sure that it does. For any suspense/thriller fans, this book is not to be missed.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Strieber's most realistic terror more timely than ever., July 24, 2002

By 

Chadwick H. Saxelid "Bookworm" (Concord, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Billy (Hardcover)

A serial predator (obviously based on real life clown/serial killer John Wayne Gacy) breaks into little Billy's room in the dead of night and abducts him. The queasy similiarities to several recent child abductions makes rereading this book even more disturbing. Every parent's worst nightmare is played out here without a single pulled punch and the result is one of the most disturbing 'horror' novels in recent memory. Recommended for the strong of heart.