This was a very enjoyable read, much like the other King novel I read earlier this year: Under the Dome. This was presented in the first person which threw me off a little at first, and the truth is I heard King's voice more in the telling than that of the main character Jake.
The story can be broken up into the first time event and the actual assassination of JFK, the novels name sake. The first event in Derry Maine was much more of a compelling tale simply because King gets to paint his own fictitious story with overt foreshadowing to the second act. Once Jake arrives in Dallas the story hits some major pacing issues and I felt myself forcing a lot of pages through quickly. The finale falls a part a little, due to the fact we get a 40 page explanation at the end that is not really an explanation at all. This is a common trait in a lot of King's books and sometimes I wish he would leave well enough alone. It's my "Groundhog's Day" theory: If the movie explained why Bill Murray was living the same day over and over again it would kill the movie.
Even with all of that I enjoyed the read a lot. I felt a real connection with the characters King painted and save for the middle 300 pages (I know...) I couldn't put it down, which in the end is how I measure a good book.
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