A Short Personal Update

     I don't want to get into too many details, but I wanted to give an explanation to my loyal readers.  May 22 I went to the Emergency room and within the hour was in surgery under going brain surgery.  After nine days in ICU, I finally got to return home.  The last several months have been intense healing and daily antibiotic treatments.  I went through physical and speech therapy, but the general outlook is I will make a full recovery and have made tremendous progress already.

     I share this to explain my lack of posts, but also to stress that getting treatment quickly was key.  My speech suddenly became unintelligible after a serious headache for many days from what I thought was my sinuses (I was even on antibiotics).  If you or anyone you know experiences garbled or difficulty speaking, get them to the hospital pronto.  

     I can't thank the surgeons, neurologists, and nursing staff enough for their care and diligence.  I was fortunate to have a highly regarded neuro-surgeon in a hospital that is recognized for their neurological care.  But again, getting treatment so quickly was key.

     I'm just now getting around to my normal levels of reading, and I'm finally writing again and wanted to share with my faithful blog readers why I've not shared much lately.  I'm jumping into the third Accidental Vampire PI draft.  I'll keep you updated on its progress.

     Stay healthy my friends.

Review - Killers of a Certain Age

 Deanna Raybourn is the New York Times bestselling author of the Edgar Award–nominated Veronica Speedwell Mysteries, as well as the Lady Julia Grey series and several stand-alone works.  Her latest series features a group of women in their 60s who worked as elite assassins. But retirement can be deadly.  

“This Golden Girls meets James Bond thriller is a journey you want to be part of.” -Buzzfeed

"... pits men against women, age against youth, technology against old school know-how.” -Amazon Book Review

Naturally it has been compared to "The Thursday Murder Club" and the 2010 movie "Red."  Read this review to understand how it differs from both.

Author: Deanna Raybourn

Copyright: August 2023 (Berkley) 368 pgs

Series: 1st in Killers of a Certain Age thriller series

Sensuality: violence, mature themes, language

Mystery Sub-genre: Thriller, intrigue

Main Character: Billie Webster, recently retired from forty years in an elite female assassination squad.

Setting: Modern day, global locations

Obtained Through: Library

Book Blurb: "Older women often feel invisible, but sometimes that’s their secret weapon. They’ve spent their lives as the deadliest assassins in a clandestine international organization, but now that they're sixty years old, four women friends can’t just retire—it’s kill or be killed in this action-packed thriller by New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award–nominated author Deanna Raybourn.

Billie, Mary Alice, Helen, and Natalie have worked for the Museum, an elite network of assassins, for forty years. Now their talents are considered old-school and no one appreciates what they have to offer in an age that relies more on technology than people skills.

When the foursome is sent on an all-expenses paid vacation to mark their retirement, they are targeted by one of their own. Only the Board, the top-level members of the Museum, can order the termination of field agents, and the women realize they’ve been marked for death.

Now to get out alive they have to turn against their own organization, relying on experience and each other to get the job done, knowing that working together is the secret to their survival. They’re about to teach the Board what it really means to be a woman—and a killer—of a certain age."

My Thoughts:  

I like the four diverse women who make up the squad.  Billie is the main point-of-view character through the book. She is particularly good at fighting and is a tad impulsive. The others are: Helen, a widow who's a smooth pickpocket and handy with a gun while also taking detailed notes on everyone she meets;  Natalie (Nat), and Mary Alice. I like these gals and how they work so well together.

Many scenes are told via flashbacks.  Those scenes actually provide some clues, but a few times it felt disorienting to jump to the past. This book has multiple global settings, but initially starts on a luxury cruise. The settings have just enough description to place you in each local. You really feel like your seeing each place through the eyes of a trained killer.  

The plot leads you through some twists and turns and the pacing speeds along.  The climax reveals more than I expected, making it very satisfying. The writing and plot are enjoyable and well done.

It isn't like "The Thursday Murder Club" (see review of book 2 here) since Richard Osman's series has ordinary people, except one character, making it a bit of a rag-tag amateur sleuth group.  The 2010 movie "Red" (short for Retired Extremely Dangerous) is closer since I can see Helen Mirren's character as inspiration for Billie in the book, and both the movie and this books series are about retired deadly agents.  But I think that is where the similarities end. 

I absolutely love the "technology against old school know-how" theme. Their ability to use low-tech or no-tech actually keeps them alive while giving them an upper hand.  So well done. Plus the age and experience beats younger and less experienced theme was golden as well. In an age where over fifty makes it harder to find a job, this had me routing for them.

There is a paradox at work through the book where the four women are shown to maintain their humanity and feelings while being efficient killers, which makes the characters more interesting.  I like how they learned to rely on each other for each one's skill set and not be competitive.  They have become like sisters in some ways.

I do have some caveats with my praise. The "Museum" organization, and thus the four women, operate on a vigilante assassination philosophy that the ends justify the means.  They don't just skirt the law, they toss the law out the window to be judge (the Museum), jury (the Museum), and executioner (the assassins).  It is stated this way in the book: "I'm interested in justice, not law."  But justice is subjective and often handed out based on grudges or emotions like revenge when the law isn't the bedrock.  

I know it took me awhile to get to this book so many of you may have read it already.  I would love to hear your thoughts on the book.

Rating: Excellent - Loved it! Buy it now and put this author on your watch list.

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