Killers of a Certain Age

My sister sent me this book written by Deanna Raybourn and I really liked it. Booklist says "Imagine if the Golden Girls were trained as elite assassins and you'll have some idea of the delights and thrills filling the pages of Raybourn's latest...a fun, exciting romp that celebrates the everlasting bonds of sisterhood." Billie, Mary Alice, Helen, and Natalie were all recruited in their early 20's to train at the Museum, an elite network of assassins originally created to hunt down Nazis. They were the first women recruits and they worked effectively--sometimes with others, but often alone--for forty years, ridding the world of bad people. They are ready to retire and their employers have graciously offered them an all-expenses-paid cruise to honor them. Or, as they soon figure out, to get them permanently out of the way. But apparently the powers that be have significantly under estimated just what effective assassins they are as they begin to hunt down the members of the Board that issued the termination orders.

Publishers Weekly calls it an "uproarious contemporary thriller...Colorful regional details and vividly portrayed secondary characters flesh out this rollicking tale. Fans of Helen Tursten and Richard Osman will relish watching these badass women in their 60s (“no one notices you unless you want them to,” Billie observes) swing into action. Raybourn has outdone herself." I have been a fan of Richard Osman's "Thursday Murder Club" series set in an English retirement community, and I just finished reading Helen Tursten's two books featuring 88-year old Maud, a very appealing anti-heroine. Being of a certain age myself, I enjoy seeing all these elderly characters taking charge of things, when those around them are prone to dismiss them. The introductory "Author's Note" sets the tone of what is to follow. "Some of the dates are misleading; some of the names are lies. I'm not trying to protect the innocent. I'm trying to protect the guilty. You'll understand soon enough." Many reviewers found the book to be "smart," "witty," "original," and "delightful" with "sophisticated story lines," high-flying action," and "sharp dialogue." Kirkus concludes it is "a compelling, complex mystery."