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Deanna Raybourn Puts Power in the Hands of Older Women

In “Killers of a Certain Age,” the longtime historical novelist dips a toe in contemporary waters — and celebrates an oft-ignored age group.

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By Elisabeth Egan

Why should young people hog all the heart-pounding adventure, not to mention the shelf space reserved for world-class assassins?

Deanna Raybourn’s best-selling thriller, “ Killers of a Certain Age ,” flips the script we’ve memorized from “La Femme Nikita” and “Ocean’s 8,” introducing women who are veteran killers in their 60s, equipped with all the perspective and perspicacity that comes with life experience. A quick tour of Amazon reviews shows an overwhelmingly positive (even grateful) response. “We spend our lives nurturing precious life — our children, our grandchildren,” wrote one reader. “We have never actually killed and do not wish to, but oh, the vicarious satisfaction in following these four Valkyries as they battle arthritis and hot flashes to once again don their super-assassin personas and act.”

Raybourn, who made a name for herself writing historical mysteries, said the idea of writing about, shall we say, seasoned characters originally came from her publisher, Berkley. “They had apparently been sitting around chatting in the office one day saying, ‘Why don’t we have more books about older women doing kick-ass things?’” she said in a phone interview. Her editor suggested that Raybourn get on the case. “I came back a week later and said, ‘I would want the characters to be 60s,’ and the company loved that idea. I said, ‘I want them to be killers,’ and they loved that idea. And then I said, ‘I want to write my first contemporary,’ and that was kind of the needle-scratch-on-the-record moment. It was very much a gesture of faith on their part that they thought I could do it. This was the hardest book I’ve ever written, but it was also the most fun.”

And why was Raybourn so set on writing about women in their seventh decade of life — not elderly, by any stretch, but also not what many would consider the “prime” of life. (For the record, I believe this word should only apply to steak.) “It’s one of those interesting stages,” Raybourn said. “It doesn’t look like what it used to look like. I remember watching Diane Lane in one of the Superman movies and she’d be doing this gorgeous job playing Clark Kent’s adoptive mother and I was like, ‘OK, now where’s her cape?’ Let’s just widen the field a little bit, as to what these action-forward characters can look like.”

Raybourn, now 54, joked that she is not ruling out the possibility of becoming an assassin in her next decade. One thing she knows for sure: “The idea of just kind of turning our faces to the wall and saying, Well, now I’m old? I can’t imagine anything more depressing.”

Elisabeth Egan is an editor at the Book Review and the author of “A Window Opens.”

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Awards & Accolades

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Kirkus Reviews' Best Books Of 2022

New York Times Bestseller

KILLERS OF A CERTAIN AGE

by Deanna Raybourn ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 6, 2022

A unique examination of womanhood as well as a compelling, complex mystery.

Four female assassins on the brink of retirement are brought back into the game by a surprising assassination attempt—on them.

Since they were recruited in their 20s, Billie, Mary Alice, Helen, and Natalie have been working as secret assassins for a clandestine international organization originally created to hunt Nazis. Now they're in their mid-60s, and the Museum—as its denizens call the elite group—has sent them on an all-expenses-paid cruise to celebrate their retirement. Several hours into the trip, though, Billie discovers another of the Museum's assassins onboard the ship. It turns out that she and her colleagues have uncovered a plot to end their own lives. They're forced to flee while simultaneously solving the mystery of why their employers have put targets on their backs. The story jumps back and forth between the late 1970s and early '80s, when the women were first recruited, to the present day, when the female assassins have all lived long, full lives and worry about menopause and lost spouses more than whom they might kill next. Juxtaposing the two timelines creates an interesting dichotomy that examines the nuances of the female aging process from a unique angle. The writing is witty and original, and the plot is unpredictable; Billie is a complex and likable character, but the other three women, while easy to root for, tend to blend together. As the women race around the world trying to stay alive, Raybourn vividly evokes a number of far-flung locations while keeping readers on their toes trying to figure out what's going to happen next.

Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022

ISBN: 978-0-593-20068-1

Page Count: 368

Publisher: Berkley

Review Posted Online: July 12, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2022

SUSPENSE | THRILLER | SUSPENSE | ESPIONAGE | GENERAL THRILLER & SUSPENSE | GENERAL FICTION

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BOOK REVIEW

by Deanna Raybourn

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SEEN & HEARD

PERSPECTIVES

by Michael Crichton & James Patterson ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 3, 2024

Red-hot storytelling.

Two master storytellers create one explosive thriller.

Mauna Loa is going to blow within days—“the biggest damn eruption in a century”—and John “Mac” MacGregor of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory leads a team trying to fend off catastrophe. Can they vent the volcano? Divert the flow of blistering hot lava? The city of Hilo is but a few miles down the hill from the world’s largest active volcano and will likely be in the path of a 15-foot-high wall of molten menace racing toward them at 50 miles an hour. “You live here, you always worry about the big one,” Mac says, and this could be it. There’s much more, though. The U.S. Army swoops in, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff personally “drafts” Mac into the Army. Then Mac learns the frightening secret of the Army’s special interest in Mauna Loa, and suddenly the stakes fly far, far beyond Hilo. Perhaps they can save the world, but the odds don’t look good. Readers will sympathize with Mac, who teaches surfing to troubled teens and for whom “taking chances is part of his damned genetic code.” But no one takes chances like the aerial cowboy Jake Rogers and the photographer who hires him to fly over the smoldering, burbling, rock-spitting hellhole. Some of the action scenes will make readers’ eyes pop as the tension continues to build. As with any good thriller, there’s a body count, but not all thrillers have blackened corpses surfing lava flows. The story is the brainchild of the late Crichton, who did a great deal of research but died in 2008 before he could finish the novel. His widow handed the project to James Patterson, who weaves Crichton’s work into a seamless summer read.

Pub Date: June 3, 2024

ISBN: 9780316565073

Page Count: 432

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: June 20, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024

SUSPENSE | THRILLER | SUSPENSE

More by Daniel H. Wilson

by Michael Crichton & Daniel H. Wilson

by Michael Crichton

CAMINO GHOSTS

by John Grisham ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 28, 2024

Fine Grisham storytelling that his fans will enjoy.

A descendant of enslaved people fights a Florida developer over the future of a small island.

In 1760, the slave ship Venus breaks apart in a storm on its way to Savannah, and only a few survivors, all Africans, find their way safely to a tiny barrier island between Florida and Georgia. For two centuries, only formerly enslaved people and their descendants live there. A curse on white people hangs over the island, and none who ever set foot on it survive. Its last resident was Lovely Jackson, who departed as a teen in 1955. Today—well, in 2020—a developer called Tidal Breeze wants Florida’s permission to “develop” Dark Isle, which sits within bridge-building distance from the well-established Camino Island. The plot is an easy setup for Grisham, big people vs. little people. Lovely’s revered ancestors are buried on Dark Isle, which Hurricane Leo devastated from end to end. Lovely claims the islet’s ownership despite not having formal title, and she wants white folks to leave the place alone. But apparently Florida doesn’t have enough casinos and golf courses to suit some people. Surely developers can buy off that little old Black lady with a half million bucks. No? How about a million? “I wish they’d stop offering money,” Lovely complains. “I ain’t for sale.” Thus a non-jury court trial begins to establish ownership. The story has no legal fireworks, just ordinary maneuvering. The real fun is in the backstory, in the portrayal of the aptly named Lovely, and the skittishness of white people to step on the island as long as the ancient curse remains. Lovely has self-published a history of the island, and a sympathetic white woman named Mercer Mann decides to write a nonfiction account as well. When that book ultimately comes out, reviewers for Kirkus (and others) “raved on and on.” Don’t expect stunning twists, though early on Dark Isle gives four white guys a stark message. The tension ends with the judge’s verdict, but the remaining 30 pages bring the story to a satisfying conclusion.

Pub Date: May 28, 2024

ISBN: 9780385545990

Page Count: 304

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: March 23, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2024

THRILLER | CRIME & LEGAL THRILLER | GENERAL & DOMESTIC THRILLER | GENERAL THRILLER & SUSPENSE | SUSPENSE | SUSPENSE

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by John Grisham

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Book Review: Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn

By janet webb.

Meet Billie Webster, Mary Alice Tuttle, Helen Randolph, and Natalie Schuyler— fierce women who comprise a unique female squad of assassins in Deana Raybourn’s new thriller Killers of a Certain Age . The “Museum”—the foursome’s shadowy non-governmental employer—deploys assassins to kill those who need terminating. What started with Nazis is now focused on arms dealers and money launderers, international pedophiles, and others of that ilk. 

The quartet has been together for forty years. They were recruited in 1978 as part of Project Sphinx, but all good things come to an end. To commemorate their retirement, the Museum gifts them a luxurious Caribbean cruise. 

Raybourn deftly mixes up the timeline: Their training under Constance Halliday, a legendary English spy; the completion of their first mission; and their killing swath across the globe. For their first assignment they are deployed as stewardesses on a private jet. Their mission is to kill a Bulgarian criminal and his henchmen. The weapon of choice is sodium thiopental. Helen wonders why they must kill them, knowing the plane will be abandoned mid-flight.

Because one must never leave anything to chance, Miss Randolph , their mentor explained. This is the only job where overkill is a good thing .

Things don’t go as planned but the foursome get the job done. They parachute out of the plane and are greeted by Miss Halliday. She examines the vital papers that Billie obtained by virtue of chopping off the hand of the Bulgarian’s secretary who was physically chained to his attaché case.

“Good work, Miss Webster,” she says in her clipped accent.    Billie gives her a nod and, without warning, rolls over onto all fours to vomit.   It is the greatest day of her life.   So far.

Forty more years follow of “balancing on that knife’s edge,” only to hang up their spurs. Billie makes a rueful analogy, saying it’s like going from playing high-stakes poker to nickel slots for the rest of your life. Not an easy transition for adrenaline junkies who are used to turning on a dime. 

No matter how well you planned, no matter how extensively you prepared, something always went differently than expected. And every job was a chance to prove Darwin’s simple maxim: Adapt or die. We adapted; they died.

Given the women’s accomplishments, their retirement should be a time for accolades. But once on board the cruise, they ponder who they are without their secretive vocation. Being skilled assassins doesn’t protect them from the ailments and tribulations that are part of aging. At one point, Billie scarfs down a poached egg with a side of spicy relish which triggers a hot flash. Natalie—Nat—tells Billie where to find the nearest walk-in fridge and suggests she stand in it. Billie takes Nat’s advice, unconcerned about the possibility of any crew members seeing her out of place.

That’s the thing about being a sixty-year-old woman—no one notices you unless you want them to. That fact doesn’t do your ego any favors, but in cases like this, it was damned handy.

Blessed cool air and an array of fresh fruit—just what the doctor ordered. When the outer door opens, Billie ducks down, reluctant to be caught with a purloined mandarin orange. She sees a young man dressed in the liner’s uniform, but soon realizes it’s Brad Fogerty, a junior field operative from the Museum. Why is he masquerading as a crew member? Billy knows t here are many reasons why another field agent might not make contact with them, and none of those reasons are good.

The foursome spring into action. Billie decides to search his cabin, Helen “the best pickpocket” of the group, nabs Executive Guest Services Coordinator Heather Fanning’s master key card which allows them to access Fogerty’s cabin. Helen finds a sleek leather attaché case containing a sophisticated lock/tumbler combo that will detonate in six hours. It’s a deadly speedball. Fogerty surprises the women and shoves Helen to the ground. Billie swings a chair at him but misses. They fight hand-to-hand and it gets desperate until Billie remembers she has Helen’s amber beads in her pocket. She throws them over his neck and chokes him for all she’s worth.  He thrashes about, slaps out wildly, but eventually dies. 

“What the hell kind of jewelry is this, Helen?”   She shrugged. “It was made for the Helsinki job and I liked how it looked with this dress, so I kept it.” She pushed a bead aside to show me how it was strung. “Piano wire. I used it on the head of the Finnish national bank.”

Whether they’re sixty or twenty, don’t bet against the collective powers of Billie, Helen, Natalie, and Mary Alice. They slip silently away from the cruise ship but not before they secretly ensure everyone on board will evacuate safely. Armed with Billie’s fake Canadian passport and a Black Amex card, they catch their breath in Nevis before descending on Billie’s New Orleans safe house/bolt hole. For reasons left to the reader to discover, they have become their employer’s prey. Muscle memory takes over and they swing into action. They will kill the men who wrote their death warrants before the three Museum directors know what hit them.  Billie recognizes her three partners are “impossible old bitches” but they are also indomitable, intelligent, and inexorable.

Readers will adore Killers of a Certain Age , especially anyone who feels invisible—Raybourn posits that invisibility can be a secret weapon.

Learn More Or Order A Copy

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Billie makes a rueful analogy, saying it’s like going from playing high-stakes poker to nickel slots for the rest of your life.

It’s a great book. Everyone should read

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Submitting a book for review, write the editor, you are here:, killers of a certain age.

I love the concept of KILLERS OF A CERTAIN AGE, perhaps because I am "of a certain age." Deanna Raybourn certainly writes authentically about women in their 60s.

Billie, Mary Alice, Helen and Natalie have been assassins for over 40 years, working for an organization nicknamed "The Museum." Their job has been to kill bad guys, beginning with Nazi escapees, followed by drug overlords, crime bosses and other evil people. Now these four women, who trained together in their 20s, are taking the first steps toward enjoying a well-deserved retirement by embarking on an all-expenses-paid cruise courtesy of their former employer. But what happens when they realize that this excursion is intended to be the end of their lives?

"Sometimes a book is such an enjoyable read that it's delightful escapism. KILLERS OF A CERTAIN AGE is precisely that kind of novel --- equal parts thrilling and fun."

The ladies’ reflexes might be a bit slower than when they were younger, but with age comes wisdom and experience. The men on the board of directors who are targeting them for reasons they can't understand have seriously underestimated them. Isn't that the way it often is with men? Along with Mary Alice's wife and Minka, the young woman who Billie has taken under her wing and who excels at creating fake documents, they are willing to fight for their lives using every method they've been taught.

Raybourn's writing is exquisite as she takes us back and forth from the perilous present to the women’s provocative past, where we see how they were recruited and what they did on some important jobs. Cleverly, the past is written in the third person, while the present is narrated by Billie. The book begins with an assassination from the past involving the four women and two of the men who will be important in the present-day story. From the start, Raybourn makes us smile as she humorously depicts the at-times bloody descriptions of the women wreaking death on unsuspecting individuals, most of whom are men.

Teamwork and dedication to justice can overcome even substantial odds, and if anyone is going to get the best of those out to kill them, it's these four indomitable ladies. Sometimes a book is such an enjoyable read that it's delightful escapism. KILLERS OF A CERTAIN AGE is precisely that kind of novel --- equal parts thrilling and fun.

Reviewed by Pamela Kramer on October 5, 2022

Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn

• Publication Date: August 15, 2023
• Genres: Fiction , Suspense , Thriller , Women's Fiction
• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Berkley
• ISBN-10: 0593200705
• ISBN-13: 9780593200704

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Book Review: Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn

Title: Killers of a Certain Age Author: Deanna Raybourn Publisher: Berkley Publication date: September 6, 2022 Length: 368 pages Genre: Contemporary fiction Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley Rating:

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. 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.

Just because a woman hits 60, it doesn’t mean she’s weak or powerless. And the women of Killers of a Certain Age are here to make sure we don’t forget it!

In this action-rich thriller by the talented Deanna Raybourn, the four women at the heart of the story should be enjoying the celebratory luxury cruise marking their retirement — but when they spot a fellow assassin from the shadowy organization they work for hidden among the ship’s crew, they realize they’ve been targeted, and soon enter a fight for their lives.

As the foursome evade death through all sorts of clever, daring, inventive means, they know that the kill order must have come from the top, and in their world, as the blurb says, it’s kill or be killed. Banding together, they plot, scheme, and fight to take out the Museum’s Directors. With their own lives on the line, one mistake could mean the end for all of them.

Killers of a Certain Age is a fast-paced adventure, with the four main character at its heart using their mad skills, cunning, and whatever tools they have at hand to turn their own assassinations back on their adversaries and, they hope, finally leave the business behind them for good.

Each woman is given a backstory, although some are more fleshed out than others. The Museum, we’re told, was originally founded in the aftermath of the second World War, with the purpose of finding and eliminating the many Nazis who managed to slink away and evade justice. Over the years, the Museum’s mission expanded to include drug lords and criminal masterminds. Unaffiliated and uncontrolled by any one government, the Museum is a well-funded, top secret, highly powerful organization that moves through the world via stealth and surveillance, and takes out those deemed the highest threats.

Now, to enjoy Killers of a Certain Age , we readers have to put aside any qualms about the morality of an extra-legal assassination organization. We’re clearly meant to root for Billie, Mary Ann, Helen, and Natalie, and to understand that they see themselves as forces of good. Yes, they clean up the rot that pervades the world and evades more traditional types of justice. But at the end of the day, they’re women who’ve spent 40 years traveling the world and murdering people. I can’t bring myself to feel sorry about them dispensing justice to Nazis and cartel bosses… but I can’t say I’m entirely comfortable with this either.

Still, accepting that these are our heroines, it’s certainly fun to cheer for their success, especially when they take advantage of other people’s views of older women to be able to slip into places unseen and unchallenged.

There are some funny moments (such as the women using a menopause-tracking app with animated kitten avatars as a way to communicate without being tracked), but overall, it’s not a particularly funny book (which readers coming from the world of the author’s Veronica Speedwell mystery series may be expecting). The characters are memorable, and I loved reading a story where women “of a certain age” not only matter, but truly kick ass, take names, and make a difference.

The underlying concept — four assassins as the heroes of a story — still doesn’t sit entirely well with me, but overall, this is a fun, fast, exciting read. Kind of like a female James Bond squad, but with murder. If you don’t take it too seriously and just go with the concept, it works!

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10 thoughts on “ book review: killers of a certain age by deanna raybourn ”.

I’ve only read one book by her (the first Veronica Speedwell book), and it sounds like she does ask her readers not to take everything too seriously. But… I don’t know. This sounded like fun but I’m still a bit unsure.

It’s very different in tone from the Veronica Speeedwell books, not snarky or sarcastic or full of banter the way those are. There are some clever/funny lines, but overall, it’s much more serious in tone.

I love the sound of this, although the illustrated cover gives it a more lighthearted feel, I think. I’m loving all the recent books with over 50 female protagonists😁

Here, here! I feel the same way about seeing more women over 50 as the leads in books, whether romance or thrillers or action stories!

love love love the review lisa!

Assassins as main characters can always be tricky. It’s a fine line to walk. But these four women do sound like a lot of fun. I want to read this one. 🙂

I hope you read it! Looking forward to hearing what other people think…

You give good advice to reading a book like this. I agree it’s a hard concept to be completely comfortable with, but if you read it with the right frame of mind I can see how it works. Thanks for reviewing it, Lisa!

Thanks, Barbara! I’m still wavering a bit on my rating, but overall, she’s such a good writer (and I enjoyed seeing women of this age as action heroes) that I’m sticking with 4 stars!

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AfterTheLastPage

Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn–ATLP Book Review

• Releases Sept 6
• Thriller meets Genre Fiction
• Mature narrators

In Killers of A Certain Age , four women have to confront their retirement–like most working women in their sixties–except these women don’t have a typical job…they’re assassins.

Billie, Mary Alice, Helen, and Natalie have worked for an organization, ominously called “The Museum,” since the 1970s. But, with new technology on the rise, the world of assassin training has changed and they’ve been replaced with newer, younger version of themselves. As a reward for their many years of hard work, the women are given a retirement vacation on a cruise line, gifted from their employer. Yet, when the women notice something is amiss, they realize that The Museum might actually be trying to kill them off–they just aren’t sure why.

In this exciting thriller, with an incredibly unique cast of characters, four women will have to figure out why their longtime employer is after them, without any of the resources they once had, to get out alive. Killers of a Certain Age is National Treasure meets Nursing Home in this fun twist on what happens as we get older.

KILLERS OF A CERTAIN AGE REVIEW

I received Killers of a Certain Age through Berkley Publishing, and to be honest, it came at the perfect time. I’ve been sick all week, so it’s been tough to do anything beyond leaving my couch, and Killers of a Certain Age was the wild ride that I most definitely needed.

First of all, this book has SUCH a cinematic quality. It made me feel as if I were watching a movie, instead of reading a book. Though, I’m not sure I was getting “thriller” vibes as much as I was action-movie. The vibe of this book is more National Treasure or Uncharted (so if you’re a fan of those movies, you’ll definitely love this). Though, instead of our usual Scarlett-Johannsen-as-the-Black-Widow-type assassin, we’ve got a group of older ladies that have realistically hilarious commentary, even if their problems are a little out of this world.

The book follows two different perspectives–we have a third person omniscient narrator for the scenes from the 1970s and then Billie’s first person perspective for the rest of the book. I found the change in perspective to be a little weird, and as a reader, it threw me off a bit. I think I would have preferred maybe a different character narrating the 1970s scenes. Though, now that I think about it, I think this book certainly would have benefited from seeing the other characters perspectives. Don’t get me wrong, I love Billie, but I think the book needed that extra depth character like Helen (who is widowed) might have provided.

That being said, Billie does a great job telling the story. Billie seems to believe that she’s the most held together, and she takes on the leadership role for much of the book. Though each character holds a different aspect to the team–Natalie is charismatic, Mary Alice is the heart, Helen is crazy observant–but Billie? She is brave in a way that leads the other three women on her team. She is a thinker, and I think they respect that. Heck, I respected it.

One of the things I loved most about this book was the very realistic problems that the women face due to their age. Beyond their problems as assassins being hunted by their organization, the women struggle with fatigue, hot flashes, and even emotional distress. The dry humor and banter between the four is priceless. That being said, I really think that the book could have used the tone of an older narrator. While the plotline follows older women, the book itself didn’t give me the mature voice that I’ve noticed in a few other books, like Remarkably Bright Creatures . I would have liked to see Killers of a Certain Age take on a little bit more depth, even though it was such a fun plot.

OVERALL THOUGHTS

Overall, I really enjoyed Killers of a Certain Age and I’m thankful for the ARC from Berkley Publishing. I think this is such a fun read and I foresee it being a favorite on shelves of bookstores everywhere. That being said, even though I enjoyed the exciting plotline and the unique narrators, I would have liked to see a little more depth explored throughout the book. For that reason, this book has received a 4 star rating from me.

Though I haven’t read anything by Deanna Raybourn before, I really enjoyed Killers of a Certain Age and I can certainly see myself picking up more of her books in the future.

If you’d like to check out this book yourself, you can pre-order it on Amazon here . The book releases on September 6, 2022.

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Review: Killers Of A Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn

Looks Like Books contains affiliate links and is a member of the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. If you make a purchase using one of these affiliate links I may receive compensation at no extra cost to you. See my Disclaimer to learn more.

Sometimes older women can be made to feel invisible. You know, over the hill, out of sight and out of mind. But for the ladies in Killers of a Certain Age, they can only hope they remain invisible.

Because for them, it’s kill or be killed. So what would you choose?

Author Deanna Raybourn veers off with something a little bit different in her latest book!

Start with four women who are newly retired women of a certain age. Age 60 to be exact! Then throw in some James Bond-ish action along with a little mystery and thriller, and suddenly, you’ve got Killers Of A Certain Age .

My review will give you a short synopsis of the book along with my thoughts on whether you should read it, reread it, or reconsider whether you want to read it at all.

Killers Of A Certain Age

Publisher’s synopsis of killers of a certain age, killers of a certain age – what i liked, killers of a certain age – what i disliked, killers of a certain age – read, reread or reconsider, in the mood for more mysteries try these:.

Killers Of A Certain Age is the latest book published by author Deanna Raybourn, and it’s a little different than the mystery books that Deanna Raybourn usually writes, like the Lady Julia Grey series!

If you’re not yet familiar with Deanna Raybourn , she is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of 25+ books (as of now), and this is her first contemporary novel. Killers of a Certain Age was an instant New York Times bestseller, and it will take you on an action-packed doozy of a romp around the world.

Older women often feel invisible, but sometimes that’s their secret weapon.

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.

This book has been described as a Golden Girls meets James Bond thriller, and I couldn’t agree more. I especially loved the “Golden Girls” aspects with all the humorous mentions about life as an older woman. There is a lot to like about this book for almost any reader, but if you happen to be a “woman of a certain age”, you’ll love it!

The four girls entertaining us throughout this book are Billie, Helen, Mary Alice, and Natalie, and I loved them all! These ladies start out the book by going on an all-expenses-paid cruise to celebrate their retirement. Who doesn’t love a great retirement gift, right? Unfortunately, these ladies have retired from killing people, so while a retirement cruise may sound kind of boring, this particular retirement cruise gets a little dicey shortly after they set sail.

I didn’t realize the book was going to be so funny before I actually read it. It’s witty, and the characters have a sort of lively banter between them almost all of the time. Just like you would with a lifetime friend.

There’s also plenty of action here, and that creates a fast page-turner of a book. I almost devoured the whole thing in one sitting. And I liked that we not only had the mystery of the moment going on throughout the book, but we also learned something about how these girls got started in the assassin business 40 years earlier. That completely rounded out the story and I enjoyed that connection with the earlier years.

Despite the humor throughout the book, Killers Of A Certain Age is still very much an action-packed suspenseful thriller with some tie-ins to the OSS and SOE for those of you who are fans of historical fiction set in the WWII era and featuring the SOE operatives.

This story is completely unpredictable and totally unique! And also quite different from anything Deanna Raybourn has given us as of yet.

The moral of this story may be that you should never underestimate the power of a 60+-year-old woman LOL! The older gals may not be able to physically do everything that a younger one can, but they’ve got 60+ years of experience behind them and, where there’s a will there’s a way. So look out!

There isn’t anything that I, personally, disliked about this book.

This is, however, a crime story, so if you’re offended by accounts of killing people or mildly graphic descriptions of such, or the humor that’s mixed in with it all, then this might not be the book for you.

There are quite a few age-related jokes in this book. Didn’t bother me, and I thought they were quite funny, but if that gets to you then you may not appreciate the humor.

And now, for my 3 Rs of book reviews. Should you read, reread or reconsider reading Killers Of A Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn?

Oh my, if you love a smart, witty, tangled-up romp of a funny crime novel featuring over-the-hill female assassins, then you’ll absolutely love this book.

If you prefer to “listen” to your books rather than read them, here’s a nice opportunity to try Audible free for 30 Days.

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Review: Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn

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. 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.

Women of a “certain age” are expected to fade into the background – and if they don’t fade voluntarily society is more than willing to keep shoving them into the shadows until they finally get the hint.

So it’s not a surprise to 60-somethings Billie, Mary Alice, Helen and Natalie that after 40+ years as an elite assassination team working for the mysterious “Museum” they’ve been retired and put out to pasture. They miss the adrenaline of the work, but they’re not totally miserable at the idea of retirement at least on some levels. Living on the knife edge of danger always did get the blood pumping, but the recovery times are a LOT longer than they used to be.

But the offer of an all-expenses paid elite cruise on a luxury yacht is the least the Museum owes them in addition to the generous pensions they’ve all more than earned.

What they have not earned, do not deserve, but discover they have to deal with anyway, is a member of the Museum’s “operations” staff posing as a member of the ship’s crew. As they have not been contacted about a job, or even just given a heads-up about his presence, they realize that they ARE the job. Their former employers are literally out to get them – and they are very, very good at getting the people they set out to get.

But Billie, Mary Alice, Helen and Natalie were an elite team. The best of the best, trained by the best and tested time and time again in the field. Not many people in their profession live to retire and they plan to enjoy theirs for a long, long time.

In order to do that, they’ll just have to eliminate anyone – and everyone – who is out to get them. It’s a difficult job, but it’s one they’ve been doing for over 40 years. And they’re not done yet.

Which does not take a damn thing away from either the book or the movie, because they are both a hell of a good time.

As strange as this may sound, Killers is kind of a slow-burn thriller. A lot of prep work and planning goes into this caper, and we see it. This team doesn’t barge in with guns blazing – not because they’re old, but because that was never the way they worked. Their mission was always to get away undetected – and they were damn good at it.

The mission now is to take down all the people – and for people read men – at the Museum who set them up and plan to take them out in order to cover up their own corruption.

So a big part of this story is seeing them do the work of putting a plan together and getting the job done. That the job is to kill people and the plan is all about getting away with it doesn’t trouble them and doesn’t trouble the reader either. Whether this is justice or revenge, the dish is still going to be served ice cold. And the dessert is very, very just.

But the author called this a book about anger – and that feels like a pretty accurate description. Because in between the meticulous planning and sometimes nearly disastrous carrying out of those plans, the story slips back from Billie’s perspective on the rather fraught present to her recollections of the team’s past training and missions.

And every single one of the missions Billie recalls is an occasion where the very same men who ordered their executions underestimated them on a mission – only to get saved by this team of women that they still insisted weren’t up for the job. A nearly fatal mistake for each man then, and an absolutely fatal one now.

Isn’t it all too telling that the women got put out to pasture while the men who weren’t nearly as good got promoted to the top echelons of the organization?

Because the story in the present is told from Billie’s first-person perspective, and the sections in the past follow her even though we’re not in her head, the reader doesn’t get quite as clear a picture of Mary Alice, Helen and Natalie as we do Billie. Which is possibly the book’s only flaw. Their lives have taken such different turns in spite of their shared work so it would be fascinating to get more of their individual perspectives. But with what we do know, we see that their bond is as strong as the day it was formed. They love each other, sometimes they want to kill each other, often they want to tear each other’s hair out – but each would lay down their lives for the others and their sisterhood is both palpable and powerful.

I loved Killers of a Certain Age and sincerely hope that it turns out to be the first book in a series. The ending certainly hints at that possibility and I’d be thrilled to see it fulfilled. In the meantime, if you find yourself enjoying it as much as I did, there are several titles that might hit the same deadly sweet spot.

In addition to watching or re-watching the movie Red , the following books have at least elements of Killers of a Certain Age : The Thursday Murder Club series by Richard Osman, especially the second book, The Man Who Died Twice , the Slough House series by Mick Herron, Woman on Fire by Lisa Barr, and last but certainly not the least or the least deadly, An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good by Helene Tursten.

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4 thoughts on “ Review: Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn ”

This sounds fun. I’ve enjoyed her Veronica Speedwell series, so I’m going to give this one a try for sure.

I just came across this title on a fall new release list from Book Riot I think so I’m glad to see your review. I added it to my fall TBR because I am definitely of ‘a certain age’ and then some and love to read about older protagonists. And I love learning about all the planning that goes into a caper – like Italian Job or the first Oceans. Looking forward to this book! Terrie @ Bookshelf Journeys

I’m glad you reviewed (and liked) this because I’ve been hearing lots of buzz about it elsewhere and trust your take.

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Reading guide for Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn

Summary  |  Excerpt  |  Reading Guide  |  Reviews  |  Beyond the Book  |  Read-Alikes  |  Genres & Themes  |  Author Bio

Killers of a Certain Age

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• First Published:
• Sep 6, 2022, 368 pages
• Aug 2023, 368 pages

• Contemporary
• Strong Women
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About this Book

• Reading Guide

Reading Guide Questions

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

• The Museum is founded with the intention of bringing justice to those who have never been held accountable for their atrocities. Is this mission statement fulfilled?
• How would you characterize the relationship among the four assassins? How do they each fulfill their roles with regard to their respective talents?
• Each of the four is recruited very young, at a vulnerable point in her life. How does this make them susceptible to recruitment? Is this ethical?
• The foursome have spent their entire adult lives in the service of the Museum only to be betrayed by the organization to which they have given so much. How does this betrayal drive their actions?
• How do each of the flashback missions relate to the current kills?
• Naomi Ndiaye is a character who performs a critical role in the plot. How would you describe her? She allows circumstances to play out in order to secure the future of the Museum even though this puts the four assassins at greater risk. Was she right to do so?
• Billie, Mary Alice, Helen, and Natalie each bring something unique to their missions. How would you describe them? Which do you relate to more? Which talents would you bring to a mission?
• Minka and Akiko are strong supporting characters. How does this network of women hold one another up? How does Constance fit into the idea of women who support other women?
• Billie keeps a secret safe house in New Orleans. Does this make her wise or paranoid?
• The four assassins have to "burn" their real identities and start over. Could you do this?
• Much of the team's success comes from being older and therefore overlooked and underestimated. How do they use this to their advantage? What advantages did they have as younger women working in a traditionally masculine trade?
• How would Billie's life have been different if she had pursued a relationship with Taverner? Was he right to follow his dreams of marriage and fatherhood even though it meant giving up the love of his life?
• How would you characterize the relationships the four assassins have with the significant people in their lives? Does keeping their occupations secret protect these relationships? Or does it prevent real intimacy?
• What do you think is next for the four assassins?

Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Berkley Books. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.

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Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn

Published: September 6, 2022

by Berkley Books

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.

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.

Main Characters

The four assassins

• Billie – leader of the pack
• Helen – recently widowed, struggling with it

Other characters

• Kevin C (aka Brad) – on an assignment as a worker on the cruise ship
• Mary Alice’s wife
• Minka – Billie’s friend, Billie saved her from Ukraine
• Swinney – a retired agent that the group had good relationships with
• Constance Holiday – a legendary English spy that was the mastermind behind the Sphinx, the all female assassin organization

It is entertaining to read about the assassins using their older age as a way to become invisible. I went into this book thinking it would be similar to the Thursday Murder Club. While it has some comedic elements, it has a different flavor. There is a lot more graphic killing and not as much dry humor.

I really enjoyed the book – there is something about old ladies being underestimated and murdering people well! The book went back and forth between the current timeline and then the timeline when they were poached for The Museum. I enjoyed the past timeline – especially since it showcased some of the relationships between the women and helped to build each of their characters.

Overall – I would definitely recommend this book for anyone looking for a clever, adventure filled book that highlights older women assassins capitalizing on their age to be invisible. However, if you are going in thinking this will be like The Thursday Murder Club, this is not it.

Summary with Spoilers

While on the cruise ship, they find out that someone has put a kill hit on the four of them. They get everyone off the boat, it explodes, and the get away and pretend to be dead. They make it back to the US with some help of Billie’s friend. When in New Orleans, they call a friend to come and talk to them, thinking he is on their side. Swinney shows up and he has turned on the to get the bonus for killing them. Billie kills him. She is followed by another Museum Assassin, but gets away. Billie gets ahold of the curators – Martin informs her that there is a hit on them because it is thought they were killing people on the side. He says it went into the system through non normal channels and he doesn’t know who has sent on the info. Billie gets ahold of Naomi and she says that it could be infiltrated through the top. The women decide to go to Europe to take out the board members. It turns out that Helen has purchased the house there where they first trained. They head there. They murder Gunther and Tiare by crashing a spa day and then going underground in Paris and breaking into the house through the bathroom vanity. Billie steals their dossier on the way out. The dossier has to have initials of the person who put it together. It turns out it was Martin, he wanted to get to the top of the organization by having the women kill the board of directors. Vance caught on. The women make a plan and go to an auction that Vance and Martin will be at. The four women with some help take down Martin and Vance. Naomi shows up and she helps to get the kill order removed from the women since she is now head of the Museum with Vance and Martin gone.

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Killers of a Certain Age Paperback – August 15, 2023

• Print length 368 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Berkley
• Publication date August 15, 2023
• Dimensions 5.17 x 0.77 x 7.94 inches
• ISBN-10 0593200705
• ISBN-13 978-0593200704
• See all details

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About the author, excerpt. © reprinted by permission. all rights reserved., product details.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Berkley; Reprint edition (August 15, 2023)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0593200705
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593200704
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.6 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.17 x 0.77 x 7.94 inches
• #185 in Espionage Thrillers (Books)
• #2,686 in Suspense Thrillers
• #8,595 in Genre Literature & Fiction

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Honest Book Review - 3/5

Mads Noellee

About the author

Deanna raybourn.

New York Times and USA Today bestselling novelist Deanna Raybourn is a 6th-generation native Texan. She graduated with a double major in English and history from the University of Texas at San Antonio. Married to her college sweetheart and the mother of one, Raybourn makes her home in Virginia. Her novels have been nominated for numerous awards including the Edgar, two RT Reviewers’ Choice awards, the Agatha, two Dilys Winns, and a Last Laugh. She launched a new Victorian mystery series with the 2015 release of A CURIOUS BEGINNING, featuring intrepid butterfly-hunter and amateur sleuth, Veronica Speedwell. Veronica’s second adventure is A PERILOUS UNDERTAKING (January 2017), and book three, A TREACHEROUS CURSE, was published in 2018 and nominated for the Edgar Award. A DANGEROUS COLLABORATION was released in 2019, and A MURDEROUS RELATION appeared in 2020 and AN UNEXPECTED PERIL published in March 2021. The latest Veronica Speedwell adventure, AN IMPOSSIBLE IMPOSTOR, will be published in February, 2022. Deanna’s first contemporary novel featuring four female assassins who must band together to take out their nemesis as they prepare for retirement, KILLERS OF A CERTAIN AGE, will be published in September of 2022.

You can find her her social media links, blog, contests, and upcoming appearances at deannaraybourn.com.

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Customers find the book entertaining and insightful, featuring smart, resourceful, and witty women. They describe the writing quality as well-written and rich with descriptors. They also find the story fun, well-done, and without a wasted paragraph. Readers also find it relatable and fast-paced. They love the story line and find the women clever.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Customers find the book fun, interesting, and page-turning. They also say it grabs them from the beginning and holds them till the end. Readers also love the characters and the great dialog.

" Fantastic book . Loved every moment. Loved every character. Great writing, lots of adventures, and such a thrilling read. Go enjoy!" Read more

"... Filled with humor , sensibility and intelligence these four brilliant women demonstrate that 60 is not over-the-hill and they stiil have what it takes..." Read more

"...what genre to slot this story, and that is one reason it's such a great read ...." Read more

"... There is some humor , there is some danger, there is a interesting mystery to be solved and there are 4 main characters that you’ll like...." Read more

Customers find the plot good, with twists and turns. They also say the premise is a nice deviation from the usual assassin-spy thriller. Readers say the story is easy to navigate, with action from start to finish. They say the characters, story and writing style grab them and make it hard to stop. They mention the flashbacks are well done and the mystery is interesting.

"...Loved every moment. Loved every character. Great writing, lots of adventures , and such a thrilling read. Go enjoy!" Read more

"...A fun, exciting read full of twists and turns as well as some of the more imaginative ways of assassinating a person that I have ever read about...." Read more

"... Historical fiction , mystery, empowering women, thriller, love story, and more. Thoroughly enjoyed the way the plot unfolded and surprised...." Read more

"...There is some humor, there is some danger, there is a interesting mystery to be solved and there are 4 main characters that you’ll like...." Read more

Customers find the characters in the book relatable. They also appreciate the vivid descriptors and pacing of the story.

"Fantastic book. Loved every moment. Loved every character . Great writing, lots of adventures, and such a thrilling read. Go enjoy!" Read more

"...My favorite part was the fascinating characters . I" Read more

" I loved the characters and the great dialog. The flashbacks to their beginnings andwove well through the story...." Read more

"...Nevertheless, I loved this. The four kick ass women who were also clever." Read more

Customers find the writing quality of the book well written, easy to read, and believable. They also appreciate the rhythm and pacing of the story.

"Fantastic book. Loved every moment. Loved every character. Great writing , lots of adventures, and such a thrilling read. Go enjoy!" Read more

"...Entertaining with a pleasant writing style , though the subject matter was rough." Read more

"...Very clever plot with lots of twists and turns, but believable . They absolutely have to make this into a movie." Read more

"...This book was delightfully written with rich descriptions that make it ripe for adaptation to a movie or show...." Read more

Customers find the pacing of the book fast and easy to read.

"...The pacing is solid with solid progression and development of the plot...." Read more

"...The plot was fast paced and the enactment on audible made it fun to listen...." Read more

"An enjoyable and quick read . The characters were fun and interesting. Great book to read at the beach or anywhere on vacation." Read more

"...What grips me with all her books is Deanna’s writing rhythm, the pacing of the story and the vivid descriptors...." Read more

Customers find the insight entertaining. They also say the women are smart, resourceful, and witty.

"...Filled with humor, sensibility and intelligence these four brilliant women demonstrate that 60 is not over-the-hill and they stiil have what it takes..." Read more

"...Historical fiction, mystery, empowering women , thriller, love story, and more. Thoroughly enjoyed the way the plot unfolded and surprised...." Read more

"...Entertaining with a pleasant writing style, though the subject matter was rough ." Read more

"...But they were also resourceful and witty. Fun story and I liked how it ended." Read more

Customers find the emotional content of the book strong, physically and mentally. They also mention that the women don't let age define them.

"...fun, unique spin on a mystery... older characters, lots of wit and human spirit . Enjoyable from start to finish." Read more

"...I was especially invested in this book, but though ruthless; the sense of loyalty , friendship, humor, and strength of the four women shines through..." Read more

"...The book grabs you from the beginning and holds you till the end . It’s clever, hard to put down and will make you laugh...." Read more

"...I enjoyed the mystery and action. Along with the strong female leads . I would love another book with similar action and strong willed characters." Read more

Customers have mixed opinions about the readability of the book. Some find it easy to read and fun, while others say they couldn't put it down.

"...It’s clever, hard to put down and will make you laugh.I hope she writes a sequel" Read more

" Couldn’t put it down ..." Read more

"...A fun winter read for a book club, inventive and satisfying and hard to put down ." Read more

" couldn’t put it down !..." Read more

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