Killers Of A Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn: Book Review
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Sometimes older women can be made to feel invisible – over the hill, out of sight, and out of mind. But for the women in Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn, invisibility can be a very useful skill.
Billie, Helen, Mary Alice, and Natalie are newly retired assassins, all around age 60. Add in some James Bond-style action, a little mystery, a lot of humor, and four women who have absolutely no intention of quietly disappearing into retirement, and you have one very different Deanna Raybourn novel.
My Take: Killers of a Certain Age is one of the most fun crime novels I’ve read in a while. Four 60-year-old retired assassins, sharp humor, nonstop action, and a plot that repeatedly proves experience can be every bit as useful as youth made this a completely different Deanna Raybourn read for me. My Verdict? Read. If “Golden Girls meets James Bond” sounds even remotely appealing, you should have a very good time with this one.
What Killers Of A Certain Age Is About
Billie, Helen, Mary Alice, and Natalie have spent forty years working as assassins for a secret organization known as the Museum. Now they’re retiring, and their employer sends them on an all-expenses-paid cruise to celebrate.
Unfortunately, retirement doesn’t go quite as planned.
The women quickly discover that someone within their own organization has marked them for death. Instead of quietly enjoying their golden years, they have to use everything four decades in the business have taught them to stay alive — and figure out why the Museum has suddenly turned against them.
As they fight back, the story also takes us into their earlier years and shows how four very different women became professional assassins in the first place.
Killers Of A Certain Age – What I Liked
The Women
The book has been described as “Golden Girls meets James Bond,” and that pretty much sums up one of the things I enjoyed most about it.
Billie, Helen, Mary Alice, and Natalie have been friends and colleagues for decades, and their longtime friendship feels real. There’s teasing, banter, irritation, loyalty, and the easy shorthand that develops between people who have known each other almost forever.
I loved all four of them.
And the fact that these aren’t 20- or 30-something action heroines makes the story even more fun. They’re 60-year-old women with decades of experience behind them — and anyone who underestimates them quickly discovers that’s a very bad idea.
The Humor
I didn’t expect this book to be nearly as funny as it was.
There are plenty of jokes about aging and the realities of being a woman “of a certain age,” but for me they worked because the women themselves are in on the joke. Their age isn’t presented as something that makes them incapable; in many ways, it’s one of their greatest advantages.
The lively banter among the four women kept the story fun even while people were, you know, trying to kill them.
The Action and Backstory
There is plenty of action, and that made this a very fast read for me. I almost devoured the whole book in one sitting.
In fact, if you enjoy this kind of fast-moving international action, The Omega Factor by Steve Berry gave me another page-turning thriller experience.
I also liked that the story doesn’t focus only on the danger they’re facing now. We get glimpses of how these women entered the assassin business forty years earlier and how their lives and relationships developed over time.
That backstory made the characters feel much more complete and gave the present-day adventure more depth.
And ultimately, I think the moral of this story may be: never underestimate a woman over 60.
She may not do everything exactly the way she did at 25 – but she’s had a few decades to figure out better ways to get the job done.
Killers Of A Certain Age – What I Disliked
There really wasn’t anything I personally disliked about the book.
Readers should know, however, that this is a crime novel about professional assassins, so naturally there is violence and killing. The humor can also get fairly dark because these women have spent decades doing a very unusual job.
There are also plenty of age-related jokes. I found them funny, but readers who don’t enjoy humor about aging may respond differently.
Killers Of A Certain Age – Read, ReRead or Reconsider?
And now, for my 3 Rs of book reviews. Should you read, reread, or reconsider reading Killers Of A Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn?
Read!
Killers of a Certain Age was smart, funny, fast-moving, and completely different from the Deanna Raybourn books I already knew.
I especially loved seeing four older women at the center of an action thriller where their age and experience are assets rather than limitations. Add the friendship among the women, international adventure, and a wonderfully tangled-up plot, and this was an easy Read for me.
Frequently Asked Questions About Killers of a Certain Age
Is Killers of a Certain Age part of a series?
Killers of a Certain Age can be read on its own, so you don’t need to read any other Deanna Raybourn books first.
Is Killers of a Certain Age funny?
Yes. Although it’s an action-packed crime thriller involving professional assassins, there’s a great deal of humor throughout the story, particularly involving the women’s friendships and observations about aging.
Is Killers of a Certain Age like Deanna Raybourn’s other books?
Not particularly. Readers who know Deanna Raybourn’s historical mysteries will find this quite different. Killers of a Certain Age is contemporary, action-heavy, and centered on four retired female assassins.
Is Killers of a Certain Age Worth Reading?
Yes – especially if you’re looking for a thriller that doesn’t feel like every other thriller you’ve already read.
The four women are what made this book for me. They’re smart, experienced, funny, loyal to one another, and completely capable of dealing with people foolish enough to assume they’re past their prime.
I went into Killers of a Certain Age expecting an action story and came away loving the humor and friendship just as much as the suspense. It’s clever, unpredictable, and proof that an action hero certainly doesn’t have to be a 35-year-old man.
What To Read Next
- Deanna Raybourn Books In Order – Explore Raybourn’s historical mysteries, series, and standalone novels to see just how different Killers of a Certain Age is from much of her other work.
- Captive by Iris Johansen – Try this next for another fast-paced thriller with experienced recurring characters and plenty of danger.
- The Omega Factor by Steve Berry – A good choice if the international action and fast-moving thriller side of Killers of a Certain Age was what you enjoyed most.
- Portrait of an Unknown Woman by Daniel Silva – Another thriller centered on a highly experienced protagonist who proves that stepping away from the old job doesn’t necessarily mean the adventures are over.
- Explore Mystery & Thriller – Browse more mysteries, thrillers, reviews, and reading recommendations on Looks Like Books.
