#deannaraybourn – Avonna Loves Genres

Book Description

After more than a year of laying low, Billie, Helen, Mary Alice, and Natalie are called back into action. They have enjoyed their time off, but the lack of excitement is starting to chafe: a professional killer can only take so many watercolor classes and yoga sessions without itching to strangle someone…literally. When they receive a summons from the head of the elite assassin organization known as the Museum, they are ready tackle the greatest challenge of their careers.

Someone on the inside has compiled a list of important kills committed by Museum agents, connected to a single, shadowy figure, an Eastern European gangster with an iron fist, some serious criminal ambition, and a tendency to kill first and ask questions later. This new nemesis is murdering agents who got in the way of their power hungry plans and the aging quartet of killers is next.

Together the foursome embark on a wild ride across the globe on the double mission of rooting out the Museum’s mole and hunting down the gangster who seems to know their next move before they make it. Their enemy is unlike any they’ve faced before, and it will take all their killer experience to get out of this mission alive.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/214537816-kills-well-with-others?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=F7VtTHyVkV&rank=1

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My Book Review

RATING: 4.5 out of 5 Stars

KILLS WELL WITH OTHERS (Killers of a Certain Age Book #2) by Deanna Raybourn is another thrilling assignment with the four senior female assassins introduced in Killers of a Certain Age. These books are fast paced, twisted crime thrillers/mysteries with a memorable group of assassins, but keep in mind, the books are in no way cozy.

Since their last adventure to save their own lives, a year has passed. Now, Billie, Helen, Mary Alice, and Natalie “Nat” are called back into action by Naomi, who is the head of the Museum to go after a dangerous European gangster. This hit is off the books though because the Museum has a mole who has traded the ladies’ identities and those, they hold dear up for a trade.

The ladies discover there is more to the threat than they initially believed, and they are now chasing a gangster from Venice to Eastern Europe bent on revenge as well as trying to uncover the identity of the Museum’s mole. It will take their combined years of experience and a whole lot of luck to survive this mission.

I was very excited to read this second book in the series. It is as fast paced, exciting, and twisted as the first. Once again, the story is told from Billie’s point of view. Even though these friends are lethal, they care about each other deeply and their dialogue is sharp and witty. The descriptions of kills are very graphic and not for the squeamish. (I will never look at a wine opener the same way again.) The crime thriller/mystery plotline is well paced and plotted with many twists, fights, and action scenes threaded throughout. The reason I did not give this review five stars like the first book was that the flashback chapters, while giving information, took me out of the story flow. Otherwise, everything else was entertaining, scary, gripping, and edge-of-your-seat thrilling.

I highly recommend this second outing with the ladies and cannot wait for more.

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About the Author

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.

Social Media Links

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Deann.raybourn

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deannaraybourn/#

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/deannaraybourn.bsky.social

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/kills-well-with-others-by-deanna-raybourn

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

KILLERS OF A CERTAIN AGE by Deanna Raybourn is an action-packed and humorous thriller featuring four female assassins ready to retire and enjoy their pensions, but the organization they have worked for their entire careers now has them on the termination list. This is a standalone book that I could not put down.

Billie, Mary Alice, Helen, and Natalie have worked as an elite assassination team for the clandestine Museum. They were brought together and trained initially to kill former Nazis in hiding, but the Museum also chose dictators, arms dealers, and the like who were a threat to democracy and society. They survived it all for forty years and are now ready to retire.

The four are sent packages for an all-expense paid cruise for their retirement. On board, Billie recognizes a crew member as an explosives expert for the Museum. As they investigate, they discover they have an extermination order placed on their heads from the Board of the Museum. They realize to enjoy their retirement years; they are going to have to work together and show the Board the true abilities of killers of a certain age.

While there are graphic depictions of assassination and murder in this thriller, there are also at other times snarky and hilarious scenes and dialogue. The story is mainly told by Billie, who leads the group of friends more times than not, but the reader does get to know all the women and their personal stories. As much as the story focuses on the women fighting back to survive, it also covers age related issues and mature relationships. The plot is well written with a fast pace and some unexpected twists. This book is just so much fun to read and a unique thriller which usually focus on male assassins.

I highly recommend this thriller!

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