Kills Well with Others

Kills Well with Others by Deanna Raybourn is the sequel to the bestselling Killers of a Certain Age, featuring four deadly, elderly women assassins. The gang is reunited when the fabulous four are called out of retirement by the head of an organization known as the Museum. Resuming about a year after the end of book one, the four are ready, willing, and able to come out of retirement to take on what proves to be the challenge of a lifetime.

Prepare to laugh at the snarky banter, but don’t mistake this for just another cozy mystery—there are plenty of gory scenes to go around.

Four former assassins of a “certain” age—Billie, Helen, Mary Alice, and Natalie—are rested and, let’s face it, bored out of their minds in retirement. An off-the-books assignment is just what the doctor ordered to cure what ails them. Their mission: uncover the mole working inside the organization who has been leaking a list of major kills carried out by the agency’s assassins over time. Complicating matters, an Eastern European criminal is seeking revenge, working her way down the list and ordering her own assassinations in retaliation. Unsurprisingly, the four retirees’ names make a prominent appearance on that kill list. After all, they were—and still are—some of the most successful assassins ever to work for the Museum. Their objective is clear: find and eliminate the queen bee before she eliminates them. As the story unfolds, the ladies travel across the globe in a race against time to face the most formidable opponent of their long careers. Who will emerge the winner?

Deanna Raybourn excels at crafting well-developed, unique characters who are slightly larger than life, facing impossible odds while delivering hilarious one-liners—all the while making it believable and entertaining. Kills Well with Others is told through present-day action and flashback chapters from Billie’s point of view, giving readers insight into her past and her trust issues. The interactions between the four friends are not always smooth, highlighting the many nuances of long-term, complex friendships. Raybourn’s ability to showcase character and relationship development through these women’s interactions—both with each other and with others—while seamlessly weaving it into the story is the mark of an expert.

The steadily increasing pace is driven by swift action, full of twists and turns as they race toward the final showdown. A snarky dose of humor lightens the load of blood and gore, making Kills Well with Others a witty, engaging, and highly entertaining read that’s hard to put down. Think Golden Girls meets Charlie’s Angels, and you have these four intelligent, funny women defying their age—who just happen to kill people who commit unforgivable crimes. Highly recommended for fans of humorous mysteries and suspense thrillers.