In the sequel to Killers of a Certain Age, Deanna Raybourn takes us on another thrill ride with four retired assassins and a couple of their significant others. Billie, Helen, Natalie and Mary Alice have been working together since the late 1970s for a secret organization called the Museum. Originally, the Museum was meant to track down Nazis and the works of art that they had stolen and smuggled out of Europe. Nowadays, the Museum, under the direction of a very competent young woman named Naomi, goes after bad guys of all kinds who are operating on the international stage, including art thieves, drug kingpins, and other assassins. The four women were drawn out of retirement before it even really could start due to someone targeting them (Killers of a Certain Age). In Kills Well With Others, Naomi brings the four women back together to take out the son of one of their very first hits, but the nature of his dirty deals is not entirely clear and it looks like a mole within the Museum might be working for the bad guys. A target is once again on Billie and her friends, and they relish the opportunity to suit up and kick ass again.
The main point of view in the novel is Billie’s. She, like her friends, is just north of 60 and ostensibly retired. Billie and her lover Taverner, a fellow retired Museum assassin, are living together in Greece, but the relationship has always been a bit fraught and the tensions there will come to a head in this story. Helen has been living in Britain, restoring a mansion that once belonged to the Museum, and is maybe considering getting serious with her lover. Natalie, always the wild card, lives a bohemian life while Mary Alice has settled down with her wife Akiko and their cats. They meet up in the US when they get the call from Naomi; a fellow agent has been murdered and the calling card would suggest that the son (Pasha) of an old nemesis may be behind it. Given that the four women took out his father 40 years ago, it looks like they are in Pasha’s crosshairs, and so the four go on the offensive, tracking Pasha down to the QE2 with a plan for a murder at sea. However, the job ends up not being as simple as planned and new information changes the way Billie and her friends view their situation. The background information they received from the Museum appears to be inaccurate; more players are involved in the plot versus Billie and company, and more is involved than just their murders.
Billie and her friends, with Taverner, Akiko, computer genius Minka and two cats in tow, find themselves traveling to Sardinia, Venice and Montenegro in pursuit of the real mastermind of their demise. Along the way, ghosts of cases past rise up, as do pet peeves amongst our main characters. Tempers flare and bullets fly as they get closer to the truth and the Museum mole.
These books a great fun. They’re funny and smart, and as someone who is the same age as the assassins, I love seeing these women take charge and be bad asses. It’s also nice to see a story where women my age have exciting love interests and full lives with plenty to look forward to. If you like a thriller with humor and mature women in charge, pick up Deanna Raybourn’s books.
