"Killers of a Certain Age" by Deanna Raybourn

I think it was Mel who flagged "Killers of a Certain Age" by Deanna Raybourn on Goodreads as a "want to read" pick -- and as soon as I read the premise, I knew that it was something I wanted to read too. :)  

This book reminded me a little of Richard Osman's "Thursday Murder Club" books -- but with a slightly younger and all-female cast of main characters.  And, oh yeah, THEY are the ones doing the killing.  All four women -- Billie, Mary Alice, Helen and Natalie -- have spent the past 40 years working together as a crack team of highly trained elite assassins for a secretive organization known as "the Museum," which had its beginnings in the aftermath of the Second World War.  After hunting down surviving Nazis, the organization turned its attention to ridding the world of dictators, drug lords, arms dealers, etc. 

Now about 60 years old -- all childless -- our four heroines have recently retired and are celebrating on an exclusive luxury cruise, courtesy of the organization they have served so faithfully and so well for so long. But then! Billie -- cooling off from a hot flash in a walk-in freezer (lol) -- spots the familiar face of a fellow operative on board, disguised in a staff uniform. They soon realize that THEY are his targets. But who ordered the hit on them, and why?  

The story is told mostly from Billie's point of view, and jumps back & forth between the present day and the past, beginning in late 1970s, when the quartet were new recruits and trainees. 

I found this book irresistible, just from reading the description, and it mostly lived up to my expectations. All the women were born in or around 1958, making them just a few years older than me (they'd be 64 today)  :)  and were recruited in late 1979, which is when I was starting university. There's some pithy commentary on aging, loss, sexism, retirement and the corporate world... and some laugh-out-loud funny parts too. 

Here's hoping for a sequel!!  

This would make a great movie -- there are fabulous parts for four actresses in their early 60s!  I Googled, and there's a huge list of possibilities for an age-appropriate potential cast. I thought of Jamie Lee Curtis & Emma Thompson right off the bat, but there are many others who would be equally great.  For "The Shepherdess" (the WW2-era assassin who trains the girls), I immediately pictured Vanessa Redgrave, or maybe Judi Dench, or, if neither of them is up it, perhaps Helen Mirren?  

I closed this book with a chuckle (be sure to read to the end of the acknowledgements) and a smile on my face. 5 stars on Goodreads.  

This was Book #48 read to date in 2022 (and Book #2 finished in December), bringing me to 107% of my 2022 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 45 books! I am (for the moment, anyway...!) 5 books ahead of schedule. :)  You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2022 tagged as "2022 books."