Reviews with content warning for Cancer - Killers of a Certain Age

Fun, funny, and entertaining. It was a nice lighthearted read; the characters work really well together, and their dynamics with one another is one of the highlights of the book. The action was great, the way they execute their assassination was very fun to read.

It was, in general, an okay enough read. I think I was mostly disappointed as the premise was highly promising but the execution was quite underwhelming. The plot, while really fun and satisfying, was predictable enough. … To be honest, my one disappointment is the motive of the main antagonists’. It was definitely commonplace and believable enough, but let’s be honest, there are a lot of conflicts that could be focused on from a Western-centric spy/assassin agency’s constant intervention in non-Western countries. But I understand that it would have made this book a very different type of book.

This would however make a fantastic movie. I really hope it gets a movie adaptation.

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uranaishi's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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xeniba's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

A quick, fun read. I enjoyed having older women as the main characters. At times the narrative was hard to follow as were the details of the physical locations, but that didn’t really negatively affect my experience.

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chelsearm's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was an incredible read - female assassins who, upon reaching retirement, find that their company has put out a hit on them. It was a total rush the whole way through, and had me wanting to go back and keep listening. I definitely rate this 5 stars, but I will make a small correction to two offhand comments: 1) Zanzibar was not its own country in the 80s (it joined forces and created Tanzania in like 1965), and 2) you don’t need to be shown how to take the needles out of a knitting piece (they just slide out, they aren’t tangled in). BUT those are not integral parts of the plot, simply side bits that stood out to me as being incorrect. If you’re looking for an exciting read with action and comedy, with a focus on aging professional women whose age is not a flaw, I would totally recommend it!

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mandkips's review against another edition

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adventurous funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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oceanwriter's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

The summary of this book promises a lot. When I saw it was included in the Book of the Month lineup, I made this my selection for the month without even looking at the others being offered. At a glance, it sounds like an action-packed take on the Golden Girls. In a way, it is, but as far as the story is concerned, it fell through the cracks for me.

Having spent most of their lives working as assassins, Billie, Natalie, Mary Alice, and Helen are heading into retirement. What they think is a grand send-off turns out to be a setup. Is there such a thing as retirement for people who know too much? Their vacation turns into a game of survival.

I'm grateful to have read this as part of a buddy read because I was feeling bad about my lack of interest past the first chapter. The person I was reading with had many of the same thoughts as the story progressed, the biggest quip being how difficult the story was to follow. I'm no stranger to non-linear timelines. In a lot of cases I enjoy them more than going straight from A to Z. Unfortunately, this was not one of those situations. I didn't find the story at all engaging and it was crasser than I care for.

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kimveach's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Despite all the killing, Killers of a Certain Age was a fun read. Only the main character, Billie/the narrator, was fully fleshed out as a character, but if this becomes a series, I hope we'll get to know the rest as well. The assassinations were both inventive and exciting. I think you'd like this book if you prefer a slightly humorous take on assassins. I especially liked the depictions of women around the age of 60.

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