Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn

30 reviews

bleaksalad's review against another edition

funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.0

The premise of Killers of a Certain Age caught my attention right away. Women in their 60s who used to be elite spies go on a retirement cruise only to be their organization’s next target? You got me. But then you lost me after the cruise portion of the story was over after the first 50 pages.

That aside, the plot here becomes incredibly predictable. It’s truthfully the same overdone story that every spy/secret organization kids movie is about. But don’t worry, if you don’t pick up on what’s happening immediately they explain it like you’re 5 years old for a whole 2 chapters at the end.

one of my main gripes with this book is that I had a hard time seeing these characters as elderly women. The way they talk and the physical actions they are capable of doing read way younger. I guess it also didn’t help that I was more invested in the flashback chapters of when they were first starting out as spies then the main timeline.

I also was so annoyed at the inclusion of characters Minka and Akiko. Minka is really just a plot convenience for the main gang (and her relationship to Billie is never actually established) and Akiko does nothing but exist (erase her completely and we would have gotten to the point faster.)

Overall, Killers of a Certain Age was a fun, lighthearted read. If you’re looking for literary genius, this isn’t it. But if you want a funny, girl power summer read, this is the one. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Blood

Moderate: Death, Violence, and Alcohol

erinoco's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Gun violence, and Murder

Moderate: Alcohol and Fire/Fire injury

zoeelora's review against another edition

adventurous 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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, Death, Gore, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Violence, Deadnaming, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Vomit, Grief, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail

theonlybaillie's review against another edition

adventurous tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.25

Loved the concept of this book, but not the biggest fan of the execution. Which is super unfortunate 😕 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Blood, Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Alcohol, Sexual content, Misogyny, and Pregnancy

prairieraven's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny informative inspiring mysterious tense 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Physical abuse, Murder, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Violence, Torture, Alcohol, Car accident, War, Sexism, Abandonment, Blood, Vomit, and Gun violence

atamano's review

adventurous funny tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, and Blood

Moderate: Grief, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Sexism

Minor: Abandonment

bwwilhelm's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful 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? No

5.0

I didn't know I needed a book about retiring lady assassins in their 60s, but here we are. And it was *good*. Funny and cathartic and genuine in that way that only really excellent fiction can be.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, and Death

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, and Cursing

Minor: Gun violence, Cancer, and Fire/Fire injury

It's a book about assassins. There's plenty of violence and death, but none of it really feels gratuitous.

chaotically_katie's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Violence, Alcohol, Pregnancy, Blood, Misogyny, Grief, Sexual harassment, Gun violence, Cancer, Death, Sexism, Cursing, Chronic illness, and Sexual assault

There are Nazis mentioned. There’s one

that is killed in the book

but otherwise doesn’t matter too much. Very cool story.

books4em's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny lighthearted mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.75

I will definitely be reading some more of Raybourn's books. Killers of a Certain Age was phenomenal - it took a typical assassin story and gave it humor, addressed ageism (in a specialized field), and had a whole bunch of feminism and rage. I kind of saw the twist at the ending, but loved the turns the book takes to get there. As for criticism, I wish we had some more connections to the four women's pasts and more parts throughout their careers. I'd also love to see some more deeper analysis and connections to their personal stories apart from each other; and how did Billie connect with Minka! I'm also very curious how this book might be continued possibly. I'd love to know why Raybourn chose to focus on Billie as the main character and tell it from her perspective and not one of the other women. I also greatly appreciated how well the book focuses on feminism and how these are clearly independent women who have dealt with a lot of misogyny in their lives/work. The humor is hilarious as well! Oh, and there's minimal queer rep too. Utterly loved it and I wish it was longer!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Gun violence, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Violence

Minor: Torture, Cursing, and Grief

anna_reads_too_much's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Alcohol