Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn

89 reviews

jenn_reads's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Blood, and Gun violence

Moderate: Grief

Minor: Pregnancy and Misogyny

thebakerbookworm's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

This book had such an intriguing premise—female assassins in their sixties who are suddenly being hunted by their own organization? Sign me up! However, the execution here left much to be desired.

First off, we have four main characters but we only spend time in the head of one of them, and I thought this really made it hard to get to know our characters. The other three felt interchangeable to me, and even the narrator didn't do much to make me care for her or believe she cared for anyone else. The present storyline is interspersed with flashback scenes, and I enjoyed the trips to the past, where we see more of the assassins and learn a bit more about their motivations. That being said, their motivations never get much development beyond "troubled childhood and recruited at eighteen." I guess I wanted a deeper introspection into these characters' lives among all the action, and that's not what this book is.

I read this for a buddy chat and during our discussion someone pointed out that this book might make a better movie, and I agree! I think this kind of story would work better on the screen. I lot of it was hard for me to imagine too, and I couldn't figure out if it was a me-problem or the writing style.

Anyways, I'd probably still recommend if you're into the premise, but I would just caution that it might not live up to the idea you have in your head.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, and Gun violence

Moderate: Sexism and Grief

Minor: Cancer and Pregnancy

jen_again's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Gun violence, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual harassment

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.

emlouise42's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, and Death

Minor: Chronic illness, Cultural appropriation, Genocide, Gun violence, Blood, Cancer, Ableism, and Alcoholism

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

melodyseestrees's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Drug use, Sexism, Grief, Misogyny, Abandonment, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Cancer, Racism, and Pregnancy

paulasnotsosecretdiary's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

The girl gang of my middle-aged dreams. Five women, trained killers, must put their skills to the test when they become targets for assassination by the agency that employs them. Through flashbacks, readers learn how these women came to be killers and how they were trained. Once on the run, the women must learn to trust each other again after their resources are stolen and their covers burned. While we learn something about each killer, some characters' backgrounds are filled in better than others. Still, an exciting well-paced story about never underestimating or undervaluing older women.

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Content Warnings

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

serena_hien's review against another edition

adventurous funny reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Violence, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Grief