Killers of a Certain Age (Hardcover) by Deanna Raybourn

** “It's the kick, the constantly measuring yourself against the odds and figuring out how to zig when you expected to zag, balancing on that knife's edge.” ** Deanna Raybourn offers a fun yet suspenseful tale of four retiring assassins suddenly finding themselves on the wrong side of the coin. When Helen, Natalie, Mary Alice and narrator Billie retire after 40 years at the Museum, an extra-government organization that neutralizes people who deserve to be neutralized, they realize they're in trouble when they recognize a fellow asset on their retirement cruise. An elite assassin squad that was the first all female team, the four women soon find themselves running for their lives, coming up with a clever plan to save themselves. Raybourn does a great job of combining intensity with comical moments to make a great thriller. She fills the plot with twists and turns, all while creating a delightfully lovely set of characters filled with pluck, courage and even relatability. “Killers of a Certain Age” also reminds us of some good concepts, like adapt or die; justice over law; and the necessity of teamwork (“True leadership, Miss Webster, is not about trusting yourself. It is about trusting your team”). One word, this book does contain quite a lot of cursing as well as some crude references. This novel is a bit of Richard Osman's Thursday Murder Club book series meets the movie “RED,” so fans of those types of stories will love “Killers of a Certain Age,” which is due out Sept. 6. Five stars out of five. Berkley provided this complimentary copy through NetGalley for my honest, unbiased review.