Deanna Raybourn never fails to deliver highly entertaining, compellling, and engrossing stories. Happy to catch up with the fleshed up characters, a delightful treat I thoroughly enjoyed
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I love a senior citizen assassin. These folk aren't as old as my preferred protagonists, but like Vera Wong, they are secretly badass and know how to get stuff done.

I do find myself not bothering to distinguish between women. It would be nice to have a clearer understand of who is who and their backgrounds. Even like a cheesy profile would do, especially as a reminder from the first in the series.

This is more international spy than my usual mystery reads, but I liked the characters. It's also more action scenes than I usually tolerate, but there is something satisfying about imagining these women kicking ass.

Thank you for the ARC. I purchased for my library and will share widely.

This title finally made it to the top of my reading pile and I am so happy it did! The quartet of Billy, Helen, Mary Alice, and Natalie are back for another round of adventures. About a year or so after the events that happened in Killers of a Certain Age, Naomi, the new head of the the Museum, contacted the quartet. It seems someone in the organization has leaked information to a specific outsider with gangster tendencies with an interest in the quartet since they had killed his father. So now they have a Bulgarian to kill before they are killed. But will that end the threat since there is still the mole to account for. The quartet are off on another globe-trotting trip with excursions into memory lanes to fill in needed details. Join Billie, Helen, Mary Alice, Natalie and company as they deal with killers, opera singers, and lost art! Enjoy the ride!

I really enjoyed the first book in this series and was concerned about Sophomore Slump. I had no need to be worried. I enjoyed this installment of the series just as well if not more than the first one. I love the author’s writing style and adore this group of women assassins. I can’t wait for more from them.

<b><i>Killers of a Certain Age</i> was darkly funny, action-packed, feminist, and friend-focused. I love the second installment's return to my favorite aging assassins and their quick-thinking, spry, deadly answers to those who have broken moral codes--and who have our protagonists in their sights.</b>

<b><blockquote>You could get a real job instead of this endless loop of make-believe, this merry-go-round of cover stories and covert assignments.
But you don't. Because the person you're supposed to kill has been chosen for a good reason. Whatever contract exists between human beings, a contract of decency and common humanity, they've broken it. </b></blockquote>
The first installment of Deanna Raybourn's Killers of a Certain Age series was a fun, darkly funny, feminist story about a retiring female team of elite assassins. It was the right book at the right time for me: entertainment in the perfect combination of action and suspense, loyal friendship, clever plotting, and the promise of love.

Book two picks up when our main characters, having laid low and lived their own lives for a year, are contacted by the Museum, the elite assassin organization they used to work for. An Eastern European gangster has obtained the names of agents who have stood in his way over the years, and our aging assassins seem likely to be next on his hit list. They must figure out who's turned traitor on the Museum and shared this information--and stay alive long enough to bring them to justice.

I remain fully invested in this premise of aging elite assassins who feel deep affection for and, at times, annoyance with each other. Their age plays into their potential disguises (and the ribbing they give each other about vanity or work they've had done), but generally they remain mentally and physically spry enough to think several steps ahead and to move lithely and with deadly precision (whew, that train ride!).

<b><blockquote>Somebody has to put the chessboard to rights, pick up the wrecked pieces and set it back at the start. So you pick up your bag and you close the door behind you, just like you've closed a hundred other doors. And you know that every time you do, you've left another piece of you behind.</b></blockquote>
<i>Kills Well with Others</i> sometimes feels a little bit as though Raybourn is gamely giving her readers what they want (more Billie, Helen, Mary Alice, Natalie--and Tanner!) rather than writing a book she felt compelled to put out into the world. But I'm one of those who are eager for more time with these clever, sometimes grumpy, often spontaneous, satisfyingly quick-thinking assassins who are loyal to each other above all. The mind-bending examinations of what other characters might be up to and the combat and narrow escapes keep the pacing lively and engaging. In between, Raybourn allows friendships and love to grow and change. If Raybourn keeps writing this series, I'll read every last installment.

I received a prepublication edition of this title courtesy of Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley.

<b>More Deanna Raybourn Love</b>
Raybourn is also the author of the wonderful <i>Killers of a Certain Age,</i> which was the first in the Killers of a Certain Age series. (You can find my review of that title on the blog.)

And I loved <i>A Curious Beginning,</i> the first book in Deanna Raybourn's feisty Veronica Speedwell series of historical fiction mysteries, as well as the sequels <i>A Perilous Undertaking, A Treacherous Curse, A Dangerous Collaboration,</i> and <i>A Murderous Relation.</i> (There are currently nine books in the series.)

<b>To see my full review on The Bossy Bookworm, or to find out about Bossy reviews and Greedy Reading Lists as soon as they're posted, please see <a href="https://www.bossybookworm.com/post/review-of-kills-well-with-others-killers-of-a-certain-age-2-by-deanna-raybourn/"><i>Kills Well with Others.</a></i></b>

I enjoyed this one but not as much as the first one which I remember really loving. This one is closer to 3.5 stars rounded up for me.

This novel was, at times, laugh out loud funny, but was also a great mystery that takes the reader around the world. When assassins have aged out, what does retirement look like? You won't find knitting needle needles in this novel!

𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 4.25⭐️
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: fiction/ thriller📚

𝙼𝚢 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
Another fun book with the same characters from ‘Killers of a Certain Age’. I love a good comedic thriller!

𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
Strong FMCs
Espionage thrillers with older female killers
Comedic twists
Fast paced narratives
Fun adventures
Found family
Secrets from the past
Empowering female friendships
Creative kills

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍:
The camaraderie and banter among the FMCs
The blend of humor and suspense

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛:
Some parts felt really similar to the first book
Convenient resolutions

𝙵𝚊𝚟𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚀𝚞𝚘𝚝𝚎𝚜:
★ “People look beyond red flags waving right in front of their faces because they want something so desperately that they will explain away anything that might stand in their way.”
★ “We were never just killers. We were women who killed, and that made all the difference.”

Kills Well With Others
Deanna Raybourn
3.75⭐️

Pub Date: 3/11/2025

Golden girls spies/assassins are back!
This is the sequel to Killer's Of A Certain Age. Raybourn did it again. The whole plot was well thought out. There's more personal stuff going on and I really felt connected with the characters. I saw the personal growth into the life they chose and what sacrifices they had to make. The mission was still really good- there were 3 different assignments in different timelines. That part was a little difficult for me to keep up with at the beginning but it was fine. The mystery of who the mole was in the organization was really baffling. I got it wrong but I thought nobody could've really guessed it so I didn't feel quite as bad 😆 The places they traveled to were very well described. And I totally get this. I enjoyed it when it was done on the first book. But I thought it was a little overdone *maybe?* in this book. I made the book too slow for my liking. I craved the action more. This really just got too wordy for me and I found myself skimming a lot. Overall, it's not quite a thrilling as the first book. But it's still charming, still enjoyable.

Thank you @netgalley and Berkley for a gifted e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Retired assassins, especially the female ones, seem to find it hard to leave their careers behind. When a quartet of said illustrious women discover they are being stalked for actions in the past, they regroup to discover and take on their new foe.

I am a huge fan of Deanna Raybourn's Killers of a Certain Age series. The second installment did not disappoint, it was fast paced, intriguing and just as edgy as the first.

**A big thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic ARC and the opportunity to review this book.

It was fun to have all of the ladies back in this novel and trying to figure out who the real person behind everything was made the whole story really interesting. I will say I figured it out pretty early on but I was definitely second guessing myself for a while. I love the found family that comes from this story as well and the Museum’s inner workings. I was not expecting who was behind it all until we actually found out.

I was so skeptical of this book. I didn't think it could possibly be as fantastic as Killers of a Certain Age, but I couldn't have been more wrong. Kills Well with Others reintroduces readers to Mary Alice, Billie, Helen, and Natalie, a positively lethal quartet of women who've worked decades for a mysterious organization called The Museum. The newfound peace after their last adventure is short-lived when bodies start dropping and the crew finds out they're linked to a previous assignment. Back on the job, these ladies will stop at nothing to protect each other, their loved ones, and possibly one of the most elusive paintings of all-time. Raybourn's character development is top-notch and I easily fell back into the rhythm of these ladies and their vastly different personalities. I love all of their bickering and brainstorming. The intricate plot kept me on my toes and fast-paced action propelled me to finish this book in close to one-sitting. 5 stars!

Deanna Raybourn's sassy quartet of senior assassins are back to tackle another mission in this entertaining sequel to 𝘒𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘖𝘧 𝘢 𝘊𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘈𝘨𝘦. I hope this isn't the last we'll see of Billie, Helen, Mary Alice and Natalie because I love reading about them and their fabulous sidekicks. It's refreshing to see women of their age portrayed as strong, intelligent, capable and dangerous. When a re we getting a movie adaptation?!

Thanks to Berkley for the copy to review.

Billie, Nat, Mary Alice, and Helen are back and ready to do whatever it takes to keep themselves and their loves ones safe. When they get word that someone with an old grudge is out for revenge, the four women of a certain age are sent back on the run. They need to figure out who is behind this and how to get ahead of it, and fast.

I loved being back with these ladies! The group dynamic is a lot of fun and it was nice to get to see more of each individual - plus more Taverner! The stakes felt high and the drama kept escalating throughout the book. I loved all of the settings, Venice in particular, and was just generally so entertained. I hope there's another book to come in this series before the Sphinxes get to retire for real!

Reading a book by Deanna Raybourn is always a joy and this one did not disappoint!

I really enjoy that this book is about an older demographic - four women who are retired but are forced back to "work" when they are under threat. And their work? being assassins. SIGN ME UP YES PLEASE!

There's humour and drama and mystery and suspense and ugh I love it so much.

The book followed through to a logical ending. I don't know if I had to suspend belief at all for some of the scenes because a part of me really wants to believe and have confidence that there is a group of bad-ass women out there taking out the bad guys and throwing themselves out of trains and wearing disguises and all of that.

This is such a great series!

Thanks to Berkley for the eARC; all opinions are my own.

4.5 stars

This follow-up to Raybourn's <i>Killers of a Certain Age</i> was almost as fun as the first, with the exception of a few sections that slowed down the plot. But otherwise, I loved being back with these smart, funny, kickass women who keep showing us that life isn't over until it's over and you're never too old to be a badass.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Everything about this book was utter perfection. There was not a single moment where I wasn’t either highly entertained, wholly invested on the edge of my seat, or laughing at the banter and happenings. The assassin aspect was so well written and put together, the characters were incredibly fleshed out & extraordinary, and the plot was fast paced and captivating all throughout! There’s just so much to love and keep you engaged that this is guaranteed to be a fun read for anyone!

Oh how the tables have turned - Raybourn brings back the best group of assassins for a wild ride through Europe as the canny ladies have to figure out who is trying to assassinate them. Finished this in one sitting - I absolutely adore all of the characters. In this novel, I felt that I got to know them a little more in depth, Billie in particular. A great plot, witty banter and plenty of twists to keep you fully immersed.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a digital ARC of this title!

Another good one! Love this series about 60-something female assassins. Enjoyed this one as much as the first. Keep ‘‘em coming!