Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn... A Review

 Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn is a light, "fun" read by a writer that is primarily known for her 2 Victorian Mystery series that star bright female protagonists. Killers of a Certain Age is set in contemporary times, starring 4 women who were recruited while in college and trained to be international assassins for a group working outside of the “system" (Reminds me of the series Alias with Jennifer Garner). They’ve been at it for 40 years now and are on their retirement cruise... but it's not all fun and games and something is afoot on that ship…

Many people have characterized Killers of a Certain Age as The Golden Girls meet James Bond. In a way this is true. Deanna Raybourn takes us on a journey with these women in flashbacks to establish who they were and their relationships to the players in the organization as we navigate the present day “situation”. We learn quickly what that situation is… that someone or everyone is trying to kill them. They are hard pressed to trust anyone from the organization they worked for, and have to play detectives (and killers) in order to find out why they are on the hit list now and try and stay alive long enough to try and get it cleared up. 

Deanna Raybourn is a good writer and this is a good story. I found it to be on the lighter side with just enough to keep my interest, but not a lot to sink my teeth into. There is some humor, there is some danger, there is an interesting mystery to be solved and there are 4 main characters that you’ll like. I enjoyed it. And I enjoyed reading about those 4 women of a certain age breaking the molds that they would typically find themselves in with grace and a little kicka$$. I would definitely say, "Read it".

Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn was published by Berkley September of last year. You can find this now at your local bookstore, or in my case, I took out the eBook from my local library! 

First Lines Friday...

"The Reach is wide and quiet this morning, the pale blue sky streaked with pink mackerel-belly clouds, the shallow sea barely rippling in the slight breeze, and so the sound of the dog barking breaks into the calm like gunshots, setting flocks of gulls crying and wheeling in the air..."
                                                                                                ...The Lying Game by Ruth Ware

Don't you just love the words rolling off your tongue as you say the pale blue sky streaked with pink mackerel-belly clouds? I do. And I love Ruth Ware's writing because I feel like I am sitting in a big comfy chair admiring all that's going on.

Hmmm... I wonder why that dog is barking... You are going to want to read this book and find out!


Does the first lines tempt you into reading more?

I Remember You: A Ghost Story by Yrsa Sigurdardottir... A Review

This book was such a thrill! Atmospheric, suspenseful, frightening. I was glad I wasn't reading this alone at night because I would have had to have all the lights on and I still would have been aware of every single noise in the house and want to hide under the covers. This book was chilling.

A suicide of an elderly woman, vandalism of a grammar school, the disappearance of two little boys decades apart, and the renovation of a house in a deserted islolated village, all happening within the backdrop of a cold winter in Iceland. All slowly building up tension and purpose, until the storylines collide towards the end. Yrsa Siguroardottir is the queen of crime fiction in her native country of Iceland, and after reading this novel, I can understand why! Right from the start you feel the cold and isolation of Iceland in the winter. The mood gets under your skin as you are reading. The characters are so real and believable. The crime and the investigation seem pretty cut and dry... at first... and then little things start to seem not what they seem to be and the investigation takes a whole new direction that is like a wild rollercoaster ride. There are revelations and plot twists... and secrets. Add things that go bump in the night, or whisper in your ear as you lie alone in the dark, and you have a fantastic ghost story as well.

If you love a good crime novel, Yrsa Siguroardottir will not disappoint you. The investigation of the crimes in I Remember You will keep your attention ( and on the edge of your seat) late into the night. If you love a good scary ghost story, this is defintely the book for you! Your heart will be beating a bit faster as strange things start to happen. The combination makes for an amazing read! I would definitely recommend I Remember You: A Ghost Story by Yrsa Siguroardottir, but read it with all the lights on!

I don't know why I was drawn to this book as my First Book of the Year. Possibly because Connecticut has been cold and desolate like the setting for the book, for the past couple of weeks as winter is settling in. What I do know is that I was hooked from the very first line and could not put this down. 5 stars out of 5 for this one! Published by Minotaur Books in 2014 and available for your KINDLE, or Paperback  now!

Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris... A Review

Terrifying, Chilling, and a true page turner! The publisher said I would be hooked by page 25... I was intrigued... by page 40 I was immersed in the story... and by page 100 I desperately needed to know what happened next... and I stayed up all night and into the wee hours reading to find out.

The story is about Grace and Jack. A perfect couple. A perfect wife. A perfect husband with movie star good looks, with a job as a lawyer defending abused women. What if the perfect husband turned out to be "not so perfect", and you knew that no one would believe you? What if you innocently married that perfect guy and discovered on your wedding night that things weren't quite what they appeared to be? What if he thought of... everything. The storyline was so plausible that it was terrifying.

The story is presented in an interesting way too. Told by Grace in alternating "Past" and "Present" chapters, the author unfurls the story in bite size pieces, just enough to get us hooked to go to the next chapter and definitely grabbing our attention. "Past" starts when Grace and Jack first meet, and "Present" starts 1 year after they are married, hosting a dinner party at their home. The timelines slowly move towards eachother and then it's OMG!

I don't want to give away any spoilers, but just lets say you never know what goes on behind closed doors, and Grace, the perfect wife, is in trouble. As the story unfolds, I kept trying to imagine what I would do in her situation. What I could do... I literally could not put this book down until I finished it.

OMG! You have to read this book! The storyline was great, and the writing was flawless.

Like psychological thrillers? Put Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris on your TBR list! You will not be disappointed. But you do have to wait until August 9th!

Published by St. Martin's Press, Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris will be released and available at your local bookstore Tuesday, August 9th, 2016! I want to thank St Martin's Press for sending along a review copy! I LOVED it!