Starred review from August 1, 2022
Edgar finalist Raybourn (the Speedwell series) makes a dazzling excursion out of the Victorian era with this uproarious contemporary thriller. Billie, Mary Alice, Natalie, and Helen have been a cozy quartet of “avenging goddesses” for more than 40 years, one of the “most elite assassin squads on earth,” recruited in late 1978 by an “extra governmental” organization called the Museum. Soon after they’re forced to go on an all-expenses-paid retirement cruise in the Caribbean, they discover they’ve apparently been targeted for death by the Museum board. They immediately go into investigative overdrive, relying on their expert training and experiences to uncover the means and motives behind their potential demise. Flashbacks to several of their high-profile cases, including a Zanzibar hit on an aging baroness that comes back to haunt Billie, keep the reader guessing. Colorful regional details and vividly portrayed secondary characters flesh out this rollicking tale. Fans of Helen Tursten and Richard Osman will relish watching these badass women in their 60s (“no one notices you unless you want them to,” Billie observes) swing into action. Raybourn has outdone herself. Agent: Pamela Hopkins, Hopkins Literary Assoc.
Starred review from December 1, 2022
Fans of Raybourn's historical mystery series featuring the feisty Veronica Speedwell (An Impossible Impostor) will relish this contemporary thriller about an all-woman assassination squad confronting an unexpected mission as they near retirement. The Museum, a global covert organization, recruited Billie, Helen, Mary Alice, and Natalie in the late 1970s to dispose of any remaining Nazis, and, later, other evildoers (e.g., arms dealers, drug lords, dictators). The Museum honors their service with an all-expenses-paid cruise on which they quickly learn they've been double-crossed and are now assassination targets themselves. The majority of the narrative comes from Billie's perspective, which Jane Oppenheimer delivers with spot-on emotion and energy. She suspensefully relays the team's furious quest for answers and empathetically conveys the joys and regrets shared by these resourceful women who, as elite global assassins, understandably struggled with work-life balance and now feel cast aside in a youth-obsessed society. With her beautiful, deep voice, Christina Delaine reads the non-Billie chapters with verve. Each narrator also shows perfect timing, presenting the story's many laugh-out-loud moments. VERDICT Featuring two great performances, Raybourn's latest is recommended for mystery lovers of all ages, as well as anyone (assassin or not) trying to balance their professional and personal lives.--Beth Farrell
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