Book Review - Killers of a Certain Age; Deanna Raybourn

 

Killers of a Certain Age; Deanna Raybourn

Berkley - 9/2022

This is my first time trying this author and the appeal of this book for me was the fact that the main characters were women who were easing intro retirement in their 60s after a career in a non traditional female field - 40 years as female assassins. The all female team worked for a group called The Museum, originally tracking Nazi but over their tenure as the as the world changed so did the kinds of people they went after such as  drug smugglers and human traffickers.

Now Billie, Mary Alice, Helen and Natalie are on an all expense paid cruise but, when they spot a former assassin from the Museum among the ship's crew something doesn't feel right and the women wonder if they are suddenly not on a leisurely cruise but targets. Can this group of savvy women use the skills that honed over the years to stay alive? Why has the Museum turned on the women?

The story is told from the POV of Billie and takes the reader into the past as we learn about some of their missions over the course of their career. but, more of the book was set in the present day.  It was easy to get a feel for the individual strengths of the relationships of the women.  I felt the story moved along at a good pace but, I was surprised by the darker details the storyline took at times. There were some moments that made me smile but, the story wasn't at all light and humorous either.  I can't really say that I would even  classify this as a mystery.  In the end this was just another case of a book that wasn't a good fit for me.

RATING - 3/5 stars

Brief Book Review - The Woman in the Library; Sulari Gentill

 

The Woman in the Library; Sulari Gentill

Poison Pen Press - 2022

(library Loan)

This was a book that I passed on initially but, my self-imposed pressure, based on reviews from some who enjoyed it, and the setting of the Boston Public Library held lots of appeal..  Unfortunately, this book was a struggle and ultimately a disappointing read for me.

The setting of the Boston Public Library, a blood-curdling scream early that ultimately ends in the murder of a young woman, makes fast friends of four strangers sitting at the same table who bond after the crime.  The more the group discusses what they recall the plot thickens and suspicions intensify. Hannah Tigone is a mystery writer based in Australia who shares the book she is writing with a Boston based mega fan named Leo who critiques her work it for locale and other accuracies, since the pandemic has preventing Hannah from coming to Boston herself.  Her novel is shared basically through email exchanges at the ends of the chapters and the whole correspondence gets very odd and uncomfortable as well at at times.

I'm not a fan of a story within a story kind of novel and found this one hard to get into and even confusing at times. I think I was expecting more of a traditional mystery. I'm not even sure this can be classified as a traditional mystery as it also seemed heavily character driven. I especially found the correspondence distracting and felt it added very little to the mystery overall. Sorry readers I can't recommend this one.

RATING - 2.5/5 stars

Book Review - Tin Camp Road; Ellen Airgood

 

Tin Camp Road; Ellen Airgood

Riverhead Books - 2021

I have to admit, it was the title and cover art that had this book scream "summer read" to me.

The premise of this novel is a struggling single mother trying to provide a decent live for her 10 year old daughter while vowing never to leave her roots in Gallion, Michigan.  Laurel works as a maid at a local motel and she and her daughter Skye live a no frills life.  Skye seems more mature than her age but, she is often left alone unsupervised when Laurel picks up an extra shift.  Mother and daughter argue and their relationship is one of sacrifice.  When their landlord notifies them that they must move as he has decided to convert their cabin into a more lucrative seasonal rental on the upper peninsula, Laurel and Skye must pack up and find another place to stay, which turns out to be more difficult than anticipated.

The author writes about life in the area where she grew up and where she worked as a waitress for nearly 20 years.  While I loved the setting of this book and its depictions of small town lake life, I found it almost painfully hard to get through at times -- it took me over a week. The mother makes some poor choices that are not in the daughter's best interest and even has CPS intervening.  There were too many unnecessary details and the book had an overall unfocused feel. This one started off well but, it ended up disappointing me. 

RATING - 2.5/5 stars

46 - The Language of Secrets; Dianne Dixon

The Language of Secrets; Dianne Dixon

 In The Language of Secrets, Justin Fisher has been long estranged from his family. He returns to Southern California with his wife and young son, deciding to reconnect with the family from whom he has been long estranged, but when he arrives he is in for a shock.  He learns that his parents have died, and when he visits the cemetery, he notices on the gravestone, not only the names of his parents, but his name as well.  The dates next to his name indicate he died when he was just four year's old.  Having little memory of his childhood or his parents, slowly details emerge about Justin's painful past. 

MY THOUGHTS - I so wanted to love this book. I loved the title, the cover was gorgeous, but in the end I was disappointed.  The story goes back and forth in time, and at times it was difficult to keep track of the many characters and their story lines.  The dialogue seemed strained, and for me, the book was easy to put down, and harder to pick back up.  The novel is one of betrayal, infidelity and long buried secrets. Ultimately, a depressing story, about a troubled man with a painful past whose long repressed memories slowly are revealed.  (Rating 2/5 stars)

Review copy received from Doubleday