Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn

 Hi all!

For our March Mystery Book Club we read Killers of a Certain Age. 

About: "Older women often feel invisible, but sometimes that's their secret weapon.

They've spent their lives as the deadliest assassins in a clandestine international organization, but now that they're sixty years old, four women friends can't just retire - it's kill or be killed in this action-packed thriller.

Billie, Mary Alice, Helen, and Natalie have worked for the Museum, an elite network of assassins, for forty years. Now their talents are considered old-school and no one appreciates what they have to offer in an age that relies more on technology than people skills.

When the foursome is sent on an all-expenses paid vacation to mark their retirement, they are targeted by one of their own. Only the Board, the top-level members of the Museum, can order the termination of field agents, and the women realize they've been marked for death.

Now to get out alive they have to turn against their own organization, relying on experience and each other to get the job done, knowing that working together is the secret to their survival. They're about to teach the Board what it really means to be a woman--and a killer--of a certain age." 

I really liked this book. The four women are all 60 years old now. They are on what they think is a retirement cruise, all expenses paid by the Museum, their employer for the last 40 years. When Billie thinks she recognizes one of the crew members, the women all put their spy hats back on and soon figure out they are to be retired permanently. The book describes all the steps they take to figure our who, what, where, when and why, traveling to England and France incognito. There are disguises that are hilarious but work. There are late night planning meetings, including a My Little Pony murder plan, a Menopaws app for their phones and potatoes as weapons. While that may sound silly, the women are deadly serious. Afterall, they are trained assassins. The book also shows us how they were recruited in the 1970's to join the Museum. There are lots of references to '70s culture and music mentioned that will make you smile if you are of a certain age.

We had a large group attend the MBC to discuss this book. We had several new young women and I was afraid they would not have liked it since they are much younger. But then, if they read it and came to the meeting for the first time, they must have like it. Most of the ladies at the meeting really liked the book.  They liked the strong personalities of the women, that it showed women could still do such active, physically demanding activities and were smart. Very smart. Surprisingly the very few that did not like it were all, but one, of a certain age, not the young women. But that's why we try to read a variety of mysteries.

We were happy to hear that the second book will be coming out in the spring of 2025: Kills Well With Others. 

Deanna Raybourn writes two very different series set in Victorian time; Veronica Speedwell series set in 1887 and Lady Julia Gray series. There is a another series set in the 1920's.

You can find out more about Deanna Raybourn here:

https://www.deannaraybourn.com/

Sam Spade, Hallmark Mysteries and PBS

 Happy Friday! 

I haven't mentioned any movies lately and a couple of things caught my attention...today.

Sam Spade: Monsieur Spade/The Maltese Falcon

Did you watch the six part series Monsieur Spade this winter? The story starts in 1963 in Bozuols France, where Sam Spade has "retired". We flip back to 1955 where is is hired to bring a young girl Teresa from Algiers to her father after the death of her mother. We learn about how Sam is connected to her mother Brigid and why she would ask him to bring her to France. 

The series allegedly picks up after the story of The Maltese Falcon - 1941 movie with Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade and Mary Astor as Brigid O'Shaunessy of the above story. So...

TCM (Turner Classic Movies) is showing The Maltese Falcon Saturday March 9, 2024 at 10 a.m. CST. I have seen this movie years ago but I want to watch it again with the backstory we learned about in Monsieur Spade. 

Just sayin' in case there are others interested like me.

Did you know that Hallmark Movies and Mysteries has changed to Hallmark Mysteries as of March 6, 2024? I did not know that until today. They will feature "cozy mysteries" only, from what I understand. No more romance movies in the summer...which is fine by me. I only watch the mysteries. lol

March 11: True Justice: Family Ties

About: "A law school student and her friends, set out to prove her brother's innocence but the only way to clear his name is by finding the real killer. Stars Katherine McNamara, Markian Tarasiuk, Nikki DeLoach and Benjamin Ayres."

March 15, 2024: Crimes of Fashion: Killer Clutch starring Brooke D'Orsay and Gilles Marini.

"An American psychologist, hired to coach a fashion designer, helps a guarded French detective unravel a list of fashionable suspects after a murder happens backstage of a Paris fashion show".

They also promise new Curious Caterer (Nikki DeLoach and Andrew Walker) movies and a sequel to The Cases of Mystery Lane (Paul Campbell and Aimee Garcia). Another Hannah Swensen movie is slotted for later this year.

Take a look around at https://www.hallmarkmystery.com/movies

Coming up in April for PBS:

Mr. Bates and the Post Office 4/7/24

About: "Mysterious financial losses lead the Post Office to fire and prosecute village Subpostmasters, who have no way to prove their innocence.

Toby Jones, (Empire of Light, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Sherlock), stars in this real-life David and Goliath story that chronicles the jaw-dropping plight of hundreds of postal workers accused of a crime they didn’t commit—but went to jail for and worse. It’s a story that UK journalists have reported on for years but once dramatized for TV, set off a firestorm of public outrage that forced the Prime Minister to act."

It is based on true events. There are four episodes.

Guilt Season 3 premiers 4/28/24

About: "Max and Jake find themselves back in Edinburgh where they soon face a familiar danger. Kenny tries to help a family member, while dramatic action plays out at a farm.

Now in its third and final season, the award-winning TV series Guilt is a darkly funny Scottish thriller. Mismatched brothers Max and Jake McCall are reunited, but enemies old and new cause them to seek ever more desperate solutions to their ongoing problems. Digging deep into their past, Max (Mark Bonnar, Napoleon, World on Fire) and Jake (Jamie Sives, Annika, Chernobyl) hope to finally find a future free of danger…and each other."

Oh oh. Did you catch "final season?" There are four episodes for this season.

So that gives us some things to watch when we aren't reading.

I read/listened to two books last week and this week but they were not mysteries.

The Women by Kristen Hannah: "The Women is the story of one woman gone to war, but it shines a light on all women who put themselves in harm’s way and whose sacrifice and commitment to their country has too often been forgotten. A novel about deep friendships and bold patriotism, The Women is a richly drawn story with a memorable heroine whose idealism and courage under fire will come to define an era." The women in the story are nurses who served in the Vietnam war. Very good but definitely a roller coaster of emotions. 

Magic Lessons for Margo: A Follow Up to The Adventures of Miss Vulpe by Maria Elena Sandovici. This book is "literary fiction" and follows two sisters trying to find themselves, where can they fit into the world and confront the ghosts of their childhood. I received and ARC from the author. I did enjoy the story. 

Last but not least, currently reading Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn and listening to A Darkness Absolute, book 2 in the Rockton/Casey Duncan series by Kelley Armstrong. 

I will let you know how I liked those books, next week.

Happy reading!

Kilned at the Ceramic Shop by Donna Clancy

 Donna Clancy has a new series with the first book coming out March 12, 2024! 

Donna has written several cozy mystery series: The Jelly Shop Mysteries, Shipwreck Cafe Mysteries, Thelma and June's Mystery Adventures and also contributed to some anthologies. 

Kilned at the Ceramic Shop: A Braddock Mystery (#1)

About: "Tammy Wright, a bestselling mystery author returns to her hometown to give her Aunt Clara a hand with running her ceramic shop during tourist season. She discovers that two vindictive realtors have been bullying her aunt and others into selling their properties to make room for new housing developments. Those who don’t comply pay the consequences.

Tammy stumbles upon a body, and when her aunt refuses to give in to either realtor she disappears without a trace.
With the help of an old schoolmate turned policeman, the writer must step out from behind her computer screen and her fictional mysteries to confront real life crime. If she doesn’t, she may never see her aunt again."

I like to mix up the genres of mysteries I read. I will read pretty much any type of mystery. I just do not read not ultra violent or gory books. I especially like to throw in a cozy mystery after reading too many "bad people acting badly" stories.

This book is an excellent start to this new cozy mystery series. The story grabbed me right away. Tammy's Aunt Clara is being bullied into selling her ceramic shop. When Clara is kidnapped, Tammy uses her knowledge and observation skills from writing mysteries, to help the Sheriff try to find Clara before it's too late. But more and more things happen in attempts to scare Tammy. Two realtors in Braddock, Toby Brown and Wilmot Sawyer, seemed to be likely suspects. They are trying to buy up as much real estate in the quiet little tourist town as they can to build housing developments and mini malls. Brown is even seen verbally harassing another elderly lady in an attempt to have her sell him her property. When Clara's delivery man is found dead at the ceramic shop, things look even more sinister.

I love the setting of Braddock - small tourist town, woods, cabins, shops and homestyle food restaurants. Tammy, Clara, the Sheriff and Zeke the deputy (an old classmate) are characters you can root for. It is a good mystery and I was surprised at the ending.

I have read some of the Jelly Shop series and enjoyed it.

If you are looking for a book or series for a good mystery with likeable characters, check out Donna Walo Clancy.

"About the author:

Donna Walo Clancy (Donna Clancy) lives on Cape Cod, Massachusetts in the U.S.A. She is a single mom of three grown children and happily divorced.

Her first passion is writing. She also loves to read and all kinds of crafting. Flea markets and yard sales can hold her attention for hours.

In her down time, she loves to walk the beach with her dog, Zumiez, and her metal detector searching for lost treasures.

Not holding herself to a single genre, she writes whatever story she feels needs to be worked on at the time. Her favorite genre is cozy mysteries and she has several series on Amazon at the present time; The Jelly Shop Mysteries, The Shipwreck Café Mysteries, and Thelma and June's Great Adventures.

Several standalone books will also be released in the coming year.

You can visit her social pages on Facebook or Amazon. She can be reached at dwaloclancy@yahoo.com."