Kills well with others

For years, sixtysomething Billie Webster and her three colleagues--Helene, Mary Alice, and Natalie--were professional assassins working for a British organization called the Museum. They've retired, but after a massive shake-up when members of the administration tried to kill them, the four women have been called back. Someone has killed an assassin, and the death may be connected to a recent security breach. Worst of all, the women could be targets because of a case in the past when they took out a Bulgarian. Are they targets of the man's son? They accomplish their goal of killing their target onboard the Queen Mary 2, but it only grows more complicated with a web that goes back to World War II and art smuggling. Now, as they hide in plain sight, and travel across Europe and Asia, they attempt to complete a job they started over 30 years earlier. VERDICT Fans of Killers of a Certain Age will enjoy the return of the four senior assassins whose escapades from the past and present are intermixed in a fast-paced, humorous adventure. The books stand out for their wit and unlikely friendships.--Lesa Holstine

Four talented assassins combine their skills in order to survive what they'd expected to be a peaceful retirement. Billie, Mary Alice, Natalie, and Helen--60-something women who long worked for the clandestine organization known as the Museum--are already underappreciated because of ageism. After having spent years working alone and together, they're supposed to be retired. When they receive postcards summoning them to Williamsburg, Virginia, they hope it has something to do with their pensions, which were canceled when the Museum decided to kill them--a plan that luckily failed inKillers of a Certain Age (2022). Emerging from their accommodations, which are far from high-end, to meet their former boss, Naomi, they learn that another retired member of the Museum has just been murdered. A black wolf carving found in her hand suggests that the motive may be connected to a 40-year-old case. The four are assigned an off-the-books job killing Pasha Lazarov, the son of one of their earlier targets, before he kills them. Pasha is traveling to England aboard theQueen Mary 2. Not until after they come up with a clever plan to knock him off do they learn that it's his sister, Galina, long thought dead, who's actually pursuing them. Delighted to be back at their old job despite their bickering and squabbling, they relive past cases as they travel to several unsavory European and Egyptian spots in search of Pasha's murderous sister and end up involved in an art theft case that dates back to the Third Reich. A nonstop-action thriller that's often disconcertingly funny in posing moral questions about the murder of horrible people. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.