Deanna Raybourn Biography, Books, and Similar Authors

Interview

Deanna Raybourn discusses her latest novel, the thriller Killers of a Certain Age.

Tell us about Killers of a Certain Age! What inspired you to write this story?

My editor called up one day and said they wanted a book about mature women doing kickass things and would I be interested in writing something like that. They gave me carte blanche on the specifics—whatever time period I liked, however many women I chose, doing whatever I wanted. I was free to write the story of my dreams. It was almost TOO much freedom ! I quietly panicked as I tried to figure out where to start. But I knew immediately I wanted to stretch myself and write something contemporary. And I wanted to write a quartet. Something about that dynamic of four different personalities and how they would relate to one another really appealed to me. All that was left then was to decide what sort of kickass things they would be doing. I could have made them spies or detectives, but there's really nothing more kickass than assassins.

Killers of a Certain Age centers on four women who also happen to be elite assassins by profession—and who find their agency targeting them to be taken out, just as they are about to retire. Your story resonates all too well in a world that often doesn't value age and experience over youth. What made this ...