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KILLS WELL WITH OTHERS
Readers Guide
(Beware: spoilers ahead!)
- In the opening scene, Billie goes off-piste to finish the job and makes a terrible mistake. How does this influence the rest of her career and her relationship with the others?
- After their adventures in KILLERS OF A CERTAIN AGE, our four assassins are back. How well are they settling into civilian life? What challenges do they face?
- Is the Museum justified in assassinating people who do terrible things? Do some people just “need killing”?
- If you ever had a safehouse, where would it be? What would it look like?
- What special skills do each of the assassins bring to their work?
- A recurring theme in the books is the invisibility of older women. Have you witnessed this? Why do some societies honor their elders while other societies dismiss or infantilize theirs?
- The quartet’s mentor, Constance, asks Billie to help her end her life. Why does she choose Billie for this? Why does Billie accept? Was she right to do so?
- The killers have some unique ways of eliminating their targets. What is the most unexpected method in this book?
- The action of the book takes place all over the world—a luxury ocean liner, a safehouse in Sardinia, the mysterious canals of Venice, a train in Montenegro, the Valley of the Kings. How do the settings influence the action?
- The flashback scenes show younger, less experienced versions of Billie, Mary Alice, Helen, and Natalie. How have they changed over the years? How are they who they have always been?
- There are several other strong women in this book—Naomi, Marilyn, Galina. How do they carry out their agendas? Is there anything to admire in them?
- What has their work cost the four assassins over the course of their lives? Is it worth it? At the end of the book, are they finally each headed for a “happily ever after”?BONUS: Is there anything about the job of international assassin you would enjoy? What would your special skills be?