A clever and compelling/intense thriller about an elderly assassin who may be targeted by her own organization.

Hornclaw has been an assassin for decades, but now that she's 65, some of her colleagues are questioning if she's still capable of doing her job. She's offended at the idea that her age and gender are getting in the way of her work. But she starts to wonder if she really is losing her edge when she breaks the biggest rule of assassins and gets emotionally attached to someone she meets on the job.

I thoroughly enjoyed this twisty and turny and dark and humorous thriller. Hornclaw is a wonderfully complex anti-hero. I would love to see this adapted for the screen!

I absolutely loved the concept of this with the senior-assassin but was disappointed in the execution. DNF @45%

This was a quick and interesting read. The premise intrigued me. It was refreshing to see a story about an older woman who seems to still be a badass and I was all for that! This book follows Hornclaw who is a sixty-five years old assassin who lives in South Korea. The plot was very one dimensional and it was not as suspenseful as I imagined. The writing was still good but it was stale. I wonder if some things were lost when it was translated into English or it was intentional. Hornclaw was still a fascinating character and I loved her reflection on ageism.

Thank you to NetGallery and to Harlequin Trade Publishing for giving me a copy for my honest review

Gu Byeong-mo is an awarding winning South Korean author. THE OLD WOMAN WITH THE KNIFE is her first novel published in English. And what a story this is. Hornclaw is a 65-year- old woman assassin who is being aged out of the "disease control" specialty business by a much younger intolerant colleague. Moving backwards and forwards in time, Hornclaw confronts an aging body and mind as she tells her story, has her heart strings pulled, and ultimately faces her sabotager.

This book had such a cool concept-a senior female Korean assassin-but fell flat for me. It was interesting enough that I wanted to see it through the end, but I wasn’t wowed by it. Some of the timeline was confusing and I wanted more from the ending.

I enjoyed this read but found it puzzling on several levels. Liked the story of finding value in a life lived despite one's age and despite the title character's chosen profession as a killer for hire. It was enjoyable but not great so only 3 stars.

This book was ... fine. Aging spies and killers-for=hire seems to be a new trend in fiction and this fits right in with that theme. It was interesting to see how this work in translation fit into that specific genre.

Secret agent Alias: Hornclaw is nearing the end of her illustrious career as an assassin.

One case goes sideways and she ends up in the care of a doctor who will change her entire life.

This book is a translated piece of fiction and it was done very well. The writing has humor and a character all its own. The whole thing reminds me of a Kill Bill movie.

This book will appeal to a lot of different readers. I’m going to make the subtle recommendation that you read it and experience it yourself, then pass it along as your under-the-radar pick.

The descriptor words like kinetic are accurate. The pacing was carried over very well through translation, sometimes hard to do.

This was an experience!

Out now!

Thanks to Netgalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and Hanover Square Press for the advanced copy!

THE OLD WOMAN WITH THE KNIFE…⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The story of a sixty-five-year-old female assassin captured my imagination, so I opened The Old Woman With the Knife with a great deal of anticipation. We learn almost the entirety of Hornclaw's life: her childhood, her work as a "disease control specialist," some of her targets that she's killed, and her growing awareness that her skills are diminishing almost as quickly as she begins feeling compassion for others.

The story weaves between two major plotlines: her growing connection with the doctor and his family and her realization that she has an enemy who wants to kill her. How she manages to deal with both is compelling, but no matter how well-written the story is-- and it is-- the tone is so dispassionate that I had a very difficult time connecting with Hornclaw and, by the book's end, was left feeling disappointed. Your mileage may certainly vary, and I hope that it does.

A Korean novel about an old woman who presents as a model senior citizen and she happens to be an assassin. A story about family, memory, aging, invisibility and belonging. Lots of plot twists and mysterious happenings that keep you in your toes. An enjoyable, intriguing read.

** I received an electronic ARC from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review of this book.

The Old Woman with the Knife follows Hornclaw, a senior citizen assassin, coming to terms with her aging. The story takes place in the present-day and also flashes back to how Hornclaw came to be in this odd business of being a "disease control specialist." The writing felt like a sarcastic noir novel, providing an inner monologue of Hornclaw as she encounters other assassins and tries to relate to everyday people. This was different than my usual reads, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it while listening along on audio. If you are a fan of thrillers with an introspective side, The Old Woman with the Knife is for you!

Also reviewed on Amazon and Barnes and Noble

Shared on instagram @readingtomydogs on 4/12/22

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book. I love when an author will take a genre and turn it upside down. That's exactly what Gu Byeong-mo does with "The Old Woman with the Knife." On the surface this book is a crime drama. It's about an assassin staring down the golden years of their life. Side note but I love how the assassination business is referred to as "disease control." But Hornclaw and this book surprised me in so many ways.

This book deals with both ageism and sexist behavior. I haven't seen a character like Hornclaw in a long time. Her inner monologue resonated with me. When do you give up and retire knowing that you'll live out the rest of your life uninspired? How do you carry on when you're not as agile as you once were? How do you live without attachment to people knowing that those you love will be used against you?

I'm not sure how to write about this book without giving away the "wtf" twists. All I know is that this book is worth picking up and giving a read.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Genre: Mystery Thriller

In this story which is set in South Korea, we get to meet an unusual protagonist. Hornclaw is a sixty-five-year-old lady who is lonely. She lives with her only company which is an old dog. The difference between her and other elderly women of her age is that unlike them Hornclaw is still working. She is not working a normal job. She is an assassin!

The book narrates to us the last chapter of her life. The long working assassin is not as she used to be. She understands that soon she will have to retire. At this stage, not only her age and her physical capabilities seem to be the only obstacles but also her emotional attachment to her new victim.

When I picked up this book it appealed to me due to two main factors. I can’t remember when was the last time I read a story that is set in South Korea. So this was a good opportunity for me to discover the cultural aspects of South Korea in a mystery thriller. Though I can’t say the cultural element is too strong in this book as I thought it would be. The other thing is that the main protagonist is a senior with unconventional traits. This one I have to say made the reading interesting. Not many books are written with older characters as main protagonists. So this was a good option for a change.

The writing is mysterious and strange at times. I believe the author wanted to keep things vague for the sake of keeping the atmosphere mysterious and intriguing. Sometimes this worked for me and other times I just wanted more details to understand the motives of the characters better. Another thing I didn’t get was how this cold-hearted woman changed after all these years. What triggered that change? That is something I kept questioning about this assassin who is depicted as an emotionless woman all her life. This was a decent read but it definitely needed a more focused plot and there was room for more to be told.

Many thanks to the publisher Hanover Square Press and NetGalley for providing me with an advance reader copy of this book.

This is a most unusual book. A best seller in South Korea the book is based on a 65 year old woman who makes her living as an assassin. She has spent her life alone and as she reaches the age of her retirement she looks back on the events that have shaped her life. Exploring issues of aging, loneliness and connections the book unfolds with violence and emotion. A very thoughtful and unexpected read!

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. This novel was not what I expected--very interesting storyline with a complex protagonist.

Okay, I loved this one.

I adored our unconventional main character and was just so worried about her! And as we learned about her past, I loved her even more.

Her foe in the book is surprisingly multi-faceted. I got a kick out of them as well.

Definitely a different sort of crime novel, but a highly enjoyable one. Glad I got to read this one!

[#partner @hanoversquarepress @netgalley]

📚B IS FOR BOOK REVIEW📚

📔Title: The Old Woman with the Knife
🖋Author: Gu Byeong-mo
📝Translator: Chi-Young Kim
🗓Pub Date: 03.08.22

🗂Genre:
Contemporary fiction, quiet thriller

📖Plot:
Hornclaw is an assassin and a good one; in fact, she has been for most of her adult life. Now 65 years old, she faces the dilemma of an aging body and mind in a field which requires both to be operating at full capacity. As she finds herself facing emotions she has long stuffed down, even connecting with other humans, she also learns she has put herself in grave danger.

‼️Trigger Warning:
Murder, trauma via exposure to murder, death

💭Thoughts:
Oh, Hornclaw! I love this character and this novel was such a fun read! (A fun read, you say? A book about an assassin? Yep. I said what I said.) Fun because it is a quick book which will make you both laugh and think, and it centers an aging female protagonist, which we all know isn’t so common! What starts off as a character study morphs into an engaging plot line and I was pulling for Hornclaw the whole way. Don’t miss out on this sensation out of South Korea as you are looking to diversify your #tbr!

🗣Recommended for those who like:
Off-beat characters like Ove in Fredrik Backman’s A Man Called Ove and Eleanor in Gail Honeyman’s Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. (Although this book is nothing like those!)

“Parts are obsolete.
Broken. Obsolete.
It’s time to get rid of it.
I’m telling you, it won’t last much longer.
Replacement.”
These lines are about the protagonist’s refrigerator, but also clearly about her own existential crisis, the theme of this creative and unusual novel about a sixty-five year old female Korean assassin. She’s always been dispassionate about her work, but as her body starts to fail, she considers retirement and if that’s even possible, and new emotions create dangerous situations for her.
This book had a lot of violence and action, but also a lot of lengthy ruminating. The former was compelling but the latter was often dry. I have to wonder if some of the beauty of the language was lost in translation, because there are moments of truth that I found quite lovely.
For example, she writes “The tangible elements of a home—furniture, clothes, kitchen appliances—all become baggage; in fact, baggage was the most important factor in creating a home.” I’ve always said home is where your stuff is, because we humans are creatures of comfort, and having our stuff the way we like it is what makes a house a home. She expressed the idea so eloquently. While this wasn’t the best book I’ve ever read, I’m glad I got the opportunity to try something totally different.
Thank you to the publisher for the advance copy.

The Old Woman with the Knife is a splendid assassin tale focusing on the aging process. How do we see the elderly - how do they see themselves? As Hornclaw acknowledges the decline of her abilities, she faces a blast from the past.

Pairs excellently with
Un-su Kim's the Plotters,
Helen Tursten's Elderly Lady series
Richard Osman's Thursday Murder Club series
Daniel Friedman's Buch Schatz series

Well done. I want many, many prequels

4.2/5