Killers of a Certain Age: Questions and Answers

1. Why does Billie kill the wrong man in Chicago?

Billie abandons protocol after the planned peanut-oil assassination fails. She goes alone to the nephew’s hotel, kills a man in the dark, and discovers she has murdered the wrong person. This mistake puts her on probation and haunts her career.

Evidence context: In Chapter One (April 1982), the team’s elegant plan to swap the EpiPen fails when the nephew spills the drugged drink and the backup vial breaks. Billie, fueled by anger, breaks every rule—she makes herself memorable to the desk clerk and then kills a man who turns out to be the cousin. The error stems from her impulsiveness and sets up her probation in Chapter Six.

2. What does Constance Halliday mean by “necessary monsters”?

Constance explains that assassins like herself and Billie remove threats to civilization so ordinary people can live peacefully. The phrase justifies their violent work as a moral duty, not a choice. Billie internalizes this, strangling her softer self.

Evidence context: In Chapter Six (June 1982), after Billie improvises a corkscrew kill at a garden party, Constance tells her: “The world needs us, Miss Webster, to remove what stands between good and decent people and chaos. We are necessary monsters.” This speech occurs right after Billie proves her loyalty by saving Constance from a stroke—the moment cements Billie’s identity as a monster for the greater good.

3. How do the four women disguise themselves aboard the Queen Mary 2?

They use theatrical makeup, wigs, and age-changing tricks: Mary Alice and Natalie age up with grey wigs and wrinkles; Billie and Helen use facelift tape and youthful scents to appear younger. The goal is to avoid recognition while surveilling Pasha Lazarov.

Evidence context: Chapter Five details the disguises: Mary Alice and Natalie “aged up” using the contents of Mary Alice’s theatrical makeup kit, while Billie and Helen “aged down” with facelift tape and sporty scents. The chapter also mentions altered passports and separate boarding to maintain covers. The narrator notes that only one of the 2,620 passengers will not finish the crossing.

4. Why does Billie steal Pasha Lazarov’s diary after killing him?

After drowning Pasha in his bathtub aboard the Queen Mary 2, Billie impulsively takes his diary, breaking agency rules. It contains a string of numbers and a backward “7” (Cyrillic “G”) that later reveals Galina’s survival and her connection to Lilian Flanders’ murder.

Evidence context: In Chapter Nine, Billie hides in the shower, oils the tub, bags his head, and drowns him. She stages a heart attack, then “impulsively, she takes his diary, breaking protocol.” In Chapter Sixteen, she confesses to the theft and the team deciphers the diary’s numbers—dated the day Lilian Flanders died—as a Venetian phone number, proving Galina is alive and the true killer.

5. What is the significance of the obsidian wolf figurine?

The obsidian wolf carved with Boris Lazarov’s initials is a calling card left by Galina to taunt her father’s killers. It appears at Lilian Flanders’ murder scene, on Pasha’s yacht, and at the arson of Helen’s house Benscombe. It signals Galina’s revenge campaign.

Evidence context: In Chapter Three, Naomi reveals Lilian Flanders was suffocated and an obsidian wolf with Lazarov initials was left with her body. Chapter Eleven describes how a similar wolf figurine is found on the doorstep of the burned Benscombe. The recurring symbol ties the murders to the Lazarov family and confirms Galina’s pursuit.

6. Why does Helen reveal her affair with Benoit to Billie?

Helen confesses she has a secret lover, a younger Belgian man named Benoit, and fears starting a permanent relationship. She admits she relates to the Evil Queen and worries about commitment. Billie reassures her, deepening their friendship and showing Helen’s vulnerability.

Evidence context: In Chapter Eight, Helen brings Billie breakfast and their conversation turns personal. Helen reveals she sees herself as the Evil Queen from Snow White—old and jealous. She then confides about Benoit, a man she meets only for sex, and her fear of a real relationship. Billie tells her she deserves happiness, and Helen leaves to memorize the assassination plan, showing she trusts Billie with her secrets.

7. Who is the mole inside the Museum, and why do they betray the team?

The mole is Marilyn Carstairs, a Provenance agent. Feeling overlooked after decades of service, she steals the Raphael painting Leda and the Swan from the Bosque job and uses the Lazarovs to sell it. She leaks information to Galina, leading to the attempt on the women’s lives.

Evidence context: In Chapter Twenty-Seven, Billie identifies Marilyn in a locked train compartment with Galina and Tamara. In Chapter Twenty-Eight, Billie confronts her: Marilyn memorized the drop details from the 1994 Bosque mission, orchestrated the heist, and fed information to the Lazarovs because she felt “passed over” for promotions. The motive is professional resentment.

8. Why does Galina Lazarov seek revenge against Billie and her team?

Galina is Boris Lazarov’s daughter, seeking vengeance for her father’s death. She also resents her brother Pasha’s incompetence. After faking her own death in a car accident, she spends years hunting the women who killed her father, using her brother as a pawn.

Evidence context: In Chapter Twenty-Nine, during the fight on the train, Galina reveals she is Boris’s daughter, not just a sister. The chapter provides her abusive childhood backstory: Boris beat her and favored Pasha, so she faked her death to escape and plot revenge. Billie kills her by pulling her out of the train door using her mother’s lighter as a weapon.

9. How does the team use the dead drop in Colonial Williamsburg?

Naomi places a packet containing photos, a dossier, and burner phone numbers under a porch on Nassau Street. The women retrieve it after their meeting at the Governor’s Palace. The packet contains Pasha Lazarov’s biography, his yacht symbol, and coordinates for the Queen Mary 2 crossing.

Evidence context: Chapter Three ends with Naomi directing them to the dead drop. Chapter Four opens with the team retrieving the packet and reviewing it over lunch in their hotel room. The dossier reveals Pasha’s Anglophilia, his flying phobia, and his tickets for the QM2 in five days. The dead drop is their only source of intelligence before the mission.

10. What role does Raphael’s Leda and the Swan play in the plot?

The painting, stolen by the Bosque family from Nazis, is the prize Galina seeks. It was never recovered after Bosque’s 1994 assassination. Galina and Marilyn plan to sell it. Billie’s team recovers it in Montenegro and repatriates it, earning a bonus and retirement.

Evidence context: In Chapter Twenty-Two (1994 flashback), the team learns Bosque is selling Nazi-looted art, including Raphael’s Leda, worth $120M. In Chapter Twenty-Six, they find the painting’s Nazi inventory code on a wooden fragment near a decapitated courier. In Chapter Thirty, Helen retrieves the painting from Marilyn’s backpack after the train fight. In Chapter Thirty-One, Billie hands it over to Naomi for return to Italy’s government.

11. Why does Billie decide she cannot retire, despite the threat ending?

After the mission, Billie realizes she is a killer at heart. She reflects that retirement is impossible because her identity is inseparable from the work. She accepts that she belongs with Taverner and the team, rejecting a normal life.

Evidence context: In Chapter Twelve, at the Sardinian safe house, Billie concludes that “she remains a killer at heart” and that nurturing and killing cannot coexist for her. She thinks about Constance’s “necessary monsters” speech and decides she cannot walk away. The theme of aging and competence is explored: she chooses purposeful danger over quiet obscurity.

12. What is the significance of the chicken Nula?

Natalie adopts a chicken named Nula on the Balkan train. The chicken becomes a running joke and a symbol of Natalie’s eccentricity. It survives the chaos, and after the final fight, Helen stuffs it into a sleeper berth. The chicken represents the team’s absurd resilience and found family.

Evidence context: In Chapter Twenty-Seven, Mary Alice is tasked with holding Nula. In Chapter Twenty-Eight, Helen tosses the chicken into a berth to clear the way for the smoke attack. In Chapter Thirty, the team reunites with the chicken after jumping off the train. The chicken is a comic relief, but also a thread of continuity through the tense train sequence.

13. How does the team’s plan to trap Galina in Venice succeed and fail?

Billie lures Wolfgang to a meeting at Scala Contarini del Bovolo, expecting Galina’s ambush. The ambush happens—Wolfgang is shot in the ear—but the team escapes by rooftop and boat. They fail to capture Galina but gain Wolfgang’s cooperation, leading to the final train confrontation.

Evidence context: Chapter Twenty-One details the trap: Billie pushes Wolfgang over a parapet to avoid gunfire, Helen and Natalie provide cover, and Mary Alice pilots a getaway boat. A mercenary boards and Billie kills him by smashing his head into a low bridge. Although Galina escapes, Wolfgang later reveals her Montenegro deal, which drives the team to the train.

14. What does the painting Shepherdess of the Sphinxes represent at the end?

In the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, the women view Leonor Fini’s painting and toast Constance as the “Shepherdess.” The painting symbolizes their identity as monstrous protectors. It affirms that they are not ordinary retirees but necessary monsters who safeguard art and justice.

Evidence context: Chapter Thirty-Two: after the mission, Billie, Helen, Mary Alice, and Natalie take a morning walk in Venice. At the museum, they stand before Shepherdess of the Sphinxes and toast Constance’s legacy. The chapter emphasizes that they have found closure and accept their role as guardians—the painting is a visual metaphor for their own lives.

15. How does Deanna Raybourn’s Author’s Note shape the reader’s experience?

The Author’s Note admits that authors are liars and challenges readers to distinguish truth from fiction in the novel. This metafictional frame primes readers to question narrative reliability and enjoy the blend of real historical details (e.g., Nazi art looting) with invented characters and missions.

Evidence context: Chapter 1 (Author’s Note) is a brief statement where Raybourn reveals that some elements are true, some are fabricated, and she won’t say which. This applies to the Museum, Provenance, and the Bosque art cache. It invites readers to research the real Nazi loot and historical assassins, adding a layer of intellectual play. The note sets the tone for a novel that deliberately blurs lines.