Killers of a Certain Age Quiz – 20 Questions to Test Your Knowledge
Plot & Sequence Questions (1–8)
1. (Multiple Choice) In the opening flashback (April 1982), what disguise do Billie, Helen, Natalie, and Mary Alice use to approach their target?
- A) Flight attendants
- B) Playboy Bunnies
- C) Tour guides
- D) Hotel maids
2. (Short Answer) What does the team slip into the nephew's EpiPen to mimic a heart attack? Answer format: name of the drug mixture
3. (Multiple Choice) Why does the 1982 mission go wrong?
- A) The nephew runs away before they can act
- B) Billie kills the wrong man
- C) The EpiPen is not swapped in time
- D) The police arrive suddenly
4. (Multiple Choice) Decades later, how are the four women summoned to a suspicious assignment in Colonial Williamsburg?
- A) A coded message in a newspaper
- B) A phone call from their former handler Naomi
- C) Cheap travel arrangements (Premium Economy, Best Western)
- D) A letter from the Museum director
5. (Short Answer) What object is found clutched in Lilian Flanders's hand after her murder, linking it to the Lazarov family? Answer format: material and shape
6. (Multiple Choice) On the Queen Mary 2, how does Billie kill Pasha Lazarov?
- A) She stabs him in the shower
- B) She drowns him in the bathtub using an exit bag
- C) She poisons his drink
- D) She pushes him overboard
7. (Multiple Choice) After the QM2 kill, where do the women go to hide and plan their next move?
- A) A friend's flat in London
- B) A beach villa in Greece
- C) A safe house in Sardinia
- D) Hotel in Paris
8. (Short Answer) What piece of information from Aunt Evgenia reveals that Pasha's sister is still alive? Answer format: one word plus explanation
Character Motivation Questions (9–13)
9. (Multiple Choice) Why does Billie keep Pasha Lazarov's diary after killing him, even though it breaks protocol?
- A) She hopes to find blackmail material
- B) She impulsively wants a souvenir of the mission
- C) She suspects there is more to the operation than they were told
- D) She plans to sell it to the highest bidder
10. (Multiple Choice) What motivates Galina Lazarov to hunt down Billie and her team?
- A) She wants the Raphael painting for herself
- B) She is taking orders from Marilyn Carstairs
- C) She seeks revenge for her father's murder and her own abusive childhood
- D) She wants to take over the Museum
11. (Short Answer) Why does Constance Halliday choose Billie to help her die? Answer format: one quality Billie possesses
12. (Multiple Choice) Helen admits having a secret lover named Benoit. What is her main fear regarding this relationship?
- A) That Benoit will betray her to the Museum
- B) That her friends will disapprove of the age gap
- C) That she will get hurt if she becomes too attached
- D) That Benoit is actually working for Galina
13. (Multiple Choice) What drives Mary Alice to violently attack Tamara when Natalie falls from the train?
- A) She has always hated Tamara
- B) She is trying to protect the Raphael painting
- C) Rage at seeing her teammate hurt, showing a protective fierceness
- D) She wants to prove she is the strongest fighter
Theme & Symbol Questions (14–17)
14. (Multiple Choice) The obsidian wolf left with Lilian Flanders's body symbolizes:
- A) The loyalty of the Museum's agents
- B) The Russian word for wolf (Boris) and the Lazarov family's vengeful reach
- C) The endangered animal the team once saved
- D) A gift from the Provenance department
15. (Multiple Choice) What does the recovered Raphael painting Leda and the Swan represent in the story?
- A) Beauty that must be protected at all costs
- B) Nazi-looted art and the unfinished business of the Museum's past
- C) The love affair between Billie and Taverner
- D) A boring artifact the team ignores
16. (Short Answer) At the end of the novel, the women toast themselves as which phrase, originally used by Constance Halliday? Answer format: two-word phrase
17. (Multiple Choice) The motif of disguise and being underestimated (playing old, playing young) reflects the novel's theme of:
- A) The importance of expensive costumes
- B) Age as both a liability and a superpower for experienced assassins
- C) The need to hide from the Museum
- D) Gender inequality in the organization
Synthesis Questions (18–20)
18. (Short Answer) Compare the two kill methods Billie uses on Pasha Lazarov (drowning) and then on Galina (pulling her from the train). What do they reveal about her attitude toward each target? Answer format: one sentence
19. (Multiple Choice) Which statement best reflects the novel's view on retirement and identity as presented in the book?
- A) Retired assassins can easily leave their past behind and live normal lives
- B) The women discover they are "killers to the bone" and that purpose comes from their skills and bond
- C) Retirement is a peaceful, fulfilling end for all of them
- D) The Museum forces them to keep working forever
20. (Multiple Choice) How does the author's note ("authors are liars") connect to the overall story?
- A) It warns readers that Helen's backstory is completely false
- B) It primes readers to question the reliability of the narrative and enjoy the blend of fact and fiction
- C) It implies that all the characters are based on real people
- D) It suggests the book is a work of non-fiction
Answer Key
1. B) Playboy Bunnies – In Chapter One, the team works undercover at the Playboy Club to get close to the gangster's nephew.
2. Versed and potassium chloride – The plan is to load the EpiPen with this cocktail to stop the nephew's heart, mimicking anaphylactic shock. (Chapter One)
3. B) Billie kills the wrong man – After the EpiPen plan fails, Billie acts alone in the hotel room and accidentally kills a stranger. (Chapter One)
4. C) Cheap travel arrangements (Premium Economy, Best Western) – Billie notes that the low-budget booking signals trouble. (Chapter Two)
5. An obsidian wolf – Lilian Flanders was found clutching a crude obsidian wolf carved with Boris Lazarov's initials. (Chapter Three)
6. B) She drowns him in the bathtub using an exit bag – Billie waits in the suite, oils the tub, bags his head, and drowns him before staging a heart attack. (Chapter Nine)
7. C) A safe house in Sardinia – After discovering the arson at Benscombe, they flee via ferry and train to a Sardinian safe house. (Chapter Eleven)
8. Galina – Aunt Evgenia shows a photo of her niece Galina and mentions she brings fresh cookies, contradicting the team's belief that Galina died years earlier. (Chapter Fifteen)
9. C) She suspects there is more to the operation than they were told – Billie takes the diary impulsively, and later it proves crucial in identifying Galina. (Chapter Nine)
10. C) She seeks revenge for her father's murder and her own abusive childhood – Galina reveals she was abused by her aunt and is driven by vengeance against the women who killed her father. (Chapter Twenty-Nine)
11. Her humanity – Constance tells Billie she chose her because Billie is the only one she trusts to see the job through without faltering. (Chapter Fourteen)
12. C) That she will get hurt if she becomes too attached – Helen confides to Billie that she fears starting a permanent relationship. (Chapter Eight)
13. C) Rage at seeing her teammate hurt, showing a protective fierceness – Mary Alice attacks Tamara immediately after Natalie is kicked and falls from the train. (Chapter Twenty-Nine)
14. B) The Russian word for wolf (Boris) and the Lazarov family's vengeful reach – The obsidian wolf is carved with Boris's initials and is left as a calling card. (Chapter Three)
15. B) Nazi-looted art and the unfinished business of the Museum's past – The painting was stolen by a Nazi industrialist and was never recovered; it drives much of the later plot. (Chapter Twenty-Two)
16. Necessary monsters – In the final chapter, the women toast to Constance Halliday and themselves as necessary monsters. (Chapter Thirty-Two)
17. B) Age as both a liability and a superpower for experienced assassins – The book emphasizes how the women use their age and disguises to become invisible. (Chapters Five, Ten)
18. Billie drowns Pasha quickly and professionally to complete the mission, but she is more brutal with Galina, pulling her from the train in a raw, personal fight because Galina is a direct, vengeful antagonist. – The method reflects Billie's calculated professionalism vs. emotional retaliation.
19. B) The women discover they are "killers to the bone" and that purpose comes from their skills and bond – Billie realizes she will be a killer until the day she dies, and retirement is impossible. (Chapter Twelve)
20. B) It primes readers to question the reliability of the narrative and enjoy the blend of fact and fiction – The Author's Note sets up a metafictional layer that encourages critical reading. (Chapter One)