Cathy C. (cathyskye) - , reviewed on 4/24/2022 + 2348 more book reviews

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.

(Review copy courtesy of the publisher and Net Galley)

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