The Old Woman with the Knife

A Novel

By: Gu Byeong-mo, Chi-Young Kim - translator

Narrated by: Nancy Wu

*A New York Times Editors' Choice* Pick
*A Most Anticipated Read in LitHub, CrimeReads, Thrillist, and Popsugar*

The kinetic story of a sixty-five-year-old female assassin who faces an unexpected threat in the twilight of her career—this is an international bestseller and the English language debut from an award-winning South Korean author

At sixty-five, Hornclaw is beginning to slow down. She lives modestly in a small apartment, with only her aging dog, a rescue named Deadweight, to keep her company. There are expectations for people her age—that she'll retire and live out the rest of her days quietly. But Hornclaw is not like other people. She is an assassin.

Double-crossers, corporate enemies, cheating spouses—for the past four decades, Hornclaw has killed them all with ruthless efficiency, and the less she's known about her targets, the better. But now, nearing the end of her career, she has just slipped up. An injury leads her to an unexpected connection with a doctor and his family. But emotions, for an assassin, are a dangerous proposition. As Hornclaw's world closes in, this final chapter in her career may also mark her own bloody end.

A sensation in South Korea, and now translated into English for the first time by Chi-Young Kim, The Old Woman with the Knife is an electrifying, singular, mordantly funny novel about the expectations imposed on aging bodies and the dramatic ways in which one woman chooses to reclaim her agency.

©2022 Gu Byeong-mo (P)2022 Harlequin Enterprises, Limited

Definitely an unusual tale

Very difficult to summarize the story as there are multiple versions going on at the same time.

Stange!

What an unusual book. It was difficult to know in what direction the story was heading. Read this book if you enjoy murder for hire. The story was intriguing enough to see me through to the end. Nancy Wu is a wonderful narrator.

Interesting multi-facted character!

The story centers around an old lady (Hornclaw) who has grown in life down one career path that controls one's life. Having crossed the path of a younger person (Bullfighter) only for him to join Hornclaw in their like careers of assassinations for pay, Bullfighter wants revenge for the earlier meeting. Hornclaw is ready to come to a close with her career, maybe even her life. But it is Bullfighter whose career/life is ended. The story does a great job in showing the emotions that we travel through as we travel through life and how many things contribute to that. Even so, we don't always call the shots or easily change our course. An excellent read.

65 yr old female assassin, what's not to enjoy

Well, you don't expect stories about 65 yr old female assassins. This was enjoyable and pointed out what it is like getting older. She even has a dog, Deadweight by name. At some point I will be a 65 yr old female with a dog as a computer person. My life is not as intense. I kind of want to have another story with her.

What happened?

The story is gripping as you follow the main characters through their work and hostilities. Sometimes it was difficult to tell where the anger came from. There is a stream of consciousness that often goes nowhere. The ageism and overall dark world does doesn’t find any light.

Unique and entertaining.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The main character is odd and her ruminations about aging are accurate. It’s a quick, lighthearted story that sucked me right in.

Interesting premise

Unusual world presented but confusing and a bit drawn out. Main character is interesting. Overall only fair.

Quirky novelty

An elderly hit lady? Great premise and pretty good execution, too. Interesting to read about assassin's work in a country that isn't centered on guns. Not a page turner, but enough here to make me think.

Glad I listened at 1.75 speed

This has predictable plot except for the dog's death. I didnt see that coming.

A fun riff on "Grosse Pointe Blank"

If you're familiar with the movie "Grosse Pointe Blank," you'll recognize this story. The book is a refreshing twist on your run-of-the-mill action and adventure stories. I really enjoyed the main character and hope there are more stories such as this coming our way from this author. The writing was efficient with backstory, avoiding long, stationary descriptions that can stall a good story. The translation was a little weird in the dialogue. While the story's third-person narration came through naturally, when the characters spoke to one another it was a little off, amusingly so. For example, two contract killers face off threatening to kill each other One asks, "What are your goals here?" I think an interpretation would have worked much better than a strict translation in the dialogue. But that's a minor criticism of a story I thoroughly enjoyed.