The Old Woman with the Knife
A Novel
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4.1 • 67 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
*A New York Times Book Review Notable Book*
*An NPR Best Book of the Year*
*An NPR Book We Love*
*A New York Times Editors' Choice Pick*
*A Most Anticipated Read in LitHub, CrimeReads, Thrillist, and Popsugar*
*A Boston Globe Thriller to Read on Your Summer Vacation*
*A Crime Reads Best International Crime Fiction for 2022*
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.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Gu Byeong-mo, a best-selling sensation in South Korea, introduces us to a unique hero in her thrilling English-language debut. Sixtysomething Hornclaw may seem like an unassuming elder matron, living out her twilight years with her rescue dog, Deadweight. In reality, she’s a self-proclaimed “disease control specialist”—a killer for hire. For years, she’s worked with coldblooded efficiency, but a chance encounter with an idealistic young doctor has her dealing with unexpected new emotions, putting her in danger. The book’s crisp action, dark humor, and oddly likable antiheroine had us totally enthralled. The Old Woman with the Knife isn’t just a fun mystery—it may also leave you thinking differently about how society treats the elderly.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
At the start of Korean author Byeong-Mo's English-language debut, a gripping and often unpredictable suspense novel, a 65-year-old woman on a crowded Seoul subway train observes a male jerk, upset at having to stand, berate a seated young woman, even after she says that her pregnancy merits a seat. When he disembarks, the older woman follows and fatally stabs him with a knife coated with poison. It turns out this woman, code-named Hornclaw, works for a company offering "disease control specialists," who commit murder for paying clients. Hornclaw's continuing employment is threatened by younger rivals within her company, her declining physical abilities, and a fear that she's now someone else's target. A subtle character portrait is matched by striking prose (Hornclaw "sometimes wonders what difference it makes to take away ten or forty-five years from a life, when the essence of life is continuous loss and abrasion that leaves behind only traces of what used to be, like streaks of chalk on a chalkboard"). Crime fiction readers looking for something a bit different will relish this one.
Customer Reviews
The Woman With The Knife
Wow, it’s a mesmerizing read, quite an unexpected treat. I’ll try this author’s other works. The translation is flawless. Terrifying events with humor on the side.