Format: ebook
Source: purchased
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Date read: July 14, 2025
Retired Assassin's Guide
1. The Retired Assassin's Guide to Country Gardening - Paperback | Kindle
2. The Retired Assassin's Guide to Orchid Hunting
3. The Retired Assassin's Guide to Amateur Theatrics
Naomi Kuttner
| Amazon |
Synopsis (Goodreads):
Dante has come to the small coastal town of Te Kohe, New Zealand, for a fresh start in life. But he doesn't want to open a BnB, or save a charming bookshop, or start a romance with a single mother in need of rescuing.Thoughts on The Retired Assassin's Guide to Country Gardening: I fully expected to enjoy this book (which is, you know, why I picked it up to read it), but I absolutely didn't expect to be so delighted by a retired assassin being forced to (gasp) begrudgingly interact with individuals PLUS use his (now retired) skills to help an absolute ray of sunshine beat a murder charge. Honestly, Dante was just fun. You know, for a guy who used to engage in wetworks and all. Throw in the folks around town who might or might not have just as colorful pasts as him (maybe not AS colorful, but there are definite shades of gray in more than one of the people Dante interacts with) and I was all in from the start.
He just wants to forget about his past career (which involved a lot of dead bodies) and have everyone leave him the heck alone. Unfortunately for Dante, life has other plans...
So. Our erstwhile former assassin has chosen the small town of Te Kohe to enjoy his retirement in. Except, when a man has done what he did for a living, it's hard to let go. To find the rhythm of a non-assassin-y way of life. To not immediately assume anyone approaching him is a threat. But Dante is trying. He's going to his AA meetings (which are probably not what you think). He's learning the art of small-talk (he's not great at it, but he knows NOT small-talking makes him stand out and he really doesn't want that). He's trying his hand at gardening. Okay, he's leaving the actual gardening to Charlie, but he's REALLY good at making sure all the gardening implements are extremely sharp.
They he gets roped into helping one of the town bigwigs with security. And things go sort of downhill from there. Mostly because someone who is not Dante's client ends up deceased at the party Dante's running security on and he and his new sunshine gardener are the main suspects.
Dante knows he didn't do the deed and he's pretty sure Charlie didn't either. So when he's approached by a lady who is FAR more than she seems to help clear both his and Charlie's name, Dante grudgingly uses all his former skills to figure out who actually committed the crime. As an aside, it's a VERY BAD IDEA to catnap a former assassin's cat. Just saying.
A little subterfuge, a house that's been turned into a veritable fortress, a cat who chooses its person, ghosts, more ghosts, a gardener with a secret, a lady who is more than a match for anyone, and a retired assassin who's finding out it's hard to put the past behind you. Sort of. Let's just say that retiring and enjoying life is almost a full-time job in itself for Dante. *thumbs up*
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