Killers of a Certain Age

Billie and the other characters frequently weaponize conventionally feminine objects. Raybourn disguises the functions of these weapons until a crucial moment when their purpose is exposed to show how feminine objects are perceived to be harmless. For example, when Billie and Helen are still on the Amphitrite and are looking for intelligence, Billie notices Helen’s necklace. As they walk, Billie says, “she’d finished the outfit with a twist of rough-cut amber beads at her throat, they rattled slightly in the hushed stillness” (62), so Billie takes them from her. Raybourn has previously established that Helen is frail and grieving, so the reader might assume her accessorized outfit, which makes noise and therefore is not an aid to stealth, is a sign she has lost her professional edge.

Billie later turns the beads into a weapon, using them to strangle Fogerty, and Helen calmly informs her she had used them for the same purpose on a previous job, proving that Helen was aware of their tactical use. The scene underlines that both women understand their femininity as a secret asset in a world determined to underestimate them. Billie pays similar attention to her appearance as she dresses for the art auction at Tollemache’s: “I clipped half of [my hair] back with a simple silver barrette Natalie brought me” (306).