The Old Woman With The Knife

Gu Byeong-Mo Canongate £14.99

Combining kick-ass fight scenes with trenchant social commentary on the economic fate of South Korea’s elderly, Gu Byeong-Mo’s novel paints a surprisingly tender portrait of the violent life of Hornclaw, a 65-year-old assassin and self-styled ‘disease-control specialist’.

Lonely and increasingly fragile, she’s looking forward to a leisurely retirement.

But then along come new desires, an unexpected connection and a younger colleague’s bitter animosity to threaten her hard-won equilibrium.