The Retired Assassin's Guide to Country Gardening

Retired Assassin's Guide, Book 1

By: Naomi Kuttner

Narrated by: Thomas Barker

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 B&B, or save a charming bookshop, or start a romance with a single mother in need of rescuing.

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...

©2025 Naomi Kuttner (P)2025 Podium Audio

New Zealand Crime drama

Loved the narrator's articulation of Maori linguistics.... sounded smooth to this Gringo. Was it authentic... don't know, but narrators accent made everything more cool.
Ty author, it was entertaining... trying to bring together Hitman, jewel thief, "I see dead people" crime boss in a small New Zealand town was ambitious... The Big Tongan in slippers, brought back memories of me calling them Samoen... lucky I was fast runner

Unique characters, great story & narration.

Loved the book but it did keep me up a few night when I kept listening. Quirky and fun take on the comical mystery and unexpected subplots. The narrator was talented but not over the top. I did not like that it ended and there wasn’t another book in the series or by the author. :)

Fantastic Performance

The story was cozy, quirky, and held my attention through every page. I rarely find a narrator that actually performs. Such a wonderful listen!

Should be on the list of all-time mystery greats

This well-written book is on my list of all-time cozy mystery greats- up there with Richard Osman, Sarah Caudwell, Janice Hallett, etc. The performance is exceptional.
Do not be afraid that you will hear gratuitous violence.
I cannot wait for the next book in the series.

fun listen

the premise is original and brilliantly written and performed. I am sad the next in the series isn't available in the states... but I'll hope this will change:)