An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed

Helene Tursten

Oct 2021 · Soho Press

About this ebook

Don’t let her age fool you. Maud may be nearly ninety, but if you cross her, this elderly lady is more sinister than sweet. 

Just when things have finally cooled down for 88-year-old Maud after the disturbing discovery of a dead body in her apartment in Gothenburg, a couple of detectives return to her doorstep. Though Maud dodges their questions with the skill of an Olympic gymnast a fifth of her age, she wonders if suspicion has fallen on her, little old lady that she is. The truth is, ever since Maud was a girl, death has seemed to follow her.

In these six interlocking stories, memories of unfortunate incidents from Maud’s past keep bubbling to the surface. Meanwhile, certain Problems in the present require immediate attention. Luckily, Maud is no stranger to taking matters into her own hands . . . even if it means she has to get a little blood on them in the process.

*Includes cookie recipes*

Ratings and reviews

Well this was another fun trip with Maud. This time we join her on her trip to Africa with spurts of her reminiscing down murder lane 😂 I enjoyed the glimpses into her past exploits. I also loved the short story format for both this, and the first book. It just worked and flowed really well. Great little Duology and one I'd recommend. Find me on Instagram: @bookn.all.night

international-crime-and-mystery, murder, inconvenient-people, translated, teacher, octogenarians, family-dynamics, disguising, noir, short-stories**** Maud had a lot of limits placed on her life because she had to take care of her mentally damaged older sister. These darkly fun stories are from her reflections of past deeds from her perspective at 88 while flying to South Africa from Sweden. She masquerades as a frail and somewhat dotty old lady but is a lot sharper than the people around her and find creative (and deadly) ways to eliminate problems. I requested and received a free temporary ebook from Soho Press/Soho Crime via NetGalley. Thank you!

Maud is not one of those sweet little grannies that offers you milk and cookies. There are cookie recipes included ... but I'd think twice about trying them. Almost 90 years old, she's still spry, travels alone, lives alone, and has a penchant for using her age as a barrier to doing anything she doesn't want to do. Like .. talking to the detectives about a dead man found in her apartment who had been there for several days before being noticed. When questioned by them, she immediately acted confused, had forgotten where her hearing aids were (they were fake, by the way). She wonders if the detectives suspect she had something to do with the man's death. Death has always seemed to follow Maud, as the stories in this novella will show. There are 6 interlocking stories, her memories of her past, as well as something from the here and now that needs to be dealt with. Luckily, Maud is no stranger to taking matters into her own hands . . . even if it means she has to get a little blood on them in the process. I have to confess .. being a 'mature' woman, the tile of this novella drew me in like a moth to a flame. Who would have believed the things this elderly woman has done during her lifetime? The reader is taken along with her as she remembers the past ... the things she has done ... and what she still wants to accomplish. It's a compelling read. This is the 2nd in this series of 2 books ... Book 1 was AN ELDERLY LADE IS UP TO NO GOOD. I highly recommend reading in order. This was translated by Marlaine Delargy who did a terrific job. Many thanks to the author / Soho Press / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction novella. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

About the author

Helene Tursten was a nurse and a dentist before she turned to writing. She is the author of the Irene Huss series, including Detective Inspector Huss, Night Rounds, Who Watcheth, and Protected by the Shadows; the Embla Nyström series; and the short story collection An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good, which also features Maud. Her books have been translated into 25 languages and made into a television series. She was born in Gothenburg, Sweden, where she now lives with her husband.