title: An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Goodauthor: Helene Tursten
series: Elderly Lady #1
published: 11.6.2018
publisher: Soho Crime
genre(s): cozy mystery, thrillers
pages: 171
source: library
format: eBook
buy/shelve it: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | BookBub | BookHype | StoryGraph | Goodreads
rating:
| series rating: the blurb
Ever since her darling father's untimely death when she was only eighteen, Maud has lived in the family's spacious apartment in downtown Gothenburg rent-free, thanks to a minor clause in a hastily negotiated contract. That was how Maud learned that good things can come from tragedy. Now in her late eighties, Maud contents herself with traveling the world and surfing the net from the comfort of her father's ancient armchair. It's a solitary existence, but she likes it that way.
Over the course of her adventures--or misadventures---this little, bold lady will handle a crisis with a local celebrity who has her eyes on Maud's apartment, foil the engagement of her long-ago lover, and dispose of some pesky neighbors. But when the local authorities are called to investigate a murder in her apartment complex, will Maud be able to avoid suspicion, or will Detective Inspector Irene Huss see through her charade?
a few notes
trigger warning: ❗violence❗
POV: 3rd person; multi
setting: Sweden
keywords/phrases: murder, aging
tropes: unlikable victim, villain protagonist
spice: 0🔥
language: 0🤬
read this if… you love quirky cozies with unlikely villains.
my review
Note: This is the first of a duology of short stories, some of which contain the character of Irene Huss, who is the central figure in one of the author’s series.
Maud is your typical little old lady… or is she? She’s lived a solitary life with just her family and few, if any, friends. Now her family is gone, and she’s finally free to live her life as she wants, no longer bound to caring for her sister. She is pushing 90, but she’s as spry as a woman half her age. And it this point in her life, she feels that she’s earned the right to live her life as she wants, and no one should interfere with that.
The stories in this book are so entertaining. Combined with the uniquely Scandinavian style of writing, the tongue-in-cheek bluntness and pragmaticism of Maud is often hilarious. She is unflinching when it comes time to solving problems, not batting an eye in situations that would take out other, far younger, people. It’s hard not to cheer for her when she goes about her business!
About Helene Tursten
Helene Tursten (born in Gothenburg in 1954) is a Swedish writer of crime fiction. The main character in her stories is Detective Inspector Irene Huss. Before becoming an author, Tursten worked as a nurse and then a dentist, but was forced to leave due to illness. During her illness she worked as a translator of medical articles.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2025 Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge: Author Edition
- 2025 Craving for Cozies Library Card Reading Challenge
- 2025 Craving For Cozies Reading Challenge
- 2025 Monthly Motif Reading Challenge
- 2025 PopSugar Reading Challenge
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