Too Old for This

Samantha Downing is back and she’s created possibly her most deviously cunning antihero yet! Meet Lottie Jones, aka Lorena Mae Lansdale. Don’t let this septuagenarian fool you. Her mind and body may not be quite as sharp now, but she knows her way around plenty of other sharp and deadly things … after she’s served you some tea and cookies, of course. 

Back in the day, Lorena had a nasty habit of … well … killing people. Let’s just say she didn’t take kindly to those who treated her or her son Archie badly! Fortunately for her, she knew how to cover her tracks and is now living in a huge house paid for by the city of Spokane for her “wrongful” arrest. 

Now retired from those ways and living in Baycliff, Oregon as Lottie Jones, her main excitement is playing bingo at church with her friends Sheila and Bonnie and figuring out what potluck dish to bring that won’t offend persnickety event coordinator Glenda! 

That’s about to change when young, enthusiastic Plum Dixon comes knocking on Lottie’s door offering to feature her story in a new docuseries about those wrongfully accused of crimes. 

Oops. Wrong move, Plum. 

The snowball effect from here is quite spectacular, and watching Lottie handle the fallout is an impressive feat to behold, to say the least! If you have a weak stomach, you may want to skip a few parts.

Serial killer stories are a dime a dozen lately, but what I really loved about this book is that it showcased Downing’s trademark black humor with an MC who did truly heinous things but was also witty, likeable and smart - something she achieved previously with her character Teddy Crutcher in For Your Own Good. You want to root for her, despite knowing how wrong what she’s doing is!

Downing also brought attention to the very real plight of aging, where society isn’t always kind or accommodating to those already dealing with physical, mental and financial stresses. You see that Lottie isn’t on her ‘A’ game anymore and that the world is moving on, so there’s a sympathetic response. Watching her struggle with all the advances in technology … I felt that to my core!

This was engaging, fun, dark, macabre, ridiculous at times - but in the best way - and, for me at least, was a return to form for Downing after not loving her last book A Twisted Love Story quite as much. You’ll have to suspend disbelief and just roll with this one.  My only minor criticism: at 400 pages, a couple parts dragged a little or felt repetitive, but it didn’t affect my enjoyment. One thing is for sure: I’ll think twice before I knock on anyone’s door again!  

★★★★ ½ 

 

Thanks to Berkley Publishing, NetGalley and author Samantha Downing for this digital ARC to honestly review. It’s out on August 12, 2025.