Ah, murder mysteries are not my jam, but this one was adorable. Seriously, did anyone else read this teeny, tiny hardback (so cute!)? I did appreciate that the stories were from the point of view of the murderess. It's not bad, it's just not my cup of tea. It most definitely lends itself to being a single-sitting read.

The premise of the book is great and the author really delivers. Great read. Highly recommended. .

Who doesnt love old people?!
This book was clever in creating an original plot line about a couple of geezers who live in a retirement home. Although they are treat bnb like children, they are wiser than those tsking care of them. When they realize prisoners have it better...they hatch a plan.

Full of humor, likable characters, and a thrilling ride, this book is a great read!

Odd little book. Very quick read. Really more a collection of short stories the fit together into a whole. An interesting character this Elderly Lady. Very surprising! A great escape when you haven't much time.

A collection of short stories, cautionary tales about underestimating elderly women, who are generally invisible in our society. It is as if Ms. Marple, with all her faculties and dissembling charm, had a lethal streak. An entertaining read.

Mystery (Short Stories)
Adult
Well, here’s a surprising turn of events. If you are looking for a cosy mystery featuring a sharp-eyed nosy widow who solves the murder, this ain’t it. Eighty-eight-year-old Maud lives rent-free in Gothenburg, Sweden, in a highly coveted apartment, thanks to a decades-old agreement. With no family or friends, she surfs the Internet on a stolen laptop, travels the world drawing on a healthy savings account, and solves pesky problems with deadly precision. In this collection of five stories, Maud gets away with murder, thanks to a deadly combination of misanthropy, a mighty level of self-interest, a sharp intellect, and a ruthless willingness to use people’s assumptions about old ladies any time it suits her.
Wonderfully translated by Marlaine Delargy, the wickedly dark stories keep readers engaged and awed. Maud has only a couple of ways of dealing with her problems, to be sure, but heck – she’s 88 in a country where gun ownership is low. You work with what you’ve got. Besides, how could anyone resist a cross-stitch cover featuring skulls and crossbones as well as hearts? Delightful and inventive, I hope we’ll see more of this Maud in future books. And with luck, Netflix will pick up the Swedish TV series that’s under production! My thanks to Soho Crime for the digital reading copy provided through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
More discussion and reviews of this short story collection: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40104741

This book was great fun! A collection of short stories about Maud, an 88 year old Swedish woman who is determined to enjoy her old age, even if she has to murder a few people to do so. She's a great character, sharp as a whip, very ready to play the feeble old lady if she needs to, and not going to put up with anyone's shit. I found her quite likable, though I wouldn't want to be her neighbor. A darkly humorous quick read.


I did post my review on bn.com, but it wasn't showing yet at the time I submitted this review.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have read a couple of Helene Tursten's books, and I do like them (big police procedural fan; and Irene Huss does make an appearance here!). But Maud, the feisty protagonist of this collection of short stories, is something special. You could think of her as a sort of octogenarian, female, Swedish Dexter, minus the full-on bloodlust. Maud seems frail and innocent from the outside, but when she is threatened, her right to her rent-controlled domicile is questioned, or, well, she is slightly inconvenienced by a drunken boor in her building, she springs into action.

Of course, Maud is *not* your typical frail little old lady, and she's wicked smart to boot. She doesn't have an outright desire to kill, but people who enter her sphere do tend to get what they deserve. This was a deliciously evil, fun little read. Since it's chopped into little vignettes, it's easy to read (I read it on a short road trip). Recommended for those who might like to see the flip side of Miss Marple.

This book was one of those ones that comes along right when you need it. I was scouting through my shelves looking for a light hearted, cosy mystery, nicely bloodless (or nearly) crime and couldn’t find one, hopped onto Netgalley and there was this little treat. And just look at the gorgeous cover! Yay! In the best traditions of these things there is quirky elderly lady and as it goes with these, she is inherently not at all as she seems!

Maude is to all outward appearances a typically meek, pleasant and frail elderly woman. This belies a gritty determination to get her own way at whatever cost. She will take you can strike you down if you look at her the wrong way. She is a murderous and scheming, not to be tampered with woman, but you’d never know it just to look at her. Maude will let no stone go unturned in her mission to ‘get you gone’ if you irritate her. Don’t be messing with her! She has lived in her apartment all her life, she will not be moved, any attempt to make her do so will result in your demise. And she’ll be creative about it!

This has a very Scandinavian sense of humour about it and I really enjoyed it. It is short, nasty and compellingly readable.

I had SO MUCH FUN reading An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good​. There's nothing more fun than watching a sassy senior citizen dole out her version of justice in her apartment building. My favorite part was when she was at the grocery store and got back at a rather bold, unpleasant young man who commented - rather unkindly - on old age. Also, the stories were set up in a logical manner, which I appreciated. Everything was connected, so I learned more about Maud as I read. I liked that each section could be read on its own or like a chapter. Usually, I don't have the patience for collections of short stories, but An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good was done perfectly. I look forward to reading more books by Tursten.

I loved this title and recommended it as the perfect stocking stuffer for women. Each short tale was an enjoyable read and sheds a preferable light on the 'helpless little old lady'

Dark dark humour. The anti-Marple is in the house, better be on best behaviour! Short stories about an elderly lady who uses a walker...

Maud is an 88-year-old woman who has lived on her own for a long while and appreciates her calm, quiet life in her large apartment. If something threatens her lifestyle, she is quick to remove it, even if it means murder. These short stories explain her encounters and reasoning and are full of dark humor. A fun little book.

This was an entertaining change of pace. I loved the character of Maud and how sharp and devious she was .I would have enjoyed reading more stories about her.

I really enjoyed this book. I had it downloaded for Kindle and the format didn't quite work for it but that mainly affected the chapter/story headings more than the main text.

This collection of short stories follow an elderly lady who may come across as a bit senile and fragile, however, she is anything but! Getting up to all sorts of mischief and murder, she knocks off a variety of people who try to hoodwink her or who she morally disagrees with. There is a very dark humour in this writing but it's done well and I did find myself laughing along. Although the old lady in it is technically a serial killer you can justify why she kills those she does! I would definitely recommend and it's a really quick read. I finished it on a train journey so it shouldn't take you more than an hour and a half or so. It's a good read if you want something that is light and easy to make your way through and you don't have to think too hard about it!

I give this short story collection 3.5 starts.
They’re about an old lady everyone sees as sweet and declining mentally and physically, but really, she’s not at all.
The few first stories were definitely 5 stars for me. I loved reading them. They are dark, hilarious and well written. The last few I felt weren’t as strongly written, but I still enjoyed reading them. The style of writing brings you right into it with its bluntness.
I would recommend this for a fun time. You’ll get some good laughs out of it and like the dark humor. Plus, it’s a fast read so it’s not a huge commitment.

AN ELDERLY LADY IS UP TO NO GOOD is a playful romp through 88-year-old Maud’s life. She loves travelling the world, treating herself to nightly drinks, cheese sandwiches, and murdering younger people who disturb her in various ways.

The first story in this short collection is fantastic. It blends humor and Maud’s darker intent in a way that’s fresh and unexpected. I love that Helene Tursten makes a concerted effort to give Maud a deeper backstory, while still keeping the atmosphere light and cozy. Maud’s motives are clearly elucidated, the narration is spot-on, and the narrative is neat and cohesive. It drew me completely in.

The stories after that, however, vary a bit for my personal taste. This is one of those situations — and I felt something similar with Alice Munro’s HATESHIP, FRIENDSHIP, COURTSHIP, LOVESHIP, MARRIAGE — where these stories are delightful and fun one at a time, but, as a collection, begin to become a little bit repetitive/redundant. I got Maud’s character and I got the character’s who incite violence in her. By the third story, I felt they were all becoming a little bit one note. Reading it straight through, I didn’t feel like I’d gained any perspective or noticed any nuanced development in character, and I also felt like it introduced a question regarding the logistics of Maud’s world that I wouldn’t have had if I had read each story individually. Is this a linear portrayal of all of her murders, or are we to read them in a vacuum as if the previous ones didn’t occur? I’m not sure the narrative answers this — and for some, it might not have to. But I did become distracted by it as I read on, though not distracted enough to want to put the book down. I’d just recommend reading this collection slowly, possibly during breaks from a longer, drier read.

Overall, however, I think Tursten is an undeniably skilled writer who can create and sustain an playfully dark atmosphere reminiscent of a Fredrik Backman’s A MAN CALLED OVE (which I’m always drawing comparisons to) and Patrick DeWitt’s FRENCH EXIT. Despite my little quibbles, I really did enjoy the stories and would definitely pick up Tursten’s other work.

Tursten's short stories center around murders committed by a (seemingly) innocuous old woman. Full of black humor, wry wit, and a keen eye for detail, the stories are still best when read in small doses, or else the smaller details start to feel repetitive. Good fun, especially for fans of petty revenge.

What a dark delight this collection of short stories was. Squint, and there's a warped, but inspirational message of never being too old to accomplish anything. Granted, Maud is a ruthless serial killer in this instance, but I couldn't help but cheer her on, the victims were rather ghastly.

I liked that the author did change the protagonist and formula a little in the later stories, definitely kept things fresh. The book itself is also a very quick read so Maud's adventures, so to speak, don't overstay their welcome.

Very fun and twisted read.

This was an ARC in exchange for an honest review. With kind thanks to Netgalley and Soho Press.

Fun series of short adventures of an 89 year old murderer.
And she never gets caught!
I really enjoyed this romp.