This was such a clever, darkly funny read! Lottie Jones has been living a quiet life for years; bingo nights, small-town gossip, nothing too wild. But when a nosy journalist starts digging into her past and unsolved crimes, Lottie has to protect the life (and secrets) she’s built. Watching her navigate murder in her golden years is both hilarious and suspenseful. A quirky, twisty mystery that had me hooked from start to finish!

Okay so…I didn’t expect to be cheering on a retired serial killer in her 70’s but here we are. 😂 Lottie is sarcastic, smart, unbothered, and somehow managed to be a little too relatable for someone with a very bloody past.

This story had slow burn suspense that felt like the kind of mystery that isn’t trying too hard to be twisty, it just lets the characters shine (even when they’re morally questionable at best). Lottie’s POV had me hooked the whole time, and even when I knew I shouldn’t be rooting for her, I couldn’t help it.

I will say it ran a tad long for me, but overall this was a super entertaining read that I personally have never read anything like it and so I’d recommend adding to your list!

Big thanks to NetGalley, Berkley Publishing Group and Samantha Downing for the e-ARC!!

⭐️ 5/5
POV: First person, single narrative
Timeline: Linear
FMC: Lottie Jones

I LOVED this book. Lottie Jones is 75, retired, and mostly content to keep to herself… but she also used to be a serial killer. And then one day a nosy, young journalist starts sniffing around her past and Lottie definitely can’t have that.

This story is fast, darkly funny, and just the right amount of unhinged. Told in Lottie’s razor-sharp voice, it’s all short, snappy chapters with dark humor and perfectly placed twists. I laughed. I gasped. I texted a friend “you HAVE to read this” before I was even halfway through.

Lottie is super sarcastic, calculating, and kind of delightful in her moral ambiguity. She makes cookies and covers up murders with the same level of calm precision. It’s part Dexter, part Golden Girls, and part “don’t mess with Nana.” It’s darkly funny; think dry sarcasm, ironic observations, and ruthless deadpan from a 75-year-old woman who’s not even a little sorry for being a serial killer. Her killer instinct is paired with everyday grandma behavior. The situational irony is constant. Like when she gets offered help crossing the street… hours after she’s been hauling a body in a tarp. Or when someone underestimates her because of her age and she smiles sweetly, while planning their demise.

What really hit me was how the book plays with the idea of aging and invisibility. Lottie isn’t trying to prove herself. She already knows she’s smarter than everyone in the room. She’s not hiding because she’s weak. She’s hiding because she can. And that confidence is iconic and impressive.

Thank you Berkley Publishing Group for providing me a copy of this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

Lottie Jones has spent decades hiding in plain sight. Quiet nights, church bingo, and neighborhood gossip keeping her dark past firmly buried. Once a notorious serial killer, she’s reinvented herself as just another sweet old lady in a sleepy town. But when a persistent journalist shows up asking questions that hit too close to home, Lottie realizes her secrets aren’t as safe as she thought. Now, with her past threatening to catch up to her, Lottie’s left with only one option: do what she’s always done best. But murder’s a young woman’s game and this time she’s might just be ‘Too Old’ to keep it all together.

This might be a me problem. Maybe I’ve read too many serial killer thrillers and horror stories to be truly shocked by anything anymore. Maybe I’m just tired. But while I liked this book, I didn’t love it the way I wanted to.

Let me be clear: I liked the story. I liked Lottie. In fact, I loved Lottie. She’s a snarky, take-no-prisoners force of nature, and her voice is what carried this book for me. I love old people behaving badly, it’s literally my favorite. More of that, please. I’d honestly be thrilled to see her in another book or series.

The premise was fun, the pacing was solid, and the writing had that signature Samantha Downing bite. But something was just missing for me. I never felt fully immersed. I wasn’t consumed or left speechless, and for me, that keeps it in the 3.5 to 4-star zone rather than a full 5.

Would I recommend it? Absolutely. It’s clever, different, and has a memorable lead. Was it interesting? Yep. Did it blow me away? Not quite.
This was my first Samantha Downing book and I’ll be sure to check out more!

Too Old For This comes out August 12, 2025. Huge thank you to Berkley for my copy in exchange for my honest opinion. If you liked this review please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my Instagram @speakingof.books.
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Website: SPEAKINGOF.ORG

Lottie James thought her violent ways were behind her now that she’d elderly and her days focus of bingo and church. Until someone uncovers her past identity.

There’s a lot of serial killer stories out there but not many with a geriatric killer! This one was very unique because as she’s killing, she’s dealing with arthritis. I imagine the fact that we, as women, become invisible as we age would be extremely helpful to a serial killer! This one was such an easy read. The pages just flew by and it was one drama after another!

“Life lessons aside, traveling down memory lane is not always pleasant. It usually leads back to regret, and the bodies I left behind are the biggest.”

Too Old for This comes out 8/12.

3.75 stars

Meet Lottie Jones, a 70+ retired woman who has a bad hip and plays church bingo. What you soon find out about Lottie is that she has a nasty habit of bumping off people who get on her bad side. She was arrested years ago in Sp0kane but they weren't able to make the charges stick. A nice settlement from the city enabled her to moved to Oregon and buy a house after she and her young son changed their names. Nobody in the new town knows her story.

Until one day when a young journalist knocks on her door, wanting to do a docuseries on her case. Of course, Lottie can't allow that to happen. She has a lot of experience in the serial killer arena and she needs it as the situation escalates. She has to deal with local cops, the young journalist's mother and boyfriend, and even the original cop from Spokane.

Lottie is tired at her age. She is also checking out retirement homes and trying to bond with her soon to be new daughter in law. A darkly comic and entertaining read. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Umbrellas and crowbars and hammers… oh my!! These are just a few tools of the trade for this walker thumpin’, cane wielding, church-going, Grandma.

This was a tense, humorous and highly entertaining look at the past and the present of a very bad lady as she approaches retirement and the end of her gruesome and criminal activities. 

I’m surprised at all the chuckles that I had while reading about Lottie's life moments and thoroughly enjoyed Ms. Downing's ability to play with my own sense of right and wrong. That final knock on Lottie's door left me wanting, and hoping, for more.
🔨 📖 🔨

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing me the opportunity to read the advanced e-copy of; Too Old for This by Samantha Downing.

𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬:
Downing nailed it with this one🙌🏻 Dare I say this may be my new favorite of hers?! YUP! This book is about Lottie, a 75 year old retired serial killer, who buried her past long ago when she changed her identity and moved far away. Unfortunately for Lottie, her past comes back to haunt her. A journalist shows up at her door after doing some sleuthing to interview her for a docuseries she is making. Then that journalist disappears and people begin to look for her. Lottie slowly begins to unravel and her old murderous ways catch up to her.
I absolutely loved Lottie’s character-my new favorite psychopath! This is a twisty book yet Downing sprinkles a bit of humor throughout through Lottie’s character, and I found myself chuckling a few times🤭 This totally gave me Dexter vibes and I loved every minute of it!


𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗜𝗳 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗘𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆:
✦The show DEXTER
✦Books about serial killers
✦A twisty thriller sprinkled with a bit of witty humor
✦A book that you won’t be able to put down

𝐌𝐲 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️5/5

If you couldn't tell from the ominous image on the front, this book is about an elderly serial killer. She went into retirement for a bit but can't help but rekindle her hobby of the past...and it had me glued to the pages and feeling some complicated emotions.

I have a soft sport for the elderly population, so I found myself sympathizing with Lottie, the geriatric murderess. I had to shake myself and be like noooo she's baaad! And truly, Lottie was a psycho, and needed to be stopped but also I didn't want her to be caught before Bingo night, so I started feeling really conflicted. 😅

That's the thing though, having a seemingly normal elderly woman be the villain was disorienting. Lottie just wants to perfect a new recipe for her church friends and send her grandson a nice birthday gift before properly disposing of a body! 🫣

Essentially, Too Old For This was well written gruesome bit of insanity and I was hanging on every word. It's where I wish Stephen King's Holly novel would have gone. It's fascinating and totally terrifying to think of a cold blooded killer with a walker and orthopedic shoes. You would just never expect it.

Thank you so much to @AceBooksPub for the free book 💖✨#BerkleyPartner #Berkley.

If you’re in the mood for a fun popcorn thriller, Too Old for This is the perfect fit 🤝.

I loved the concept for this book and Lottie Jones as the FMC. The fact that she was a retired serial k!ller reluctantly pulled back into the game was so original and pure genius.

She was the epitome of a morally gray character and made several questionable decisions but I couldn’t help but root for her anyway.

My only real criticism was that the plot felt a bit too predictable and repetitive at times.

Too Old for This was the book I needed when I read it as it had me cackling and cringing reading it poolside.

Lottie Jones has an unexpected visitor, someone wishing to revisit her past. She can't have that happen, she's a retired serial killer. Taking matters into her own hands, she soon realizes she's too old for this crime life...especially when one accident turns into another and people start to question who the real Lottie Jones truly is.

I could not stop laughing at Downing's wit and humor as readers got to know and question who Lottie truly was. While some parts were predictable, that was okay because I just wanted to see what she would do when that situation occurred. Did I want a more satisfying, jaw dropping ending? Perhaps, but now thinking back on it- I think Lottie ended up exactly where she needed to be. Just a fair warning, maybe don't read or listen while eating.

OKAY! SAMANTHA DOWNING DID NOT COME TO PLAY—AND SHE DID NOT DISAPPOINT!

I had an absolute blast with this book. Lottie Jones? Pure, calculating brilliance. Every move she made, every inner monologue, had me hooked. I was fully invested, and yes... I was rooting for her. (Judge me if you want, but you will too.)

The writing was sharp, with a nice, suspenseful vibe.

Lottie’s trying to live her best retired life in Baycliff, Oregon—retired from her past life, playing bingo with church ladies, sipping tea, minding her business…

Then boom, enter Plum Dixon.

A young, eager filmmaker is ready to tell the story of the "wrongfully accused."

Plum, sweetie... that was a terrible idea.

Moral of the story? Don’t dig too deep, even with the elderly.

Thank you to Berkley for the gifted ARC, provided through NetGalley.

Thanks to Net Galley and Berkley Publishing Group for this ARC! Decades ago, a woman was accused of murder. She relocated and the story takes place in present day. A woman wants to make a docuseries of her being wrongly accused. This is where the real story unfolds. I was really into the plot for the first 50% of the book. Around 60% is where I thought the story was going to take a turn and become suspenseful. However, it didn't and I was disappointed. I didn't feel there was any suspense or twist in the story. It was set up so that the same thing continued to happen and felt repetitive. I think this would be a good first book to read if you're just starting thrillers. This is my first book from this author and I thought it was average.

Lottie, now 75, appears to be a frail old lady on the outside but is really a serial killer. While she’s been retired, someone wants to make a documentary about her which could jeopardize the new life she has created, and so the killing spree begins again. If you love serial killer thrillers, then this is a must for you. I loved Lottie’s inner monologue and her sly and witty character. Even though there are no jaw dropping twists, the story is fast paced, suspenseful and engaging.

Read if you like:
-Serial killer stories
-Dark humor
-Cat and mouse
-Elderly female main characters

Samantha Downing never misses.

This was my fourth book by this author. I think it may be her best. Five stars for the story of a 75-year-old serial killer that I didn’t know that I needed!

Lottie Jones is retired. To be more specific, she is a retired serial killer. Many decades earlier, she was the prime suspect in multiple murders. Lottie fought the charges, changed her name, and moved to a new city. She was living a quiet life. Then one day, a young woman planning a docuseries on people who have been wrongly accused of crimes shows up at her door. She has questions about Lottie. This sets off a snowball chain of events. Lottie starts to rethink her retirement. The twists and turns come often and fast in this one!

This book is fun. While it is definitely a thriller/mystery, it does not shy away from the violence and gore that comes with this subject. You will be shocked and stunned. You also can’t help but root for Lottie.

What was surprising was the focus on how women are treated - especially as we age - and the topic of how we want to age and spend the rest of our days. This book really gives the reader a lot to think about.

I read this book in one day - you will not be able to put it down! I had to know how it ended. And the ending? Wow. It will leave you speechless. A lot of this book will - that’s a compliment.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for the opportunity to read this phenomenal book! Samantha Downing is an auto buy author for me. If you haven’t read her books yet, start today. Her books are unique and twisty in all of the best ways. This book is out on August 12th. Preorder it today!

Lottie Jones is a retired seriel killer. After having been acquitted decades before, Lottie changed her name, moved and has lived a quiet suburban life. That is until a reporter comes snooping around asking questions about her past. In order to preserve her quiet life, she sees no other option than to commit ONE LAST murder...

...but one more turns to two, and as her peaceful life begins to unravel as more and more people begin questioning what happened to the reporter, Lottie fears her past may be catching up to her. She definitely feels like she's too old for this nonsense anymore. But will she be able to return to her prior life or will her past come to haunt her?

This was a bingeable audiobook. It was humorous, which I didn't expect.

After having the <i>best</i> time reading Downing's [book:For Your Own Good|52379865], I was kicking-my-feet giddy when I received a NetGalley ARC of this one.

This story focuses on Lottie, a sweet little old seventy-five year old who happens to be a retired serial killer. She also happens to not be all that sweet, but we'll get to that. After a close call of getting caught and years of murdering people - usually with a big whack over the head - Lottie has retired from both her day job and her murderous side job. She is enjoying the retired life - drinking tea, spending time in her giant old house, eating store bought cookies that usually aren't all that great, going to church and church functions, chatting with church friends, and occasionally thinking of her grandkids, her son, and both her son's ex-wife and his newer model soon-to-be wife.

<i>Like so many other things, murder began to feel like a chore instead of a joy.</i>

Things are going splendidly until Plum shows up unannounced at her door. This young woman wants to do a docuseries on Lottie, one that investigates the wrongly accused. Because obviously it's horrible how Lottie was so <i>wrongly</i> accused of murdering those poor people all those years ago. Lottie, however, isn't looking for redemption. She wants to leave the past in the past and tells this to Plum. But Plum says she is going to make this docuseries with or without Lottie's interview.

Uh oh, Plum. Wrong thing to say.

And so ends Lottie's retirement.
And so starts a lot of problems that need to be . . . taken care of.

This is quite similar to [book:For Your Own Good|52379865] in several ways. Our main character is rotten. We know everything they are doing/thinking, so there's no big whodunnit mystery to solve. The tone is a little tongue-in-cheek. They get away with an absurd amount of things, and you will need to suspend all your belief in the world and just go with it. It's fast-paced, highly readable with short chapters, and almost impossible to put down. All things I loved.

But . . . I had a few gripes. First, this felt a little <i>too</i> similar to the other book I read. These are different settings, different characters, and different stories, but most of the devices were VERY similar. Because of this, I started to get a little bored. If this was someone's first adventure with this author, I could see it being a LOT more interesting.

This also didn't really have any "twists" or jaw-dropping moments, so it started to feel dependent on our main character really wowing me with her personality and actions. Unfortunately, she never really does. Her actions are despicable, but I don't ever really feel one way or another. She doesn't make me angry nor does she make me cheer in her favor. My biggest issue with Lottie is that she is meant to be seventy-five years old, but her "voice" never sounds that way. If I wasn't told she was this age and had to go off of her thoughts and dialogue alone, I would never place her at a geriatric age. Name dropping retirement homes, bingo, and various aches and pains is not enough to make me believe this. I need to hear it in the voice. [author:Richard Osman|6173710] is an example of an author who does this really well.

There are other little things that irked me like Lottie being able to open cellphones using facial recognition even when the person was unconscious or dead (I <i>guess</i> there could be a phone out there that will do this?) or dialogue that is just completely unrealistic (the young man at a call center and the young woman on a hike for example). I also wasn't convinced about Lottie's murder motives. Most of the time, the reason Lottie kills is because she gets angry. The anger often seems to stem from feeling humiliated over the <i>tiniest</i> things. This keeps me from feeling like Lottie is (or ever was) an evil and methodical killer. Instead she seems silly and reckless and unbelievably lucky that she hasn't been caught. However, I <i>know</i> this is supposed to be a fun, silly, unhinged and unrealistic time and not a twisty, edge-of-my-seat thriller. It's more of an "unbelievable to the point of absurdity" journey, like a Freida McFadden book that gets pumped out every few months (this is <b>not</b> a diss at McFadden - there are times that I love and need a quick unhinged, no deep thoughts required fun fest).

I haven't read any other Downing yet but still plan to despite my so-so feelings on this one. I am hoping that her other books are a little less similar and that this isn't a "one trick pony" situation.

I would still recommend this to fans of Downing (and McFadden!).

My many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing me with a digital ARC of this book.

<b>2.5 Rounded to 3 Stars</b>

Lottie Jones is spending her golden years trying to stay busy. She checks in on her son and grandkids, helps her future daughter-in-law plan her wedding, tries new recipes, plays Bingo every Thursday, keeps up with the gossip at church, and she gets rid of bodies... When a young woman shows up uninvited at Lottie's door wanting to dredge up her past, Lottie must act quickly in order to keep her secrets buried. Her impulsive actions will lead her down a road from which there is no return, a road littered with bodies.

I really enjoyed not only reading a book from the "villain's" POV but also an elderly villain at that. Lottie is far from a perfect killer, and her mistakes help to humanize her and make her predicaments feel more realistic. It was also interesting to see the different obstacles that Lottie had to deal with due to her age that we don't typically see or think about with the average killer. Even though Lottie is technically the villain of the book, I found myself rooting for her and wanting her to succeed. I kept viewing the retired detective as the "bad guy" even though in any other book, he would be the hero! This book definitely subverts the serial killer archetype, and I really enjoyed this fresh take.

I also appreciated how short the chapters were. Even though this is a 400 page book, I was able to read it in two sittings. The short chapters and straight forward prose made the story really fly by.

If you are a fan of books like "Killers of a Certain Age" or "You'd Look Better as a Ghost," I think you'd really enjoy "Too Old for This." Highly recommend!

SERIAL KILLER GRANDMA??
sign me up! Thank you NetGalley for the e-arc!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book because it's something I have never read before. I was shocked to read about a grandma going around killing people. This was def a page turner for me and is it wrong that I was rooting for this grandma? LOL.

The story is about Lottie who is 75 yrs old. She killed quite a few people 40 years ago and got away with it! People believed that she did it and pretty much ran her out of town. She moved, changed her names etc. 40 yrs later, a girl (Plum) shows up asking if she can interview her for a docuseries she's working on. Obviously, Lottie doesn't want this or want anyone digging up her past so SHE'S FORCED OUT OF RETIREMENT.

This was such a fun and engaging thriller. I highly recommend!

The description of this book sounded intriguing; unlike any other book I'd ever read. As I dove in, I actually found myself hoping Lottie didn't get caught! Crazy, right?! Lottie is an older lady who is intelligent and quirky.

Poor Lottie. It seems like she just can't catch a break! One murder led to another and another and another.... stupid domino effect!

I found this book to be an enjoyable read, mostly because of the main character's personality. There were some things that I found completely unrealistic and ridiculous.

If you want to find out what happens to Lottie, you'll have to take your chances and check out this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion/review.