This book was very good, easy to read and the follow through was excellent. I would recommend this book to others.

Lottie Jones lived a murderous life in her young years, but now she keeps herself busy playing bingo, and hanging out during the day with other friends her age. At the young age of 80, she's still got some spunk in her step, and has a sharp mind.

One day, an unexpected knock comes at her door. A woman approaches her with an offer of doing a documentary talking about how she was wrongfully accused of multiple murders in her earlier years, would she like to set the record straight and do this? The answer is an absolute no and this is where the story really takes off!

This was such a fun....killer drama is what I'm going to call it! It had a lightness to it, and a humor that was alluded to between the sentences. I was team Lottie, but was also appalled at some things! This was such a fun, stabby book (is that a book term-I don't think so, but it's very fitting).

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the gifted e-arc of this book.

This was hilarious. Retired senior serial killer? Yes please. Thoroughly enjoyed from start to finish but was mildly disappointed that the snotty church lady didn't get whacked.

🌟 F I V E S T A R F R I D A Y review 🌟 featuring “Too Old for This” by Samantha Downing!

Lottie Jones is a retired serial killer that got away with several murders (literally) decades ago. With her acquitted crimes behind her, she has moved away and changed her name and now lives a very simple life in a small town where her highlights are playing bingo and attending church potlucks.

The life she thought she covered up so well gets completely blown wide open when an investigative journalist named Plum Dixon shows up on her doorstep. Plum wants to run a docuseries on Lottie and her past. How did Plum find her and what are her true intentions?? Guess it might be time to come out of retirement 🔪

WTF 🤯! This book is BONKERS and I am obsessed with all the chaos of a 75 year old serial killer! Gory at times and witty at others, I was rooting for Lottie not to get caught. As deranged as that sounds … I absolutely loved her as the main protagonist. Smart as a whip, masterfully charming and knows how to do damage control on the spot … Lottie’s character is just perfection! This book has crazy plot twists like no other and I was screaming with delight while reading. Lottie’s retired Dexter vibes mixed with dark humour and a twisted moral compass makes this book totally addictive!

Thank you kindly to @smariedowning @berkleypub @netgalley for my advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review! This book releases on August 12, 2025 … RUN, don’t walk to pick it up!

First line: The remains of my dinner start to congeal.

Summary: Lottie Jones has spent the last few decades in a small town trying to move on from her past. She spends her time with friends playing bingo at her church. But then one day a journalist looking into the unsolved murders from Lottie’s past shows up on her doorstep and shakes up her quiet life. Lottie soon realizes that getting away with murder was much easier when she was younger but she will do what she needs to in order to keep her secrets.

My Thoughts: Starting this book I was very excited. It immediately gave me An Elderly Lady Is Up To No Good vibes. We have an elderly woman who just happens to be a serial killer and has gotten away with it for decades. Sounds intriguing, right? And it really started out that way but after a bit I felt like the story was dragging on and on. At one point it felt like we had come to the end of the story but it was only 40% or so into the book. I wondered what could continue to happen after this. But more and more problems kept piling on to Lottie. She had to use her limited knowledge of technology and play up her feebleness to get herself out of some tough spots. It became almost comical in its complexity at times. I had fun and did really enjoy the story but it felt a little long. For Downing’s fans it will be a good addition to their TBR list this fall.

FYI: Murder, dismemberment, blackmail

*spoiler alert** Thank you @netgalley for this ARC. I have really enjoyed the last few books by this author. This book is given a 4 star but really it’s more like 3.5. It did keep me entertained a lot and the story was fast paced but it lacked a lot of depth. Just a whole lot of killing.

The story takes place as a podcaster is looking to interview people who were wrongfully accused and their lives were set upside down after. Plum is interviewing Lottie Jones who is in her 70s who was wrongfully accused of murder years earlier. Of course there was a detective who also followed her for forty years involved too. As the story unfolds, this 70 year old woman makes a warpath through people. How she never gets caught is beyond me and all the police must be idiots everywhere. Anyway, it was a good quick read but without much depth to it. Just a superficial story.

It should have probably ended with the words “I’m too old for this” which wasn’t said at all in the book.

Immediately fell in love with the writing style. Bestie opened up on page 1 with a shocker! Also loved how she put on a mumu and grabbed her walker to fake out the cops. Phenomenal.

Samantha Downing is the QUEEN of writing morally dubious characters that I root for!

Lottie Jones is just an unassuming 75 year old woman who likes to go to her weekly bingo night and could never hurt a fly. OR IS SHE?!

As you can tell, I had a blast reading this. It really drove home the fact that: The older people get, the more we tend to infantilize or consider them a nuisance. Lottie just wants a little respect and to be left alone. And darn-it she will do what it takes to get those things!

Loved seeing all of the ways that she had to use her brain over her brawn. And since no one in their right mind would look twice at her, Downing has crafted the perfect murderess!!

It was also nicely tempered with Lottie coming to terms with the end of her life being on the horizon. Sad, but very realistic.

Honestly I was so enthralled watching Lottie just go about her business with her church friends and family that, when everything escalated, I was just worried if she would get through it with both hips intact.

A solid read!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing the ARC!

I was torn between 3.5 and 4 stars, but ultimately leaned toward the higher rating. The story was darkly comical, cleverly witty, and refreshingly different from the usual plots flooding the shelves. It kept me entertained and intrigued throughout. I'm grateful for the opportunity to read an ARC of such a unique book!

Moral of the story: everyone should stop showing up at peoples’ houses unannounced.

Lottie Jones is a 70-something retired serial killer who has made an effort to conceal her small town life. But when a documentarian figures out who she is and asks her to be a part of her docuseries, Lottie must dust off her skill set to keep everyone from knowing the truth.

Lottie’s witty inner monologue really makes this story a perfect summer thriller!

This was SO GOOD! My first Samantha Downing book did not disappoint. It had thriller vibes in the form of a serial killer but somehow there was also humor interwoven. It might have been a little over the top, but it’s absolutely worth the read. Such a fun, quick read unlike anything I’ve read before!

Thank you to Samantha Downing, NetGalley, and Berkeley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Lottie Jones is a 75 year old retired serial killer who just wants to be left alone. But when she receives an uninvited knock on the door she may have to come out of retirement in order to keep her past buried.

This was such a bingeable book filled with dark humor that only Downing can write and honestly this is the first time I found myself rooting for the bad guy! Lottie was so well developed with her razor sharp instincts and is disturbing good at what she does. To be in her head while she pulled off a game of cat and mouse was such a wild ride.

If you have read this author before you know what to expect and this one will not disappoint. If not just know this book is dark, but also comforting and doesn’t take itself too seriously, if that makes sense🙂.

The most entertaining book I've read so far in 2025!

I've been a fan for a while and I've read all of Samantha Downing's books, but this one is her best! Lottie Jones is a septuagenarian retired serial killer who is trying to live out the rest of her days quietly in her old, large home. An unexpected visitor arrives and tries to dredge up the past, forcing Lottie to dust off her old tricks. Will she be able to escape capture one more time? Or is she too old for this?

I know the author has done a great job developing a character when I find myself rooting for the killer. She is clever, snarky and full of surprises. I had a hard time putting this one down, so do yourself a favor and add it to your TBR now!

Thank you to NetGalley, Samantha Downing, and Berkley Publishing for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Lottie was not a nice person. She killed a lot of people. She was never convicted but Burke has kept up with her through the years and when Plum comes to talk to her about past murders Lottie does something awful then has to cover her tracks and get rid of the people that are a threat. Her soon to be daughter in law visits and just when she thinks she may be caught she pulls off more deceit.

I love a good book about a serial killer, especially a woman! This was such a fun read. I enjoyed the author’s writing a lot because she managed to make a serial killer FMC very likeable! There was also humor throughout it which I really enjoyed. I think my only comment would be that I wanted a bit more suspense. Will definitely be reading more by Samantha Downing!

**I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so much fun! I love Lottie and her story and found myself rooting for her at every turn. I really didn't want this story to end and I would really love to see more Lottie - especially now that she got that ground floor place with a separate entrance!

Traditional format 📕 (digital)

This was a super fun serial killer with a twist book! Senior citizen Lottie is a bingo going church lady by day but has a dark past. Her past resurfaces and lead her back to her old ways. I don’t want to say more to spoil it.

Although there was some gore it actually made me giggle a little thinking of a senior with a walker doing these ugly things.

I enjoyed this book a great deal. I think if the plot twist had a little more umph then I would have given this an extra star but I give this a solid 4/5 stars.

Thank you to Net Galley and Berkley Publishing Group | Berkley for a digital ARC of this book
Opinions are my own.

A Senior Citizen Serial Killer? Seriously?! That’s Totally Wicked! (And a little preposterous!).

Samantha Downing does it again with her totally outrageous new novel about Lottie Jones, a retiree whose life is turned upside down when an investigative journalist digging into her past knocks on Lottie’s front door.

Totally put out, Lottie must put a stop to this. What’s a girl to do!? Why pull off another Murder, of course!

Let the shenanigans (and murder) begin.

Is it bad that I kind of love Lottie?

This book follows a seemingly sweet old woman just trying to enjoy retirement - until she gets tangled in a sticky situation, and everything that can go wrong… does.

Plum Dixon shows up at Lottie’s door with a proposal: let her film a docuseries about Lottie's life - specifically, about the murders she was accused of years ago. Lottie basically says, “Hell no.” But Plum, sweet, naive Plum, says, “Well, I’m making the series either way.” Sigh. And that’s where her story ends.

Things go relatively smoothly until someone else shows up at Lottie’s door asking about Plum. Then the detectives arrive, which Lottie expected, but one of them taking a special interest in her? That, she did not. Suddenly, she’s dealing with a series of silly mistakes she’s made, each creating even more problems. And now someone else is at her door, and this one’s even more of a pain. But that's not the worst part, because there’s a secret.... element.... that could ruin everything. (no spoilers!)

Can Lottie get herself out of this mess? And if so, how many people will she have to kill before she can finally rest easy?

Listen... is Lottie a villain? Yes. Do I kind of want to hang out with her anyway? Also yes.

Her one truly irredeemable act was the murder that kicked everything off: poor Plum. She was innocent and didn’t deserve it. But everyone else - especially those from Lottie’s past... I mean, I’m not saying they deserved it... buuuut... I’m also not losing sleep over it. (In fiction, of course!)

Throughout the book, Lottie grapples with her age, both physically and mentally. Sometimes it’s hilarious, sometimes surprisingly emotional. The author keeps the tone light, mixing tension and humor in a way that really worked for me.

I never felt certain of what would happen next, and I was genuinely engaged the whole way through. It was intriguing, entertaining, and just an absolute pleasure to read. This was a little outside my usual reading comfort zone, but I’m so glad I gave it a try. This one’s a new favorite!

I haven't had this much fun reading a thriller in such a long time! Who doesn't love an old lady Joe Goldberg? Every chapter had my jaw on the floor! I love just how unpredictable Lottie was. It kept the story moving at lightning speed! And just when I thought the murder would stop, it just kept going! I had such a blast following our ruthless main character.

I've read from Samantha Downing in the past, but Too Old For This is by far a new favorite!