I enjoyed this, but wanted more backstory on the main character. It was set in two times, but I didn’t really get a feel for exactly why she was the way she was. It was just missing something for me

"𝑺𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒎𝒚 𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒅 𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒓𝒂𝒛𝒚. 𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒊𝒕'𝒔 𝒄𝒓𝒂𝒛𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒏'𝒕 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒆."

Special thanks to @smariedowning @berkleypub and @netgalley for the #gifted eARC.

➡️ swipe for synopsis 👉🏼

𝙈𝙔 𝙍𝙀𝙑𝙄𝙀𝙒:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

UM HELLO?!?!?!
How is this my first @smariedowning novel? This was amazing, intriguing, suspenseful, unputdownable....and lots of other great words LOL
Starts out with a BANG 🌂
Then some nail biting 😬
Then BAM 🔨
Then more suspense 🫣

Also can we talk about Jaxson for a minute.....HOW RUDE!
And Glenda....I like spinach dip, why don't you?

The twists, the characters, just when you think there's no where else for the story to go, she throws something even more crazy at you.
AND THE FINGER 👉🏼 😝

All started because of a docuseries....🎥

This is a great read and I highly recommend it!
Preorder this ASAP!

𝙋𝙐𝘽 𝘿𝘼𝙔:
Aug 12, 2025

ℚ𝕆𝕋𝔻❓️⁉️❓️ Are you intrigued by serial unalivers? Who is one you follow/followed?
Or
What's your current read about in 5 words?

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#mysteryandthrills #thrillersandsuspense #thrillerfriendsunite #thrillerlover #thrilleraddict #thrillerjunkie #thrillergirlie #bookbuzz #upcomingthriller #toooldforthis #samanthadowning #berkleypub
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Get ready for an exciting ride when a retired female serial killer is forced to begin again!
Lottie just wants to enjoy her quiet life playing bingo and sharing pot-luck with her friends at church. A young woman shows up to Lottie's home wanting to do a docuseries on suspected criminals who have been let off without being convicted. What's a former serial killer to do? You guessed it. This book is a quick read with plenty of humor, murder, close calls and a protagonist who you want to see win the day! I highly recommend!
Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC!

"Too Old For This" by Samantha Downing is the narrative of fictional serial killer Lorena "Lottie Jones" Mae Lansdale. Lottie is retired from her secret life, and her only drama is amongst the ladies at church and her son's unexpected second marriage. That is, until the day that docuseries producer Plum Dixon arrives at her doorstep.

The psychological thriller details Lottie's efforts to thwart the ever-stalwart detective from her younger years, Kenneth Burke. As the plot thickens and more characters are thrown in her path, asking questions, Lottie must choose how she wants to be remembered in her golden ones.

The characters are fully fleshed-out and the situations feel genuine. One finds oneself feeling the rollercoaster emotions of the aged serial killer, and even sympathizing with her when she must make a life-altering decision. The writing was well-organized and not too wordy, and the story seemed to flow well, keeping the reader engaged in the story until the very end.

Was this the story of the Tortoise and the Hare? Or, the Shadow? Or, the Big Bad Wolf? Maybe all three- Lottie is definitely boogeyman material, underestimate her at your peril. And please call before visiting...

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, Samantha Downing, and publisher, Berkley for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

This was a book unlike any I’ve read before. It focuses on Lottie Jones whose real name is actually Lorena. She is a retired serial killer who had been able to fly under the radar all these years and is now 75 years old. One day she gets a knock at her door and it’s a sweet young journalist wanting to make a documentary on crimes she was accused of 40 years ago but never charged with. She invites her in for tea and listens to her but has no intention of ever talking about her crimes to anyone. Before she thinks too hard about it she has done something and now the old wheels are starting to spin again, but this time she is older and it might be more than she can take on.

I’ve never read this author before but I’ll definitely be looking into her back list after this book. My husband was totally invested in the story with me. I updated him every couple chapters and actually read him the last part of the book. We both enjoyed the story and recommend it to people who like thrillers/mysteries.

🧁Church Bingo & Body Bags

Lottie Jones is not your typical little old lady. She’s got gray hair, sore knees, and a very specific hobby she thought she left behind decades ago: murder.

Now retired (ish), she’s living quietly in a sleepy town, trading crime scenes for casseroles until a nosy reporter shows up asking way too many questions. Lottie’s rule? If you dig too deep, you might not walk away. And let’s just say… she’s still got it.

This book was wild in the best way. It’s dark, sharp, and somehow hilarious without ever being over-the-top. Lottie’s voice is dry, witty, and honestly kind of inspiring Watching her navigate her “golden years” while also plotting cover-ups and hiding bodies had me cackling one minute and nervously side-eyeing my sweet neighbor the next.

It’s not gory, but it is twisted. If you like your thrillers a little weird, a little wicked, and led by a woman who absolutely does not care what you thinkthis one’s a gem.

Samantha Downing nailed the tone. Creepy, clever, and oddly charming. I’m obsessed.

A delicious, darkly humorous thriller with a fun main character who can’t help doing what she does. Author’s best yet!

Lottie is retired and in her seventies. She spends her days attending church and having a weekly bingo night with her friends to gossip. It seems harmless enough. Nobody is aware that Lottie is a former serial killer. She had to leave her previous life, alter her name, and take her son away with her years ago. However, someone has discovered who she is, so Lottie needs to return to her old job. Despite her advanced age and numerous physical ailments, she will complete the task. Too Old For This takes you on a twisted, funny, dark, and fast-paced rollercoaster ride.

The premise of this was so good! Something felt off with the pacing though because while I couldn't stop reading, I found myself skimming in the last 25%. The ending felt predictable and I think we needed a few more twists. However, this was fun and I could totally see this as a series or movie.

I literally binged this in ONE DAY.

This is such a unique thriller, which I was so happy about, because I hardly read thrillers these days (they end up all being the same). I requested this from Netgalley on a whim, and when I was approved, I immediately didn't question, read the synopsis or contemplate. I just picked it up and dove head first.

I love the short, to the point chapters with cliff hangers. It made the book intriguing from the very first chapter, and kept me wanting more. This book follows Lottie, who is a 75 year old serial killer. Reading from the serial killer's perspective is one of my favorites, because unlike other thrillers, we aren't trying to find the killer, we KNOW she is guilty. But watching her commit the crimes and get away with things is sooooo fun! I was on the edge so my seat with anxiety wondering how she would get out of the messes she was creating. I thought having an old lady be the serial killer was so different and I absolutely loved following her storyline.

Highly recommend this book once its published!

Hey Dexter meet Lorena. You have a lot in common. Both killers with similar thoughts on why and how to justify murder. Except of course, Lorena happens to be 75 years old and a woman!! At times comical and at other times truly horrifying, Lorena somehow manages to get away with murder. However, after a 40 year hiatus and getting slower she must cleverly figure out how to do it again after her true identity is discovered by an ambitious young filmmaker.

It’s like Golden Girls meets the First 48! This was such a good book! It’s a fast paced thriller that keeps you guessing! Most chapters ended on little cliffhangers which made me want to keep reading! There are a lot of twists and turns! This book was so good!

Too Old for This by Samantha Downing

Don't ever get attached to Samantha Downing characters because the body count in her stories can be amazingly high and anyone is libel to meet their end before the last page. Lottie Jones is a retired serial killer. Decades ago she and her son changed their names and moved away from all the hubbub of the notoriety when she was accused of killing multiple people. She did kill them but she got off and decided she'd better get over her addiction to the feel of a skull cracking, the thrill of the kill, the satisfaction of snuffing out the life of someone who irked her. It can be even the slightest (to others) snub that can put a person on Lottie's hit list. She takes no prisoners, when she's after you, it's for keeps.

Now septuagenarian Lottie is involved in playing bingo at her church, gossiping with her church friends, and aggravating the bossy church women by bringing inferior dips and store bought food to the church events. She also has decided she'll dress the way she wants so there is the side eye at her dressed down look, lately. But she has things on her mind. Someone wants to do a documentary about her serial killing...oh, I mean, wrongly accused crimes...snicker. Such a documentary would ruin the life Lottie has created for herself so now she has a excuse to kill again and once she gets started, there just isn't a good stopping place.

I read a lot of violent and gory stories but this one really sent chills down my spine. Seeing a 70 something year old lady, whose body is aching and failing, kill people and clean up the enormous messes killing makes and doing it so gleefully and expertly is creepier than most stories I read. You do not want to be in the line of sight of Lottie, she likes what she does too much for me to think it will ever be over. Once again the author has written a book where I want to look away while trying not to laugh at the same time.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group | Berkley and NetGalley for this ARC.

4 stars

Lottie Jones. Senior citizen. Bingo player. Retired serial killer. And it looks like the retirement might be over…

She thought it was all behind her. She changed her name and hid herself in a small town, but then journalist Plum Dixon shows up at her door asking questions. What is Lottie to do?

And, unfortunately, the knocks, and questions, just keep coming.

I requested this because I saw several favorable reviews on Goodreads and it sounded like fun…and it was. You are better off knowing nothing more than what is written above when you are going into it, just immerse yourself in Lottie’s world. She’s a great character…not a sweet, granny type, but practical, yet sympathetic. You may not quite get where she’s coming from, yet you’ll find it hard to fault her. Highly recommended for a nice time with a non-taxing read.

This was a fun, lighthearted read, which was unexpected since the protagonist is a serial killer. Lottie is engaging and witty and very matter of fact when explaining why someone needs to die at her hands. The story moved quickly and kept me engaged, as Lottie tackled both her aging and her murder cover-ups.

Lottie Jones may be getting older but some habits are hard to kick--like murder! Believing that she's left the past behind her, Lottie spends her days puttering around her house, gossiping with her friends and attending church functions. She has a strong sense of right and wrong and when someone "wrongs" her, she gets revenge. Fearing that after 40 years the detective on the original case has sent investigative reporter Plum Jones to her house, Lottie does what she does best--makes tea, offers cookies and ends the discussion with a hammer.

Blending the maladies of old age, the desire to put an end to people who trouble her and the thought process that goes into not only killing someone, but the "chores" that await afterwards while cleaning up the crime scene and disposing of the body, Lottie's mind is a thing to behold. Readers will laugh out loud at some of her comments and marvel at how good an actress she has become.
Strap on your tool belt, Lottie is coming your way! Don't miss this one!

Lottie Jones lleva décadas escondida bajo una nueva identidad, disfrutando de la tranquila vida de una jubilada en un pequeño pueblo. Pero cuando una periodista aparece en su puerta con intenciones de destapar su oscuro pasado, Lottie se ve obligada a volver a hacer lo que mejor sabe: matar. Lo que empieza como un intento de proteger su anonimato se convierte en una cadena de crímenes tan ingeniosos como escalofriantes. Con humor negro, giros sorprendentes y una protagonista tan entrañable como peligrosa, esta historia demuestra que el retiro no siempre significa el fin… al menos no para todos.



No fue lo que esperaba, pero me gustó.


Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest

I'm not sure exactly what to think about this one. I personally couldn't write a book to save my life, so I always want to give kudos to authors who do!
As a reader who likes diving into a story blindly, I'm torn between liking it or saying "eh". It's written well. I almost want to consider it humorous, yet a YA feel, and sort of cozy. It took me a long while to read as I was looking for more thrilling aspects. But I'll still discuss it with others!
Thank you to the publishers for an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I definitely rooted for the antihero in this one. I like reading stories with older mature villains. This was a blend of dark comedy and suspense. Definitely will recommend.