Lottie Jones knows how to get away with murder, having been a serial killer decades ago in Samantha Downing's wryly humorous, exquisitely plotted Too Old for This. The lead suspect in at least three murders, Lottie was meticulous in not leaving behind any evidence and was never arrested. Publicity led to her and her son, Archie, being ostracized, forcing them to move to a new community and change their names.
The 75-year-old grandmother now lives quietly, has friends, and attends church twice a week, with Thursday nights reserved for bingo. She considers herself retired from killing. Then producer Plum Dixon arrives at her Baycliff, Ore., home, with her plans to include Lottie in her docuseries on people "wrongly accused" of crimes--with or without Lottie's cooperation. A docuseries would expose Lottie's past and turn her community against her, and ruin Archie's life and his plans to marry his pregnant girlfriend. Goodbye, retirement, as Plum becomes Lottie's victim.
Plum's boyfriend, mother, and investigating cops all focus on Lottie. Lottie doesn't kill for thrills, instead, anger drives her--a teacher blasting her parenting skills, a stranger's disrespect. Too Old for This also becomes an insightful look at dealing with aging and planning for those final days. Lottie finds killing has new challenges these days, with electronics pinging locations, social media posts, and DNA technology. Disposing of a body exhausts her, making her feel her age, which for her necessitates naptimes and a cane to help with her arthritis.
Downing (For Your Own Good) balances dark humor with a hard-boiled approach, impressively keeping the reader on Lottie's side even as the body count increases. --Oline H. Cogdill, freelance reviewer