An Elderly Lady Is Up To No Good by Helene Tursten, Translated by Marlaine Delargy

 An Elderly Lady Is Up To No Good by Helene Tursten, Translated by Marlaine Delargy

Oh Reader Friends, did you know that there was this wonderful little short story collection about an 88 year old serial killer?  Did you know that this little collection would be absolutely delightful?  Can you imagine reading a short story collection about an 88 year old serial killer and think, "This was delightful!"? 

Well, that's what I thought.  An Elderly Lady Is Up To No Good follows Maude, an elderly woman who lives alone and is quite content to keep it that way.  She has no need for friends, nosy neighbors, or money grubbing younger women who think they can marry her former fiancé.  And the cover.  The cover!  It's delightful!

Over the course of five short stories, Maude uses her wits and wiles to outsmart the authorities as she gets away with murder after murder.  Maude is a great character-I couldn't tell if I was supposed to hate her or applaud her for her antics.  It's after the death of her father that Maude and her remaining family learn they can stay rent free in their spacious apartment so long as they pay the heating bill for the whole building.  When her mother dies of a broken heart shortly after her husband, Maude is left caring for her emotionally fragile sister.  Maude is nearly middle aged before she is finally able to live the life of her choosing and she's not willing to let anyone get in the way of that. 

It wasn't until I finished the book that I realized Maude's story is inspired by two other series written by the author.  I haven't read either series, The Irene Huss Investigations and The Embla Nystrom Investigations, but I'm looking forward to adding them to my never ending TBR. 

Wonderfully written and hilarious, An Elderly Lady Is Up To No Good by Helene Tursten is a must for mystery readers.