Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Book Blurb:
Lottie Jones thought her crimes were behind her.
Decades earlier, she changed her identity and tucked herself away in a small town. Her most exciting nights are the weekly bingo games at the local church and gossiping with her friends.
When investigative journalist Plum Dixon shows up on her doorstep asking questions about Lottie’s past and specifically her involvement with numerous unsolved cases, well, Lottie just can’t have that.
But getting away with murder is hard enough when you’re young. And when Lottie receives another annoying knock on the door, she realizes this crime might just be the death of her…
My Review:
The first time the hammer came down, I was shocked out of my wits. She did what? I reread it. No, I was right. OMG!
Here I was, innocently enjoying a new surge in the books with senior main characters. It never dawned on me that what looked like on the surface as a sweet old lady, might instead harbor a serial killer. Well, of course, there is that book cover…
This is definitely not your average serial killer.
Lottie is living the dream. Self-sustaining, she is independent, capable, and wicked smart. She’d have to be to get away with her horrific background all these years, never having been caught.
So when a journalist arrives that wants to interview her, get her story, something has to give. If I had false teeth, I’d have dropped them. This is definitely a hook that will get you listening beyond preparing dinner.
Lottie is never going to win any contest for being an agreeable senior, easy to manipulate. That fiendish sense of propriety, humor and wit, there is very little that gets past her. And there is no way anything about her past could come out. That would just destroy the sweet and comfortable set up with her senior lady friends, circle of church acquaintances, and compelling and relaxed atmosphere she has created for herself in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.
How does a writer give you a reprehensible character and make her charismatic enough to actually root for her? Do you? Maybe not. But watching her maneuver the sticky situations that ensue while listening to her new aches and pains attributable to her physical age or complaining about forgetting something important can be, admittedly, hilarious.
Where did she come up with her moral code, the justification? The book is addictive. The septuagenarian can hold her own with any street smart teen, meet them with their language, and best them in clever strategizing.
I think reading this book could be fun, but for even more fun, I’d recommend the audiobook narrated beautifully by Elizabeth Wiley. She hits all the nuances, the inflections, and manifests the dark humor. It’s compelling, engaging, entertaining. Suspend a little disbelief and enjoy the twists; the intellect is delicious.
Many thanks to my local library for providing me with the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. The thoughts expressed here are my own.
Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars 
Book Details:
Genre: Crime Thrillers, Psychological Thrillers, Suspense
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Narrator: Elizabeth Wiley
Release Date: August 12, 2025
Title Links:
Amazon-US | Amazon-UK | Barnes & Noble | Kobo
Please accept my sincere apologies for accidentally posting the incorrect picture of this author. This is the pic that should have appeared.
The Author:
Samantha Downing is an internationally bestselling thriller author. Her novels include My Lovely Wife, He Started It, For Your Own Good, and A Twisted Love Story. Her debut novel, My Lovely Wife, was nominated for Edgar, ITW, and Macavity awards in the US, the CWA award in the UK, and was the winner of the Prix des Lectrices award in France.
Her latest thriller, Too Old For This, was released in August 2025.
©2026 V Williams
