Review: Too Old For This by Samantha Downing

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This book rules.

I had a fantastic time reading it today. It’s funny, sad, suspenseful. Just a great book.

SUMMARY:
Lottie Jones is just the cutest old lady on Bluebell Lane. All her time is spent at church with her two best friends, playing bingo and gossiping. Her son is getting remarried, so that offers plenty of drama. She retired from her job at the bank seven years ago and has been living a quiet life ever since.

She killed her last victim over a decade ago.

Now, a young woman comes knocking, dredging up secrets buried in 1985. She wants to make a docuseries about the time Lottie was wrongfully accused of murder. Will she finally be able to get the truth out of Lottie?

MY THOUGHTS:
Lottie is such an interesting character to follow. Like, she is so funny. Her realization that she is getting too old to live alone and do the things she loves is heartbreaking. You really start to care about her and want her to be happy. Then at the end of a long sequence of her happily dancing at a wedding or cooking with her friend, she says something absolutely wild that reminds you she is a monster.

I feel like a lot of books that have the main character be the villain go a little to far in making the character likeable or unlikeable. This book did neither. Lottie maintained a perfect grey middleground the whole time. What a great character.

Speaking of characters! We have great side characters in this one. The entire Morgan chapter was so great. Lottie’s best friends Sheila and Bonnie were delightful.

This book is also a fantastic meditation on aging. Like yeah, the thing Lottie is having to give up is murder. Still! The way this affects her, the way she has to start using a cane, how she looks into retirement homes...it’s sad! Seeing her make her peace with all this is actually kind of uplifting.

FINAL OPINION:
READ THIS BOOK. You won't regret it. Out of the 18 books I have read this year, it is by far the best. Set yourself a reminder of its release date; you don’t want to miss it!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

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