Welcome to Litsy!

An easy read and mostly enjoyable

Read for reading challenges

3.75/5

(Read 21/10)

"Later she enjoyed a delicious chicken salad on the balcony. She treated herself to a glass of port to accompany the ice cream, and she topped it off with a cup of coffee. If it hadn't been for the dead body in the gentleman's room, it would have been the perfect conclusion to a lovely summer's day."

Now that I've thought of Helen Mirren as Maud, I can't unthink it. She's perfect casting, & I'm now finding the unlikable Maud a bit more bearable.

And a throwback to my first finished book this year!
The alternate title - “Judgmental old bat take out everyone who bothers her BUT ITS OKAY the people she kills are shitty so it‘s fine.”

It‘s like is Jessica Fletcher were not solving crimes but the root cause of all of them.

If you don‘t mind some dark humor and holier-than-thou narration it‘s a short fun romp

Friends, I‘m having SUCH a great time with 88-year-old Maud. She‘s a reverse Miss Marple; instead of using her extensive life experience (and society‘s tendency to underestimate her) as a crime-fighting tool, she‘s all about the crime-doing. Self-serving murders a specialty. I don‘t ever want to meet her but I sure wanna keep reading about her.

#wondrouswednesday @Eggs

1) all of them - I used to read a lot of historical fiction set during the Middle Ages, but I seem to have shifted to Regency and Victorian times.

2) tagged - part of #AuldLangSpine

3) probably Gabaldon's The Fiery Cross with about 1400+ pages.

There's a heavy rain storm out there tonight. My guy is working late, so I'm cozy on the couch with my best buddy ? reading about Maud. As I read, I'm picturing my great-grandmother or my (still living) 4'10", 88 year old grandmother, who everyone adores, acting up like this, and it makes these stories that much better.

A little late to #Sweden for #foodandlit month, but better late than pregnant. Never! It's better late than never! ?

My first #AuldLangSpine book.

Really liked Maud. I want to be like her when I'm old. 😁😁

Thank you for the recommendation, @rachelsbrittain.

@monalyisha

#52bookclub24 - Told in non-chronological order
#BookChain24 - A or The in title @TheAromaofBooks

4.5/5 ⭐️ Fun short stories about a little old lady who murders people. #FoodandLit Sweden 🇸🇪

#wintergames #CandyCaneCrushers #CandylandReadathon #castthedie @PuddleJumper #Rushathon @andrew65 @dieareader @ghabi4roses #wintercosy #promptmaze @thearomaofbooks #wintergamesAtoZ @Texreader #cloakanddaggerchristmas @ruthiella #adventathon @BookmarkTavern

This is not my normal genre, far from it, but i truely loved these stories. Such a naughty little old lady….dont let appearances fool you

Downloaded and ready to start reading tomorrow.

Definitely one of my favorite reads. It wastes no time setting the tone. It‘s such a campy fun book. In a weird way it has a similar charm to “Murder She Wrote”, but if it was more about committing the crimes instead of solving them. I absolutely loved this book and am excited to read the next one.

Continuing my Global Reading Challenge - this was my book for Sweden! A not-quite-charming tale of a woman in her late eighties with a variety of life problems. She solves them all…with murder. I'm not quite rooting for her, but I'm not NOT rooting for her if you know what I mean. I wouldn't want to know her, but she sure was fun to read.

I read this one on @sebrittainclark 's recommendation and loved it. An elderly lady is indeed up to no good in these collection of short stories-- but nobody in her apartment building knows that. Even the police can't pin anything on her. If you enjoyed The Thursday Murder Club, you'll like this one too, I think.

4/5

I picked this book up without reading the description and assuming it was a cozy mystery where an elderly lady would solve a crime, so I was little surprised when that was not at all what this collection of short stories was about. Once I got over my surprise, I really enjoyed this. I think it was particularly good to listen to the audiobook.

I added this to my current short audiobook binge. The first story I liked. But overal I didn‘t find Maud as endearing as everyone else.

This was a cute little story! Maude is sure a spunky little old lady! I did the audio version. The narrators voice was a bit hard to deal with at times, especially when she portrayed Maude‘s voice. I read this book as part of Goodreads 52 week challenge, the Nordic Noir prompt.

This tiny book that turns out to be a Swedish cult classic was an impulse buy at the cash register of a Barnes and Noble 75% off sale. I'm delighted to have stumbled upon it. Charming and dastardly!

Aha - finally found one

#MC-OlderThanYou @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

“Maud is an irascible 88-year-old Swedish woman with no family, no friends, and... no qualms about a little murder.”

88-year-old Maud is not what she seems. In fact, she‘s not even close. Under the white hair and wrinkles is the soul of a criminal mastermind and serial killer.
I didn‘t know anything about this book when I started reading it (friend recommended) so when the first murder happened, it caught me off guard but I couldn‘t help but like Maud and her conniving.

I am posting one book per day from my extensive to-be-read collection. No description and providing no reason for wanting to read it, I just do. Some will be old, some will be new. Don‘t judge me - I have a lot of books. Join in if you want!

#ABookADay2023

What a bonkers, unexpected, and charming book! Strange to find a sociopath so intriguing! This book has been on my #TBR for years and I‘m so glad I finally got around to reading it. It is quick, less than 200 pages, and easy to read in a sitting or two. I can‘t wait to read the second in the series! #bookspinBingo @TheAromaofBooks #JoyousJanuary @Andrew65

First read of 2023! What a dark delight. Maud cracked me up and I wouldn‘t mind having a retirement like hers (murdering notwithstanding!)

This was one of my #Roll100 books - feels great to strike one off the list already!

I have to admit, I‘m not a contemporary mystery/crime novels connoisseur, but the premise intrigued me. Overall, it‘s a relaxing read (if you can call that a book about an old lady serial killer). A cozy mystery—except, since you know who the killer is from the start, it‘s not a mystery at all?

The “victims”, aside from crossing the old lady, are also cliche bad guys, which was the part I didn‘t necessarily like.

3.25/5

#onedayread #smallbooks

These were quite interesting #Stories

#ScarathlonDailyPrompts #Scarathlon2022 @Clwojick #TeamSlaughter

Reading a story from this book every other day and enjoying it! Took it with me on my fall vacation 🍂🧡

Reread
It was a pleasure to read these little stories again.
Who would have thought that murder could be so much fun, haha?
Perfect read to relax!

This was an unexpected delight. At first, I wasn‘t sure about it, but once it got going, it was great. A short, funny read. Don‘t underestimate little old ladies!! #97 #BookSpin #BFC22 #TrappedOnAnIsland #Scarathlon2022 #Spookoween2022 #31by31 #Pointsathon #LittenListens #Autumnbingo2022 #bodycountbingo #AutumnAtoZ

I am loving these stories. Maude does not suffer fools, and dispatches them neatly. 😂

Character research since I‘m playing a mischievous old lady 😂 this is a delightful geriatric serial killer.

Book two of in flight listening 🎧 Great recommendation @britt_brooke
Maude is nearing 90 but she‘s still got a lot of life in her…and a few deaths under her belt 😅

Charmingly bloodthirsty! I loved Maud's complete unconcern for scruples and ingrained assumption she can do whatever the hell she pleases. Highly enjoyed the first few stories here, but the last, a paired companion set, made me think Maud is getting a bit too sloppy.

Still, I've already obtained the second book in this set, and I'll have to hunt for other works by this author.

Nothing like a funny yet shocking short story collection to read between your other long reads.

Solid 4 stars from me.

#letterE #alphebetgame @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

This was not at all what I expected. I was expecting light and funny but got dark and murderous instead. At least it was a quick read.

Listening to this short and sweet audiobook.

I'm expecting a good laugh!

April #wrapup

Another great month of reading. Stand outs were People From my Neighborhood and An Elderly Lady Is Up To No Good.

Do u judge a book by its cover or title ? Well I sometimes do! And this time I was totally wrong. I started reading this book by its catchy title and pretty cover. But it is dark ! It is about a woman of 88 year old and what she does ( mostly killing people 😳) Good thing is, it is quick and can read in one sitting 3⭐️

12/22- This book was not what I expected in the most wonderfully dark way. And I don‘t think I have read anything completely like it before. It was exactly what I needed right now. It was a quick read & I was sad to come to the end, as I‘m sure Maud has many more tricks up her sleeves. I will definitely be picking up more books by Helene Tursten. I read this for Februarys #Roll100 but finished it a little late! Pick it up, you won‘t regret it! 4⭐️

Finished my January 2022 #DoubleSpin earlier this week and the tagged book today. I went all the way back to February 2020 and found all of my spin picks from when I first started participating in my the #BookSpin reading challenge so I am trying to do like no spin left behind 😅 and hopefully catch up by the end of the year. #20in4 👇

https://debbybrauer.org/#an-elderly-lady-is-up-to-no-good

Next up!! Super excited about this one. 😍

Whoa! I did not expect what just happened on page 19 😳😳
Very interesting! Good thing I didn‘t look at the blurb before starting the book. I didn‘t expect the book to be so short either.

#currentlyreading #shortread #Sweden

#BookSpin and #DoubleSpin picks for January have been chosen!! Especially looking forward to finishing my double spin pick.

I feel so spoiled! I love all of it, thank you so much @Kdgordon88 ! I absolutely love all things pens and notebooks and cannot wait to start using this planner/journal for all my book tracking. And the letter opener is so cool! Thank you, again- and happy new year!

Thank you for hosting, @candority ❤️
#bestof2021swap

What a different take on this genre and I can't help but just cheer Maude on! She's a great character - a no-nonesense, woman in her late 80's, enjoying life and all it has to offer and has no problem with a little murder here and there.
Such a bold a low-ley devious woman that I never want to cross but somehow admire because of it. These short stories have got me interest in more about her, her misadventures and the fools trying to stop her.

Both of these little books pack a darkly funny punch. I liked the tagged book more than its sequel, but both were good for the kind of laugh that you then feel bad about because this old lady is a sinister, stone-cold sociopath, but also, somehow, a character you root for? Maud is definitely worth spending a couple of evenings with.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Clever ol‘ Maud is low key devious. She messes around and gets vengeance by playing the part of confused elderly lady when she full well knows what‘s going on. Darkly humorous story collection! I felt kind of bad for laughing. #coverlove

This was a fun, quick read! I love Maud so much 😂 Definitely reading the next book 👍🏻

Guys, I really cannot deal with how ridiculously small this book is 😂 I‘m enjoying it so far but maybe I need to switch to the audio version because I read a few pages and then look at my hands and laugh at how giant they look 🤣