Reviewed by Kristin
Book Bingo categories take most of us to different places
than our usual reading, and I am very thankful for this redirection. I really dislike the “read a self-help book”
square (what does that say about me?) and I often have trouble with the “read a
translated book” square as well.
Fortunately, this time around I happened to spot a small book on the new
shelf entitled An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good by Helene Tursten, translated
by Marlaine Delargy. Bingo!
Tursten is a well-known Swedish author with two published
mystery series featuring Detective Inspector Irene Huss and Detective Inspector
Embla Nyström. When a publisher asked
for a short story for their Christmas anthology, Tursten created a totally new
character, one that didn’t fit the same molds as her other protagonists:
88-year-old Maud. This little old lady
doesn’t just stay home and bake cookies for loving grandchildren either.
Maud never married and doesn’t cook (that’s what take-out is
for, right?) She takes care of what is
hers, by whatever means
possible. She was fortunate enough to
inherit the rights to live in the apartment owned by her parents at the time of
her father’s death. The apartment was
sold to cover debts with the understanding that the widow and her two daughters
could continue to live there rent free, as long as they wished. Seventy years later, Maud is holding the
current owners to the terms of the original contract.
By hook and by crook, Maud has managed to accumulate quite a
nest egg to support her preferred lifestyle.
She often takes jaunts to warmer climates for a few weeks, and has
recently discovered the joys of all-inclusive spas: saunas, facials, pedicures
and all. Maud is a delight and
surprisingly devious, although you would never know to look at her.
Whether or not you need a translated book for your Book
Bingo sheet, check out this elderly lady.
She is definitely up to no good.
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