Reviewed by Kristin
Maud is a most delightful 88-year-old Swedish lady who knows what she wants, and knows how to get it. She has a strong sense of justice and is not above putting on a little old lady act complete with a wavering voice and foggy memories when she is being questioned by the police in the wake of several suspicious deaths.
Maud has been quietly selling her valuables and enjoying little jaunts around the world as a reward for a life well lived. She is off to South Africa (again) to go on safari with a tour group. As she dozes on the airplane, she recalls memories from decades past. It appears that her ruthless ways did not begin in her elder years, but long, long ago.
I love that this second collection of stories goes back into Maud’s past after the first volume entitled An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good. Maud may be manipulative and controlling, but this time around we learn about Maud taking care of her sister Charlotte and working as a language teacher at the local girls’ grammar school. Maud has a sense of right and wrong, and the means to carry out whatever vengeance is necessary when an innocent has been harmed, or may be in imminent danger. She is the protector of the weak, and when that works in her favor too, that’s all well and good.
Helene Tursten wraps up the collection in a way that could mean this is the end of Maud’s story, or it’s entirely possible that we may see another volume in a few years with Maud still living her best life. This is a small book which was easy to read in an evening. I have checked it out from the library (and now must return it as several other patrons are on the waiting list) but I think I will have to buy my own copies of both titles. Maud is one elderly lady worth re-reading.
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