What a clever minx is Maud! As a child, and even as an elderly senior approaching 89, this self-determined, strong-willed, empowered female is active even in ways most of us would not or could not be, from vacations in Croatia to extensive tours of South Africa, even to committing murder in her own home [as I said, not all of us could or would]. Maud is a rather unstoppable force of nature, the exact opposite of her late elder sister, who endured psychological discomforts and an earlier demise. Maud is quite the unforgettable character, whether one admires her or not. 😊

This book was so good!! The main character was perfect in this story. I could not put it down at all.

Maud is eighty-eight years old and taking her a luxurious vacation tour to South Africa. As Maud relaxes on the plane with more than a few drinks, she recalls the times in her life when she sought justice against wrongs. What follows are tales of events from her childhood to current day where Maud intentionally set up incidents where people were injured for their wrongs. Maud dropped ice chunks on a teaching colleague, added almonds to gingerbread cookies, and stick-whipped a rapist. The wonder of this collection is Maud's cool and calm planning and execution. Add An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed to the subgenre of books where women over the age of sixty often go unnoticed and can get away with murder.

Maud!! You're so naughty! For a little old lady who, by all appearances, seems perfectly saintly, she sure does get into trouble.

This is a collection of Maud's most murderous stories as told in flashbacks, all tied together with a well-deserved South African vacation. Some of the stories are recent memories while others are deeply buried. Some seem to be amusing anecdotes, others are justice served, and one is so deep-down it leaves you shook. More often than not, the stories are all of that at once. Throughout it all, Maud is irreverent, incisive, and way more trouble than she lets on. I wouldn't say this is ha-ha funny, but this speedy read was quite a lot of fun. I'll definitely pick up the first installment for more Maud.

I haven't tried either gingerbread cookie in the back of the book, but they seem to be solid (not poisoned) recipes, too!

Note: I was unable to review this ARC because I missed the download window. This review is based on a copy I borrowed from my local library after publication.

Maud, my favorite murderous octogenerian returns in AN ELDERLY LADY MUST NOT BE CROSSED. It does help if you've read the previous book in the series, but it's not essential. This isn't quite as gleefully homicidal as AN ELDERLY LADY IS UP TO NO GOOD, but does have a lot of heart. We gain insight into the circumstances that have shaped Maud and the difficulties she endured in her younger years, with a strict upbringing, and a mentally/emotionally fragile sister she had to provide for, especially after her father's death. And we also see her more benevolent side in this book, while still seeing her mete out justice as she sees fit, and always looking out for her own benefit and safety as well.

This is a funny, dark follow up to Tursten's first book: An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good. Maud has not changed her ways . She still intends to to end her life with no regrets. In these interlocking stories, Maud shows that she is not a confused, old lady but a canny, ruthless killer. Highly entertaining.

Maud does not like bullies. So, she takes care of them. When the police come around again asking more questions about the man killed in her house, she decides she needs to get away for a while. She takes a vacation to South Africa. Along the way, she remembers different people she has dealt with in her past. And she’s not going to put up with that kind of behavior now either, just because she’s almost ninety.

While I don’t love the book, I really like the ending. I didn’t find the humor I expected to find. But the ending is worth it.

I love Maud, and I love this series. Sometimes you just need to kick back and relax with a murderous octogenarian. These irreverent stories are the perfect mix of dark humor and cozy mystery.

A fun little romp of a book. This was the first time that I had read anything by this author and I quite enjoyed what I discovered. The cover of this book is absolutely delightful as well. This was a quick read that I would recommend to any fans of the author and/or genre.

Maud returns in another installment of murderous antics. How I can adore someone so diabolical boggles my mind but her awkward curmudgeonly vigilantism is wonderful in a slightly deranged way. I suppose someone has to put people in their place. I enjoyed the glimpses into her earlier life and her competence in her later years. The ending of this one made me love her more and felt like the final chapter in Maud's quiet but illustrious life. The pacing was similar to the first and once again, the author has made me crave adventure!



I received a complimentary copy of this title through NetGalley I'm exchange for my review.

This is a set of 6 short stories and is book 2 in the Elderly Lady series. Translated from Swedish Eighty-eight-year-old Maud is never looking for trouble, but it always seems to find her. First, a woman in her building met an untimely end: tragic. Then, just recently, a dead body mysteriously appeared in her very own apartment, prompting an investigation by the local Gothenburg authorities. Such a strange coincidence. When it seems suspicion has fallen on her, little old lady that she is, Maud decides to skip town and splurges on a trip to South Africa for herself. This book is a stand alone read but will entice you to read book 1. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I didn't realize this was the second book in a series, cannot rate accurately. Hopefully will pick up the first book soon.

I really enjoyed getting to know Maud, our titular elderly lady, better in this book. We start with Maud preparing for her trip to South Africa over the Christmas holidays, and being pestered by the detectives from that unfortunate incident that happened in the last book. During her travels, her mind brings up memories from her past, and this is where we get to know Maud better - we get insight into her personality seeing bits of her childhood, young adult life, and retirement. Maud's a tough cookie, and I wouldn't want to cross her, but she'd be a great person to have on your side. Her trip to South Africa reunites her with a friend from her last visit, introduces her to some new friends, and has some surprises in store. I want to say more, but I also don't want to spoil anything, so I'll just add that the ending was very Maud and very satisfying. If you enjoyed the first book, you'll enjoy this one as well. If you haven't read the first book, read it first; this doesn't work so well as a stand-alone - the events of the first book are touched upon, but not enough to really get what happened. Both books are fun, quick reads with a very interesting (and a bit murdery) elderly lady protagonist, perfect for an afternoon of tea and a book!

#AnElderlyLadyMustNotBeCrossed #NetGalley

Loved the original short story collection and loved the sequel even more. Maud is such a morbidly fascinating character and a reminder that people are never what they seem at face value.

Maud is taking a long trip! She is booked for a deluxe safari in South Africa, in part to get away from those pesky detectives in Sweden! While on the flight she remembers various problems that she solved in the past - nasty boys, bothersome coworkers, family members, and children of acquaintances. Then in South Africa, she intrudes in a particular situation and gains a bit of family and heirs. The framing of travel and memories made the collection of tales more connected. And the cookie recipes at conclusion is an added bonus.

I thoroughly enjoyed "An Elderly Lady Is Up To No Good", the story of an elderly woman who lives in Gothenburg, Sweden. Underestimate Maude or fall for her "little old lady act" at your own peril if you have crossed her! I found Maude such a compelling character that I was eager to read the followup, "An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed".

This book opens with the police re-questioning Maude over a dead body that had been found in her "gentleman's room". Maude is continuing her befuddled act, but the two female detectives are skeptical. Maude decides to escape to her favorite place, Cape Town. On the long airplane ride over, her mind conjures up some of her past adventures, that fill in Maude's younger years. Each story can be read is a stand alone, so this is the perfect book to read if your time or concentration is short.

Eventually Maude reaches South Africa and joins her tour group. On one of the expeditions a young girl is raped, and Maude suspects it might be someone on their trip. Meanwhile she goes to visit a friend she made on her last trip to Cape Town five years before and finds her in sad circumstances. At this point we start seeing a new Maude....a Maude that actually cares about others! I enjoyed seeing this new side to her character.

If gory murder is not your thing, you might enjoy Maude. Her stories are amusing and the murders are not descriptive. I hope there will be another installment!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Soho Press for allowing me to read an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

“Memories rise to the surface. That's what happens when you get older.”

Huge thanks to NetGalley for sharing an ecopy of this book and allowing me to give an honest review.


Appearances can be deceiving. We do not know how deep the masks people wear go until we're well and truly caught in their traps (hook, line, and sinker….).
Eighty-year-old Maud is a seemingly innocent gray-haired lady with age-typical memory and hearing problems. At least that's what she made people around her believe. She is a Karate-punching, backflip-kicking ninja!
Okay, sorry, that was lame (exams and assignments have clearly taken a toll on my humor). But Maud's mind is sharp as ever and the story spans across the land of South Africa where our protagonist's "relaxing" vacation brings more misadventures and troubles.

Seeing (reading) Maud pretending to be a sweet, albeit fussy, old lady and then switching to a mastermind and a killer was very fascinating. I could not box her character into confines of black and white (like most characters tend to be more often than not)— it was equal parts frustrating and fascinating. She skirted around the grey area more and that made it a little more realistic. Just when I came around to thinking of her as incredibly selfish for doing a Maud-thing that she does, the clever old lady managed to do something that bordered on angelic and I again had to reevaluate my assessment of her.


Though I did feel that the circumstances around the deaths that mysteriously followed Maud were a bit obvious. They could've been looked into more carefully. But that would've posed a problem to our BAMF protag so I digress:-D

I loved how the author let old memories surface at times. Reading about Maud's character arc from the little girl who plotted against bullies to the old lady who escaped charges against murder and managed to throw off suspicions on her. It was very entertaining and made me curious to read the first book in this series.

Seeing Maud kick some arse was amusing to a high degree. I would definitely pay to watch that adapted to screens.


Trigger Warnings: Mild Violence, Minor Character Death, Referenced Rape/Non-Con, Mild Depiction of Sexual Harassment.
In the case of sensitivity to such content, reader discretion is advised.

Thank you to NetGalley and Soho Crime Press for the review copy of An Elderly Lady Must Not be Crossed by Helene Tursten. I found the first book chronicling the murderous exploits of 90-year-old Maud extremely entertaining, and was very excited to see that there was another book.

This book takes place shortly after the events of An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good, as we journey with Maud to South Africa. Along the way we are given flashback glimpses into Maud’s life leading up to now that are sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes humorous, and often times murdery. It was a very entertaining book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Soho Press for the advanced copy to read and review!

I absolutely loved this book and will definitely be looking out for the other books written by this author, as I'm sure they will provide just as much enjoyment!

But back to An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed, just from the description of this book I was intrigued, and within just the first few pages I was hooked. I cannot find fault with this book at all, every single aspect worked together so well to form a brilliantly thought out and well crafted story.

The premise itself, of a little old lady who is seemingly just trying to get on with her life but is constantly found to be in sticky situations may seem a little odd to start with, but within minutes of reading it's clear to see that Maud is definitely not what she seems to be... And from there the book just progresses into a truly entertaining read.

Maud herself is certainly an interesting character and despite my best judgement, I found myself quite warming to her. The way she is portrayed in her tales and trips down memory lane, she actually has a bit of spice to her! Her character also makes you question what you would do in similar situations, it's very morally grey, which I think is why I like her so much.

And it isn't just Maud that's the only interesting thing about this book...

The way the story is laid out, as six interlocking stories, is very clever. And the stories themselves bring something different each time, whilst also retaining that bit of Maud that you grow to love the more you read. I particularly enjoyed how a couple of the stories happened in real time, and weren't just memory lane trips, it helped the book flow nicely.

The ending of the story as well seemed to finish everything off nicely, it was so in keeping with the rest of the book and meant that the story came a full circle in the end - which I particularly enjoyed as it meant there were no cliff-hangers haha.

Everything from the plot, to the storytelling, to the writing, to the characters, to the scene setting was just done to perfection. An all round brilliant book.

On the whole, An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed is an entertaining, different, amusing and refreshing read, that I loved every single second of! It was well worth the read and I would definitely recommend it.

It also features a cookie recipe at the end!!!!!!!!!!! What more could you need?!

I did not enjoy this title as much as I did the first Elderly Lady, but it was still pretty delightful. I have already recommended it to a few patrons, especially older women. I just think the main character is charming, despite being a murderer...