A retired serial killer’s quiet life is upended by an unexpected visitor. To protect her secret, there’s only one option left—what’s another murder?
Lottie Jones thought her crimes were behind her.
Decades earlier, she changed her identity and tucked herself away in a small town. Her most exciting nights are the weekly bingo games at the local church and gossiping with her friends.
When investigative journalist Plum Dixon shows up on her doorstep asking questions about Lottie’s past and specifically her involvement with numerous unsolved cases, well, Lottie just can’t have that.
Don't just take our word for it...
“Twisty, clever, and wildly entertaining…delivers a Bingo-playing, retired serial killer who just might be the most compelling anti-heroine you’ve ever read. Samantha Downing is at her diabolical best in this darkly comedic thriller.”
– Darby Kane, author of Pretty Little Wife
“Samantha Downing’s signature dark humor is cranked up to one hundred in TOO OLD FOR THIS, a whip smart story about a geriatric serial killer who simply wants to settle down. Walker-wielding Lottie Jones is as twisted as they come, and I, for one, will never underestimate the elderly again.”
– Stacy Willingham, New York Times bestselling author of A Flicker in the Dark
“This is Downing at her best. Delightfully macabre and so artful that the reader might well root for Lottie, even when she is psychotic to the max. The perfect recommendation for someone looking for something different and extremely entertaining.”
– Booklist (starred review 🌟)
Taste the very first page
The remains of my dinner start to congeal. I bring the plate into the kitchen, rinse it off, and return to my recliner. Pull up my compression socks. Unpause the TV.
The knock at the door is a surprise. It’s too late for salespeople or pollsters or children raising money for soccer uniforms. Too late for anything good. I mute the TV and wait for them to go away.
Another knock.
Sit still, I tell myself. God knows, it took me long enough to learn that sometimes the best thing you can do is sit still.
“Mrs. Jones?”
A female voice, one I don’t recognize. It’s young and a bit whiny, and I wonder if she is selling Girl Scout cookies.
I heave myself up and out of the recliner. My joints do not appreciate this, and show their displeasure with creaks and pops.
“Who’s there?” I yell.
“Mrs. Jones, my name is Plum Dixon.”
Hard to forget a name like that, even for me. “You’re the one who left a message earlier.”
“Yes, I’m from—”
You might also like
Dissolution
A woman dives into her husband’s memories to uncover a decades-old feud threatening reality itself in this staggering technothriller from the bestselling author of Ascension.
Tilt
Annie is nine months pregnant. She’s shopping for a crib at IKEA. That’s when the massive earthquake hits. There’s nothing to do but walk.
Dead Money
Featuring jaw-dropping twists and a wily, outsider heroine you can’t help rooting for, Dead Money is a brilliant sleight-of-hand mystery.
Cross My Heart
A twisty novel about a heart transplant patient who becomes romantically obsessed with her donor’s husband.
Alter Ego
In the present day, a comics legend is given the chance to revive a beloved but forgotten character. But at what price?
Red River Road
Anna Downes's extraordinary next thriller follows a woman desperate to discover what happened to her sister on a solo road trip through the Australian outback.
Look In the Mirror
From the New York Times bestselling author of Something in the Water comes “an utter white-knuckle ride that took me into a heart of darkness” (Lucy Foley, author of The Paris Apartment).
The Unraveling
This chilling, sizzling, and addictive thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Vi Keeland follows a New York psychiatrist’s dark descent into dangerous obsession.
You Know What You Did
In this heart-pounding debut thriller for fans of Lisa Jewell and Celeste Ng, a first-generation Vietnamese American artist must confront nightmares past and present...