Eighty-eight-year-old Maude lives alone in a rent-free apartment in Sweden, with no family or friends to speak of – or to – and she rather likes it that way. Unfortunately, other folks have a habit of intruding on her quiet reclusive life. So, what’s a woman to do? In the case of Maude, she has a way of, ahem, eliminating the annoyances.
This collection of short stories is not in the same vein as charming Jessica Fletcher solving murders in the quaint village of Cabot Cove, Maine. In these five stories we get inside the head of this spunky octogenarian as she plots and carries out the murders with creativity and precision. As one of my fellow Rowdy Readers said, “I don’t exactly agree with her morals, but I do have to admire her efficiency!”
Author Helene Tursten is a well-known Swedish writer of crime fiction and was challenged by her publisher to write a Christmas story. She had just a few weeks to come up with something. Maude made an appearance, and An Elderly Lady Seeks Peace at Christmas was Tursten’s answer to the challenge. But her character didn’t go away.
One reviewer likened Maude to the cartoon character Maxine for her feistiness and irreverent outlook on life. I’m not sure I agree. Well, okay, she does have a crispy inside, but she at least covers it up with an exterior of what we might expect from a woman our mother’s or grandmother’s age – sweet disposition, a few minor aches and pains that require a walker or cane (in Maude’s case just props), and an innocent curiosity (in Maude’s case a ruse that puts people off their guard). It’s that combination of salty and sweet and resulting tongue-in-cheek dark humor I enjoyed and had me cheering for her. After all, she just wants to be left alone … and haven’t we all been there?
Maude’s escapades continue in An Elderly Lady Must Not be Crossed. I’ve not read this one yet, but it’s on my list. Apparently, there’s a young inspector who suspects Maude isn’t as sweet and innocent as she appears …
The sun is finally shining in the Carolinas after 5+ inches of rain fell over a couple of days. Our Catawba River was high and muddy over the weekend. And I’m under 100 poems left to read for Kakalak! My week is off to a great start, and I hope yours is too.
A Writer's Window 
What an interesting novel! My mother loved the Maxine cartoons, and every time I see one I think of her.
Oh, I read a sample of a phone booth at the edge of the world this morning on Amazon, and it did catch my interest! I did not see it in my local library–but the catalog system was just updated–so we may have it and I was just looking in the wrong place.
Good luck reading those poems. I know you will find some good ones!
Maude is definitely a character lol. I hope your library has The Phone Booth … if not, let me know and I’ll loan you mine. I’ve finished reading poems Wednesday morning about 12:15! Yes, some very good ones. It was interesting there were few if any pandemic poems this year, and maybe only 1 or 2 about the war in Ukraine. Kakalak truly is a time capsule in many ways. The poems are always interesting to read, and then to see which ones become the anthology. Also have had a peek at the cover options – sooooo beautiful. Excited to see it all come together. I hope you have a wonderful 4th of July.