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? From bestselling author Samantha Downing.

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.

But getting away with murder is hard enough when you’re young. And when Lottie receives another annoying knock on the door, she realizes this crime might just be the death of her…

Sometimes it feels like thrillers follow trends the same way fashion does. A while back we got a whole string of books about female serial killers carving their way through crime fiction. Then I didn’t see another one for a while. (Maybe I just wasn’t looking hard enough.) I was excited when this one popped up. Not only is it a female serial killer story, but the killer in question is an elderly woman who’s been “retired” for years. I couldn’t grab this book fast enough.

Enter Lottie Jones. On the surface, she’s the kind of woman you’d expect to see attending church bingo and gossiping over coffee. (Which she does, by the way.) But beneath the cardigans and the small-town chatter lies a history of bloodshed she thought she’d buried. Decades ago, Lottie did terrible things. Now she just wants a quiet life. Unfortunately for her, investigative journalist Plum Dixon shows up on her doorstep, and Lottie has to decide if her knives are truly retired, or just needing to be sharpened.

Lottie is an absolute riot of a character. Messy, unpredictable, and almost likable in spite of everything. She’s one of those rare leads who can make you root for her while you’re simultaneously questioning your own morals. I kept asking myself: is she really a cold-blooded murderer, or is she just a mother who did what she had to in order to survive? Were her victims unlucky bystanders or did they deserve to die? The book leaves room for that gray area, and I loved sinking into the tension of it.

Downing nails the balance between humor and horror here. Lottie teeters on the edge of sweet old lady and psychotic predator, and the result is both unsettling and entertaining. There’s a sly wink in the writing that makes the book fun without ever sliding completely into campy territory. And unlike some thrillers that pile on twists just for shock value, the author knows exactly what kind of story she’s telling. Every turn of the plot feels earned. No random detours, no cheap fake-outs, just sharp storytelling from start to finish.

The pacing kept me hooked the whole way through. Short, punchy chapters made it easy to say “just one more,” until suddenly I was halfway through the book. The tension ramps up steadily, and while the story could easily have gone over-the-top, it never did. Downing keeps things tight and focused on Lottie, which makes her both more dangerous and more sympathetic.

By the time the final page came, I wasn’t ready to let Lottie go. She’s the kind of character who lingers in the back of your mind, making you wonder what she might be getting up to next, or if she’s sitting quietly at a kitchen table somewhere, sipping tea and pretending none of it ever happened.

If you’ve missed female-led serial killer stories, or you just want a thriller with teeth that doesn’t waste your time on filler, this book should be on your list. It’s wicked fun, a little unsettling, and completely addictive.

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