Too Old for This, Samantha Downing
Too Old for This, Samantha Downing
List: $22.00 | Sale: $15.40
Club: $11.00

Too Old for This

Author: Samantha Downing

Narrator: Elizabeth Wiley

Unabridged: 10 hr 50 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Published: 08/12/2025


Synopsis

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…

About Samantha Downing

Samantha Downing is an acclaimed American author specializing in psychological thrillers. Her debut novel My Lovely Wife was recognized by prestigious awards and adapted for the screen. Subsequent titles-He Started It, For Your Own Good, and A Twisted Love Story-have all become bestsellers. Her newest standalone, Too Old for This, will be published in August 2025. Her work is known for its complex characters, unpredictable plots, and darkly humorous undertones.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Jayme on August 12, 2025

*My Most Anticipated Psychological Thriller Read for 2025* (and it DID NOT disappoint!) NOW AVAILABLE!!! “Chamomile or Peppermint?” Lottie Jones, a 75 year old retired serial killer, does not approve of guests knocking on her door UNINVITED, but she will still smile and invite them in, offering tea and......more

Goodreads review by Shelley's Book Nook on July 31, 2025

My Reviews Can Also Be Found On: The Book Review Crew Blog 4.5 Stars This is my first book by Samantha Downing, and it was a good one. The book is about Lottie, a woman in her mid-seventies who lives in Oregon. She likes playing bingo at the church, chatting with friends, and spending time with her g......more

Goodreads review by Nilufer on August 12, 2025

Well, Samantha Downing has masterfully done it again! She didn’t just keep my eyes glued to the pages—she had my entire soul locked into this book, as if time had stopped and nothing else mattered except the story and its chilling anti-heroine. As my couch molded to my body from hours of reading and......more

Goodreads review by CatsBnB on May 24, 2025

FANTABULOUS!!! Thank you NetGalley, Samantha Downing, and Berkley Publishing Group for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review. Wickedly Creepy, Darkly Hilarious and Chilling Clever!!! ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️ Lottie Jones is the kind of sweet old lady you'd never suspect. She is polite, c......more

Goodreads review by Norma ~ The Sisters on August 12, 2025

4.5 ⭐️ Killer, clever and unstoppable! Samantha Downing has done it again. A Twisted, Delightful Game of Cat and Mouse (if that were its title, which it isn’t) is a sharp, darkly amusing thriller that turns retirement into anything but restful. Lottie Jones was living the dream or at least, a very pec......more


Quotes

Praise for Too Old for This

“A smart, hilarious thriller.”
People

"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 riveting story unfolds with heart-pounding suspense, showcasing Downing’s masterful storytelling from start to finish."
—Liv Constantine
, New York Times Bestselling author of The Next Mrs. Parrish

“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)

“There’s nothing I love more than a good twisty thriller on vacation, especially one with a slightly deranged villain…. Is it bad that every time she kills someone, I’m definitely rooting for her to get away with it?”
Glamour

"
A sharp thriller with a killer sense of humor."
New York Post

“Wryly funny and clever… Downing’s impressive ability to have readers rooting for her anti-heroes is on full display in this propulsive cat-and-mouse thriller.”
Library Journal

"Downing displays an equally dark sense of humor as she details the difficulties of being an analog serial killer presented with the digital realities of murder in the 21st century…a clever and entertaining standalone thriller."
BookPage

"Deliciously dark and utterly addictive, this is a super-smart thrill ride with a lot to say about the way women are treated as they age and one of the most wickedly witty anti-heroines of all time! Brilliant!"
—Ellery Lloyd
, New York Times bestselling author of The Club

"Samantha Downing is one of the most daring and original thriller writers in the business. She hits another home run with Too Old for This, one of the twistiest thrillers in years and featuring as unique and intriguing a protagonist (or villain?) as you’ll ever meet. Combining tension with heartbreak and laugh-out-loud wit, Too Old for This is a fast and thoroughly satisfying read."
—David Ellis, New York Times bestselling author of Look Closer

“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

"Nerve-jangling, all-consuming, and yes, even laugh out loud… the most entertaining thriller of the year. Once again, Downing has outdone herself with this smart, twisted, and downright sinister read."
—Heather Gudenkauf
, New York Times bestselling author of The Overnight Guest

“Only the incredible Samantha Downing could create such a riveting, propulsive twisty and surprising and laugh out loud mordantly witty and inventive story! Fans of Richard Osman will howl with laughter and clamor to read this brilliant and yet heartbreaking take on a serial killer.”
—Hank Phillippi Ryan
, USA Today bestselling author of One Wrong Word

“Downing delivers once again with her signature wit and impeccable pacing. Don’t bother trying to put this book down—give in and let it take you on one hell of a ride!”
Hannah Mary McKinnon, author of Only One Survives

"So this is what Samantha Downing does best: makes the reader cheer for murderous women. Too Old for This is twisty, funny and downright dastardly - and I loved turning every single page to see just how far Lottie Jones would go. An incredible read!
—Rachel Howzell Hall
, New York Times bestselling author of The Last One

"Witty, twisted, and unpredictable, Too Old for This features a compelling and darkly original narrator who will make you think twice about knocking on someone's door uninvited. As propulsive as it is wickedly entertaining."
—Heather Chavez
, author of What We'll Burn Last

“Samantha Downing has been crafting excellent psychological thrillers from the get go.”
CrimeReads

"Dark, twisted, and delightfully fun."
—Fresh Fiction

Praise for Samantha Downing


“Witty and macabre.”
—Caroline Kepnes

"Slick and chilling."
—Megan Miranda

“I read all of her [books]. I've read everything.”
—Cecily Strong from SNL for Vanity Fair

“A perfect summer book.”
—NPR

"No one writes a twisted character quite like Samantha Downing."
—HelloGiggles

“Once I sat down to read For Your Own Good—a clever, twisty thriller—it was difficult to stop reading. It's the perfect read to get lost in this summer."
—Buzzfeed

“Just finished reading this wonderfully dark, twisty and compelling thriller set in a prestigious private school. I raced through it, desperate to know how it would end.”
—B.A. Paris, New York Times bestselling author of Behind Closed Doors

“Dark, sly and delicious...totally original—and totally compelling.”
—JP Delaney, New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Before

"I'm a huge fan of Samantha Downing, who is masterful at creating diabolical characters and deliciously chilling plots. An absolutely terrific book!"
—Sarah Pekkanen, New York Times bestselling author of The Wife Between Us

“Samantha Downing is totally the real deal. Wry and dark and witty and clever. I didn't think she could outdo My Lovely Wife but I think this one tops it.”
—Sarah Pinborough, New York Times bestselling author of Behind Her Eyes

"Samantha Downing has achieved something so special in For Your Own Good. A story that is dark as night, sinister as hell, clever, twisting and downright fun."
—Chris Whitaker, New York Times bestselling author of We Begin at the End

"Samantha Downing serves up another cast of deliciously mendacious characters in an exclusive private school setting, where the deadly action drives a brilliantly tense, taut and twisty plot. I may never look at my coffee in the same way again."
—Gilly Macmillan, New York Times bestselling author of What She Knew

"All the dark fun of Election, but with Downing's signature, diabolical spin. For Your Own Good is so utterly unputdownable, I look forward to reading it again. I think even the novel's own trickiest private school teacher, Teddy Crutcher, would have to give it an A+."
Chandler Baker, New York Times bestselling author of Whisper Network