Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good by Helene Tursten

15 reviews

katievh's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Blood, and Violence

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, and Mental illness

Minor: Alcoholism

lmagie's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

At first it seems funny, but it ends up being kinda creepy.

Narration could have been more enjoyable if it had been set in the “present”, without so many flashbacks and explanations

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Murder, and Blood

Minor: Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Dementia, and Mental illness

saltycoffee's review against another edition

dark funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Murder

Minor: Death of parent, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Blood

mematilda's review against another edition

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood

Minor: Mental illness and Dementia

bookishaddictions's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

These short stories tell of the adventures of Maud, an elderly woman from Sweden. However, Maud isn’t as nice as we typically expect little old ladies to be. We get to follow Maud as she “solves” problems at home, and we get to follow her on her trips abroad. The stories are funny, quick, and remind you why the elderly should not be underestimated.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Blood, and Violence

Moderate: Mental illness

Minor: Death

batty_and_bookish's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Violence, Murder, Death, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Mental illness

Minor: Infidelity

vigil's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny lighthearted relaxing tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

on the rare occasion an older woman is introduced into a book, she’s usually a flat sweet grandmother character meant to occasionally support the (often male) protag.

maud, an 88 year old swedish female murderer is none of these things. its part of what makes her so delightful. another is the skill portrayed by helene tursten, in characterization, and plot. she’s a rotten old lady who’s first instinct to the slightest annoyance is murder, and it makes for an excellent read.

this is a collection of four short stories, easily read in one afternoon. i believe that they should be read in order, especially the last two, which are in direct relation to each other.

needless to say, i thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, and spending time in maud’s devious little brain. i absolutely plan on picking up the sequel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Violence, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Blood, Car accident, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Mental illness, and Physical abuse

ashleybakerwrites's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Mental illness, Blood, and Body horror

Moderate: Ableism

Minor: Homophobia and Sexism

apoppyinthewind's review against another edition

dark funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This was a delightfully dark and entertaining quick read. It’s a collection of short stories that are interconnected snapshots of Maud’s adventures as a elderly murderess. The title had caught my eye at the library & I borrowed it, expecting bad ass old lady shenanigans which it delivered. Imagine if Jessica Fletcher had decided to commit murders instead of solving them and she was a no-nonsense Swedish loner instead. I will be checking out the next collection of stories on my next library visit.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood and Murder

Minor: Mental illness, Dementia, Death, Domestic abuse, and Death of parent

fridayreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny lighthearted mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Ableism and Mental illness

Minor: Homophobia, Alcohol, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Dementia, and Domestic abuse