They say good things come in small packages, and that adage certainly holds true for Helene Tursten’s latest book, AN ELDERLY LADY MUST NOT BE CROSSED, a collection of connected and chronological stories about a murderous octogenarian. The US edition, spryly translated by Marlaine Delargy, is only about half the size of a regular hardcover book and even smaller than some larger hardcovers. But, like its diminutive and unassuming anti-hero, it packs a wallop.

Eighty-eight-year-old Maud is visited by detectives Irene Huss and Embla Nyström (the main characters in Tursten’s two series), who have questions about a murder that took place in her Gothenburg apartment about five months prior. Maud is on her way to South Africa, her favorite travel destination, for Christmas and is inconvenienced, if not suitably concerned, by their latest inquiries. She knows exactly who killed the antique dealer, William Frazzén, because it was her. But she believes her muddled old lady act to be convincing enough to throw the detectives off her scent and allow her to travel in peace.

"The story is by turns a cozy mystery, a grisly crime tale, and a thoughtful reflection on the existence of real challenges and desires."

The most recent visit by Huss and Nyström rattles Maud enough that it stirs up memories she prefers not to contemplate. Over the course of these six stories, she recalls her crimes. And during her trip abroad, she finds cause to commit a few new ones as well. What emerges is a character, quite flawed and totally compelling, who never acts quite how you think she will.

Frazzén’s murder appears to be in cold blood, and Maud profited from it. But with each story centered on a violent memory, and as we also see Maud’s moments of care and tenderness, the picture of this serial criminal becomes hazier and her motivations are revealed as too varied for simple explanations. Young Maud is first moved to violence in defense of her older disabled sister, Charlotte. She hatches an elaborate plot to punish the two brothers who torment Charlotte, resulting in the offending family’s eviction from the apartment building.

Maud’s protection of her sister remains a lifelong commitment; after the death of their parents, she cares for Charlotte until Charlotte passes away. Her death is either an act of violence or an act of mercy…or perhaps somehow both. Maud’s other victims include a rude teacher who stands in the way of her career advancement and a predator who not only harms girls but threatens the quality of her holiday. With each reveal and as Maud’s story unfolds, Tursten provides dark crimes, winking humor, and surprisingly a little optimism and much heart.

Readers will change their minds several times about Maud while reading AN ELDERLY LADY MUST NOT BE CROSSED. The story is by turns a cozy mystery, a grisly crime tale, and a thoughtful reflection on the existence of real challenges and desires. Maud is smart and wicked, self-centered and selfless, strong in many ways, and secretly --- and ultimately not-so-secretly --- kind. Tursten has penned a delightful and unique character, and she brings her settings alive with fine detail. This fun book is small but in no way is a lesser examination of devious deeds and a life particularly lived.