This book was selected by my book club. I was expecting witty, clever, and engaging, and the story starts out exactly that way as Maud, our 88-year-old heroine, is visited by two police inspectors. It seems a man was killed inside her apartment, apparently during an attempted burglary. The doddering old woman’s explanations about the event leave the police exasperated, and while they are still suspicious, they have no credible basis to suspect that Maud could have murdered the man. Inside Maud’s thoughts, however, we know that Maud is not at all confused and addled, and most definitely killed the man (who was trying to swindle her) as part of a scheme to collect the insurance money on the property that was “stolen” by the dead man’s non-existent partner, and then to also sell the goods and double her profit. How sweet.

                At this point, one chapter into the narrative, I’m intrigued by Maud’s character and interested in knowing where the story would go. Unfortunately, the vignettes that follow are not as interesting, Maud’s character loses much of her charm, the storytelling is boring, there is no mystery, and in the end I wish that first scene had been a stand-alone short story and I could have stopped there.

                After her evasive police interrogation, Maud decides it’s time to take a trip to South Africa. She loves to travel, and getting out of town seems prudent. While on the airplanes from London to Dubai and from Dubai to Capetown (which are described in unnecessary detail), Maud has several flashbacks to her younger life and we get three stories of her escapades as a school teacher, as the caretaker for her mentally ill sister, and as a friend with a wayward son who has caused the friend immeasurable grief. In each story, death, murder, and attempted murder are Maud’s companions. These stories are intended to give us insight into Maud’s character, but they never allow us to really bond with her or understand her. The stories are told in a flat manner with gobs of unnecessary mundane details about Maud’s life. We never meet anyone else who is meaningful, nor do we care much about the victims, who all “deserve” what they get, at least in Maud’s telling.

                After the three flashbacks, we finally land in South Africa and get a very lengthy travelogue of Maud’s tour group as they traverse the landscape. Again, we never meet any side characters who are meaningful or even interesting. The narrative drags on and on without any obvious purpose until there is an incident involving a young girl while the tour group is nearby. Later (much, much later), this will be the hook for Maud’s final act in the story, which is both noble and brave, but which lacks any suspense, mystery, or even pathos. We are supposed to view Maud as hero in this instances (and she is), which maybe is supposed to make us forget about her prior murders. And then we’re done, with a wink from the old woman that her exploits are not yet completed.

                I can understand how a certain set of elderly readers (I’m “only” 63, so I don’t put myself in this group) might be enthralled by an 88-year-old heroine, engaged in activities that are decidedly abnormal for someone “her age.” But most of the book covers events in her younger days, which lack the quaint, almost humorous, fell of her older exploits. Perhaps some readers appreciate the rambling almost stream-of-consciousness writing style and the long interludes where nothing happens aside from Maud drifting across the landscape. I did not. As a mystery/thriller, this was flat. As a character study, it was unsatisfying. As a story to pass the time on a long plane trip, it was boring.

                I did not read the original novella that preceded this volume. Perhaps if I had I might have connected with Maud more. Perhaps the translation from the Swedish is the problem. In any case, I give the publisher much credit for getting The New York Times and the Chicago Tribune and The Wall Street Journal to review (mostly favorably) these books and make them best sellers. I can’t imagine why they are popular outside of octogenarians desperate for a hero to whom they can relate. For me, it was dull and lacking in emotion or excitement.