With no family or friends to speak of, eighty-eight-year-old Maud lives in contented solitude in a spacious apartment in Gothenburg, Sweden. To neighbors she seems like a sweet little old lady, but Maud has no qualms about sticking up for herself against those who would take advantage of her—and people around her keep coming to untimely ends. A delightfully macabre collection of vignettes involving Maud's murderous escapades—doing away with a local celebrity with designs on her apartment, thwarting the ill-advised marriage of an ex-lover, disposing of a would-be thief, and more—this slim little collection of irreverent, interrelated tales will keep you laughing as you root for this irascible murderess. (AG)