Too Old for This

Samantha Downing’s novel explores the consequences of prejudice against women, specifically elderly women, arguing that the marginalization of women who defy conventional norms can provoke violent reactions. Lottie Jones’s murderous rage is consistently triggered by being dismissed or judged for her age, marital status, or perceived weakness, suggesting her violence is a twisted form of reclaiming power. Her life as a killer begins as a direct response to this judgment when a man named Gary dismisses her for being an unmarried woman in her late twenties. His condescension ignites an anger that results in his death, establishing a pattern where Lottie’s violence becomes a lethal answer to perceived slights. The murders in Spokane years later follow this blueprint, targeting individuals like Marilyn Dobbs and Walter Simmons who judged her for her status as a single mother or her financial struggles. The media’s portrayal of her as a “she-devil” and “never-married single mother” (35) during the 1985 investigation reinforces the societal condemnation that fuels her resentment, cementing her view of violence as a necessary corrective.

While Lottie’s reactions to perceived slights against her age and gender are extreme, her experiences nonetheless parallel those of others perceived as weak by society. This idea is best expressed through the hammer that Lottie uses to kill Kelsie. In a flashback, it is revealed that Lottie first encountered a similar hammer when she met Debbie, a woman who claimed her own hammer was a “security system” (106) as a single woman. While Debbie’s feelings of vulnerability and the need for protection parallel those of many young women, Lottie takes the idea of this hammer and subverts it, using it instead as a tool for murder. In this way, Lottie’s character takes the dangers of gender discrimination to a new level. Instead of allowing herself to be victimized or feel afraid by society’s judgment, Lottie subverts the very judgments she despises by weaponizing them.

Lottie consciously performs the role of a frail, harmless elderly woman, using props like a walker to exploit societal assumptions about age and weakness. This performance of frailty allows her to get close to her victims and evade suspicion from law enforcement. Plum Dixon becomes a target because she underestimates Lottie, persistently pursuing her for a docuseries without recognizing the danger she represents. Similarly, Detective Kelsie Harlow sees Lottie not as a threat but as a vulnerable target for blackmail, a fatal miscalculation rooted in societal prejudice. Lottie’s violent response in both cases is a reassertion of the power and agency that others refuse to see in her. Through Lottie’s actions, Downing suggests that constant societal underestimation can breed a profound and dangerous resentment, where murder becomes a dark and extreme form of self-assertion against a world that seeks to diminish her.