The Little Old Lady Who Struck Lucky Again!: A Novel (League of Pensioners)

The Little Old Lady Who Struck Lucky Again is the second book in the League of Pensioners series by Swedish author Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg. After escaping to the Bahamas with their ill-gotten gains, Martha Andersson and her four old friends head to Las Vegas. Then, having made De Beers, Casino, Bank security and Police look like total idiots, they head back to Sweden, so the book’s cover is actually rather misleading. With the help of Christina’s adult children, they set themselves up in a grand house, only to discover a Tarot-reading siren and a gang of bikies are their neighbours.

These self-styled Robin Hoods manage to lose their stolen assets as easily as they acquire them, and their commentary on the government, financial institutions and legal firms becomes repetitive and borders on preaching. Their justification for committing these crimes (the terrible conditions of retirement homes, schools and art galleries) is also reiterated numerous times. The humour relies on sitcom or slapstick, and obviously loses something in translation. While the characters are portrayed as resourceful, their activities (bank robberies, museum theft and extortion) are too far-fetched to be even vaguely believable. The plot (commit theft, give away funds, lose some, rinse and repeat) is executed in a rather tedious and occasionally clumsy manner. This sequel is disappointing.

With thanks to TheReadingRoom and Pan Macmillan Australia for this copy to read and review.