Samantha Downing is getting back into the thriller game with her upcoming film.

He is the author of bestselling books such as Downing. My Dear Wife, A Twisted Love Story And For Your Own Good. PEOPLE can exclusively share the cover of the author’s upcoming thriller, Too Old For ThisIt will be released this summer from Berkley, an imprint of Penguin Random House.

Lottie Jones, a retired serial killer, thought she had left her life of crime behind. He moved to a small town, changed his name, and largely disappeared from the limelight. Until Plum Dixon comes home.

PEOPLE Puzzler puzzle is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!

Plum, an investigative journalist, pursues Lottie by asking her questions about her past; not to mention his involvement in a number of unsolved criminal cases. Any chance Lottie has at silencing Plum is further complicated when another mysterious guest appears on her doorstep – someone who could be the end of her, too.

Read on for an exclusive excerpt Too Old For This.

“As I said, Reboot Productions specializes in telling the story behind the story. Let me show you the site.” He pulled out his phone, jumped up from his seat, and pushed the screen in front of my face.

“Looks nice.”

“What I like to do is really dig into a story, I research…”

“So you’re a reporter.”

“No, I’m a producer. I own the company.” Erik smiles. He’s pretty proud of that. I’m sure it’s a tremendous accomplishment, but I’d be happier if he didn’t give up on me.

“Congratulations.” The kettle is whistling. I pour boiling water into our glasses.

“Thank you. But I’m more interested in talking about you, not myself.”

Here it is. I may be 75 years old, but I know a sales pitch when I hear it. It hasn’t been that long since I bought my last car, and Plum reminds me a bit of a car salesman. It’s not a compliment.

I put the tray full of tea, sugar, milk and spoons on the table.

“You really didn’t need to go to all that trouble,” Plum says.

“I think I have cookies too.”

“You don’t have to—”

“No problem. No problem.”

He puts a dollop of cream into his tea, leaves out the sugar, and stirs it before taking out the tea bag. Now the entire rope is wrapped around the handle of the spoon. From the corner of my eye, I watch as he cautiously tries to unravel it.

I think we all have different talents.

“Miss Jones, I think…”

“Please. Call me Lottie.

“Lottie, okay. Lottie, you’ve lived one of the most fascinating lives I’ve ever encountered. A lot of people would love to hear your side of the story.”

I sit and stir my own tea, without adding sugar or milk. According to my doctor, both are bad.

“Your story is exactly what we do,” he says. “We investigate past crimes and compare what we know now with how it was reported at the time. You’ve lost your job, your family, and probably all your friends. And the names they called you were so terrible! The media acted as if you were some kind of she-devil.

She-devil. That’s what they called me, along with “that female serial killer” and sometimes “psycho bitch.” Everything happened before the internet. The era of tabloid journalism was a harbinger of things to come.

“How’s your tea?” I ask.

“Lottie, I want to tell you what happens when you are falsely accused of a crime. You were tried and convicted by the public without ever being arrested, and I want to focus on what that was like for you.

“Why would I want you to investigate all this? The world has forgotten me. I moved away years ago.

“Did you do that?” he says. Plum looks around my old kitchen in the house where I live alone. For someone like him, Bluebell Lane probably feels like the end of the world.

Never miss a story — sign up PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter To stay up to date on the best PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling juicy stories.