Mad Mabel: A Novel
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
From New York Times bestselling author Sally Hepworth comes a twisty tale of justice, redemption, and one irrepressible woman who’s not done breaking the rules just yet.
Meet Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick: eighty-one years old, gloriously grumpy, fiercely independent, and never without a hot cup of tea—or a cutting remark. She minds her own business in her quiet Melbourne suburb, until a neighbor turns up dead and the whispers start flying.
Because Elsie hasn’t always been Elsie. Once upon a headline, she was Mad Mabel Waller—Australia’s youngest convicted murderer. But was she really mad, or just misunderstood? Either way, she’s kept her secret buried for decades.
Enter seven-year-old Persephone, a relentless little chatterbox who has just moved in across the road (armed with stickers, questions, and no sense of personal boundaries); Joan, who appears to have it in for Elsie; and a healthy dose of public interest—the cops are sniffing around, and the media is circling like seagulls at a picnic.
So Mabel does what she’s always done best—she takes matters into her own hands.
Is she a cantankerous old lady with a shady past? A cold-blooded killer with arthritis? Or just someone who’s finally ready to tell her side of the story?
Sharp, surprising, and wickedly funny, this is the unforgettable story of a woman who’s spent a lifetime being underestimated—and is about to prove everyone wrong. Again.
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✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI
Readers say *Mad Mabel* is a clever, character-driven novel blending suspense, wit, and warmth. Many praise Mabel’s humor, her rich relationships, and...
Best book I have read in a while. I loved the relationships and how the story unfolded! Mabel is truly magnificent.
Mad Mabel
by Sally Hepworth
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I loved this book!!l I was right there with Daphne and Elsie and Persephone, Peter, Joan, Roxanne, and Nugget, and the entire neighborhood, living with them on Kenny Lane. I did not want it to end.
Synopsis:
Mad Mabel is a darkly funny, twist-filled mystery that explores the two people no one ever expects to be killers: little girls and old ladies.
Eighty-one-year-old Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick has spent six decades on quiet Kenny Lane, where she’s known as the neighborhood busybody. But behind her sharp tongue lies a carefully guarded past filled with unsettling secrets—and an uncanny history of people around her meeting untimely ends.
When a curious and persistent young girl moves in next door and insists on befriending Elsie, long-buried truths begin to resurface. As the story shifts between past and present, the mystery of who “Mad Mabel” once was—and who Elsie truly is today—slowly unfolds, leading to a suspenseful conclusion centered on justice, redemption, and the lingering power of the past.
Review:
Told from Mabel/Elsie’s perspective in alternating “Now” and “Then” timelines, the story makes excellent use of chapter-ending cliffhangers that kept me eager to read just one more chapter.
We get to see Mabel as a child and as an elderly woman, experiencing her joys, heartbreaks, and struggles through her own eyes. It’s impossible not to empathize with her along the way.
The supporting cast is just as well developed. Even the minor characters evolve throughout the story, and the author includes a thoughtfully diverse group of characters who each contribute something meaningful to the novel.
This book completely surprised me. Throughout most of the story, I was trying to figure out who would die next and how it would happen. But this isn’t simply the story of a murderess. At its heart, it’s a story about love in its many forms, the value of friendship, and the lasting impact people have on one another. While it doesn’t initially feel like a twist-heavy novel, it delivers several unexpected surprises and an ending I never saw coming.
I was completely engrossed from beginning to end. It’s an engaging, emotional, and thoroughly unputdownable page-turner.
Sally Hepworth has done it again! I did figure one part out, I won't say as it would be a spoiler!
This was wonderfully written, I totally loved the main character Mabel! Boy was she so misunderstood! I did get a little teary eye at one part of the book..
I would definitely recommend this book and feel the author is always a good too for a great book read!
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