Book Review for Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth

 

Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth

Published:  April 21, 2026 by St. Martin's Press

Genre:  Mystery Thriller

Taken from Goodreads:  There are two kinds of people no one ever expects to be murderers: little girls and old ladies.

Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick is eighty-one years old. She's lived on her idyllic street for sixty years—longer than anyone else. Aside from being a curmudgeon who minds everyone else's business, few would suspect that Elsie has a past she's worked exceedingly hard at concealing—because when it comes to murder, no one ever suspects little girls or old ladies. And Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick, once a little girl and now an old lady, has a strange history of people in her life coming to a foul end.

 

My Thoughts:  Mad Mabel is a fun read.  I really liked the characters and the uniqueness of their lives.  Mabel, now known as Elsie, has grown old being the outcast.  She did not make friends, her parents travelled more than they were home, and she was taken care of by her aunt.   Now her secrets are coming out. 

I enjoyed hearing Elsies life story directly from her.   Her life was never easy and it made her the way she is.   Now, at eighty-one she has made friends, she lives beside neighbors that see her and protect her,  and she has a purpose in life.   The relationship between Elsie and Persephone is the most entertaining to me.

I did not find this book to much of a thriller but it a mystery, a family drama, and a great story.  

Thank you St. Martin’s Press for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

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Meet theAuthor (taken from her website): Sally Hepworth is the New York Times bestselling author of ten novels, most recently Mad Mabel. Sally’s novels have been called “darkly charming” and praised by authors Emily Giffin and Liane Moriarty as “totally absorbing” and “fiction at its finest.”

Sally's novels have sold millions of copies worldwide and been translated into over 30 languages.

Sally lives in Melbourne, Australia with her family.

 

 

 

Sally Hepworth on Instagram: @sallyhepworth

Sally Hepworth on Facebook: @sallyhepworthauthor

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