Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth. Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick is eighty-one years old. She's lived on her idyllic street, Kenny Lane, 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 that she has 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.

What a fantastic tale!

Mad Mabel is almost like inception of Lizzie Borden in the sense that this old woman has spent years of her life with tragedy falling around her... Could Mabel be a harmless old woman with horrible luck on her side or something more sinister? That is for you to pick up this book & decide! I had a great time with this one, not surprised as Sally Hepworth lives in my bookcase rent free. Thank you so much Netgalley for this opportunity to get my hands on such an advanced copy! As always my reviews are honest & never forced. You won't regret this one!

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This mystery was perfectly balanced! I was hooked the whole way through and I did not want to put the book down!! At times it did feel a little slow but the plot hooked me which helped.

Wow, I have not read a book this good in a very long time. I could not put it down and I am so sad it's over. I was trying to decide which chapters I liked best. The "then" chapters or the "now" chapters. I decided on the "now" chapters. What a story and what great characters. I absolutely loved the neighbors. I would recommend this book to everyone!

Eighty-one year Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick has lived her whole life surrounded by a dark cloud of terrible things happening to people around her. At a young age, she was given the nickname, Mad Mabel, and she didn’t even understand why she was given it. She’s lived over 60 years in the same house, just living her life and minding her own business until something from her past comes back to wreak havoc on the simple live she has created for herself. Told in Sally Hepworth’s signature quirky fashion, we get to relive Mabel’s bygone days and learn the truth of what really happened all those years ago. Hepworth has a certain way of writing that takes a dark situation and makes it fun and humorous at the same time.

Many thanks to NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read an advanced eARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

Look, I’ve been told that I’m a lenient reviewer and that my ratings skew higher than the averages, but I can’t help it that I can find something to appreciate in almost every book I read. I am grateful to netgalley, the publisher, and the author for this arc. I quite enjoyed this novel, though I could see some of the big plot twists coming from a mile away. Mad Mabel is an extremely likable and relatable protagonist, and maybe I feel that way because I, too, am a woman in my 80’s in my soul. In this book, we learn about Mabel’s story, from childhood through old age. It seems that in every phase of Mabel’s life, death seems to follow her around. Is she a killer, or just unlucky and misunderstood? Is she bad, or should she be pitied? You know by now that if you read my reviews, I’ll never tell. However, I highly suggest you read this work and find out for yourself! Well done, easy to follow, and very well written. If you like a slow thriller with lots of heart, this one’s for you

Sally Hepworth has been a favorite author of mine for years, and Mad Mabel just blew my mind. I am in total awe of this story, this character, the beginning, the middle and the ending! I read this at work on breaks, on lunch, in the bathroom and as a passenger in the car. The mysteriousness of Elsie, the main character has you guessing throughout the whole story and has you hanging on to her every word. You just have no idea what's going to happen next. I gasped, I sighed and yelled No! All emotions were evoked with this novel.
This is a must read for 2026.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC, to the Author and St. Martin's Press. All comments and opinions are my own.

I love books by Sally Hepworth and was grateful to get the chance to read it. The story about Elsie, an 81 year old woman who tried to live a quiet life until her past caught up with her. As a child she was called Mad Mable because many people seemed to come to questionable deaths or accidents around her. Mabel has a dry sense of humor that keeps the reader chuckling while reading about her horrible abusive relationship with her father. The book started a little slow for me but once it took off I couldn’t stop reading. I look forward to all books written by Sally Hepworth. I highly recommend this one!!

I enjoyed this one-- I always like a book with a curmudgeon-y main character and this one didn't disappoint Suffice it to say, there's a reason Elsie is the way that she is and I enjoyed the structure of the now versus the flashbacks. Hepworth did a good job with the pacing. I wouldn't say that this one is as much of a mystery as some of her other novels, but it was a well-done character study.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Engrossing tale of a small group of characters. Mabel who refuses to acknowledge her affection for the child. All characters are interesting and the ending is quite a reveal.
Thoroughly enjoyed the book.

I don’t think I’ve ever read a book quite like this. It’s a dark and unsettling character study of Mabel, nicknamed Mad Mabel, yet it’s laced with surprising moments of lightness. The question lingers throughout: is Mabel truly responsible for the mysterious deaths surrounding her, or has she simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time? Shunned and mistreated by those who should have loved her, Mabel carries the weight of a lifetime of judgment. The story shifts between heavy and light, bleak and hopeful, and I especially loved watching her redemption arc unfold slowly, layer by layer.

Such a fun read! Hepworth is an instant read author for me and this further cemented this notion! Mabel is a gorgeous mc— prickly, but soft, with a heart of gold and a notorious past. A perfect cozy mystery for the fall

Mad Mabel was not what I expected… but it’s been staying with me since I finished its last page.

By description I was expecting a tone more like a Frederick Backman or Richard Osman book: quirky, maybe curmudgeonly senior citizen central character narrated in a light, touching way.

Mabel aka Elsie, is indeed 81, and quite gruff. She is also sharp and funny and spicy… and may or may not be deserving of having been branded quite horribly as a young child as “Mad Mabel” in association with a few different deaths of people close to her.

Hepworth’s novel alternates between a “Now” timeline, triggered by the death of her 93 year old neighbor Ishaan on her little enclave of Kenny Lane, and a “Then” timeline where we learn all about Mabel’s childhood. That was the part I didn’t expect: there is genuine anguish in her story that made her story gripping but hard to read. As the plot in both timelines unfurls you can’t help but be rooting for her. Favorite part: her relationship with precocious 7 year old neighbor Persephone, who (inexplicably at first) takes a liking to Elsie (the name she goes by in the present). While their storyline is a pivotal thread. I could have read a whole book just about the two of them.

No spoilers but the ending was incredible. Thank you to St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this ARC. I hope a lot of readers become mad FOR Mabel when this releases in 2026.

This is the best Sally Hepworth book I've read! Absolutely loved it!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

LOVED this and felt so many emotions while reading it - I laughed and cried and smiled and was sad and everything in between. The back and forth timelines were perfectly done and the multiple female friendships were SO special. I especially loved the friendship between Mabel and Persephone.

I definitely wouldn’t call this your typical thriller as it was more character driven, but I loved that change in pace and especially
Loved the major twists at the end! It definitely still had some major cliff hanger moments. It was such a good read and I fell in love with Mabel!

I loved every single second of this book. I literally
Couldn’t put it down. Elsie is such a curmudgeon, but I loved her so much. Can’t wait for everyone to fall in love with this cozy book.

From the first sentence to the last, this book had me hooked. I went into this expecting a tired trope only to get something that was completely different in a good way. The hype on this one is real!

Quick synopsis: Mad Mabel was the youngest person in Australia to be convicted of murder. Now in her 80s, Mabel goes by Elsie and is living a quiet life on a quiet street. Her cover is blown when one of her neighbors dies, and naturally she is considered a suspect in the public‘s eyes. No longer living anonymously, she is contacted by two Youtubers for an interview. She slowly begins telling them (and us) her story. Be prepared, her story will definitely have you feeling all sorts of different emotions.

The characters in this novel all had such personalities! Both timelines worked for me equally which is very rare. As for the ending… I think it was tied up nicely all except one little piece. Just one!

I think this has to be my favorite Hepworth novel to date. I would highly recommend taking some time to have some tea with Mad Mabel.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

THE BEST BOOK I HAVE READ IN A VERY LONG TIME!!! Laugh out loud funny, compelling, and heart wrenching. Sally Hepworth does domestic thrillers SO WELL. Her trademark sense of humour and quirky characters send it to another level. LOVED. 5 Stars!!

Sally Hepworth’s “Mad Mabel” completely captivated me from start to finish. The story of 81-year-old Elsie, whose dark past as teenage murderer Mabel comes back to haunt her when a neighbor dies, had me absolutely hooked. I loved how Hepworth weaves between past and present, gradually revealing the truth about what really happened in 1959. Elsie is such a wonderfully complex character - grumpy, sharp-tongued, and utterly unforgettable. The book perfectly balances dark themes with moments of genuine humor, and I found myself gasping at the jaw-dropping twists throughout. What impressed me most was how the novel explores deep questions about justice, guilt, and redemption while still being an incredibly entertaining page-turner.

Sally Hepworth's writing is always a delight - with suspenseful twists and snarky humor, this book is a pleasure to read. Elsie is 81 years old and lives on a small street with neighbors who all have their own idiosyncrasies. One day her 93-year-old neighbor's dog will not stop barking, and after Elsie "hops" the fence to look, she finds her neighbor dead. The proper authorities are called, and while nothing seems to be amiss, detectives follow up with Elsie and seem to have more questions for her after they find that she was previously known as Mad Mabel.
Elsie's history is slowly exposed through her own words, and it brings about reactions from neighbors and the public in total. Elsie leans into the important friendships she has to help her as she processes all of the events from both the past and present.