Loved this clever story of the life of Mad Mabel and a great supporting cast of characters. The dual time lines both build well into a satisfying ending. The author includes humor, tragedy and truth. Highly recommend. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I received this book from NetGalley as an ARC.

Wow...just wow. I'm not sure what I expected when I began this book but what I got was certainly a surprise. One minute I was laughing and the next crying. It's full of surprises and most of all love. Which is kind of a crazy thing to say about a book full of murders. Do yourself a favor in April 2026 and give it a read!

Amazing phenomenal no notes at all. Blew my mind with all the twists and turns even in the flashbacks. The ending was sad but gave me closure. I loved Elsie

Sally Hepworth can do not wrong in my book. Read it! You will not be disappointed! Than you to Netgalley for this advanced copy.

Quite possible Hepworh's best book yet. A hard tie with the Good Sister. What a wonderful casts of characters. Plot twists were emotional, not just shock value. Great writing in the main character's voice. I devoured it.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this book!!

Elise is an incredible and unforgettable old lady told through in this emotional ride of a mystery novel with lots of action. You won’t regret picking this one up and will surely fall in love with Elise.

Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth
4.5 / 5 Stars
Publication Date: April 21, 2026

Hepworth is a favorite author of mine so over the moon when I got approved!

Hepworth does it again!
Mad Mabel is twisty, sharp and layered with a mixture of dark family drama and domestic suspense. The story flows through her childhood timeline and her elderly timeline to connect the dots.

I personally love how true to her core Mabel was through it all.
I never quite knew if I should root for her, fear her or both. The pace was addictive with reveals that made me rethink everything I thought I knew!

It’s not just a thriller, it’s a story about identity, perception, and how the past never really stays buried.

Thank you to the publisher St Martins Press and NetGalley for the early copy! I can’t wait to see everyone’s thoughts when it hits the shelves!

Multiple plot lines made an interesting read. The line about old women and children never being suspected of murder drew me in. Captivating writing brought Mabel to life and a few twists as the novel unfolded. The variety of characters made the story interesting to follow- something for everyone.

This book will stay with me for a long time. The story, the characters and everything in between was brought together so perfectly. I was shocked with every twist. I laughed, I cried and I didn’t want the story to end.

At age 81, all Elsie wants to do is live a quiet life, unbothered on Kenny Lane. She keeps to herself, spends time with her only friend, Daphne and has the curmudgeon act down to perfection to ensure that no one bothers her.

And everything is going to plan until her neighbor unexpectedly dies and Elsie is the one to discover the body. It certainly doesn't help that she doesn't hide the fact she couldn't stand the man or his yipping chihuahua. As the police investigate his death, Elsie's true identity is revealed and a secret that she's been hiding since she was 15 comes to light and her safe and quiet neighborhood is now anything but as everyone learns that she is, in fact, Mad Mabel, Australia's youngest convicted murderer.

With the spotlight on her, a couple of YouTubers offer to tell her story and Elsie takes the opportunity to speak publicly for the first time. What really happened when she was 15? Did she commit the murder? Is she really responsible for more deaths? Is she mad?

Told with dual timelines, we get the pleasure of watching everything that happened unfold leading up to the murder that landed Mabel in prison while seeing how sharing her story for the first time affects and softens Mad Mabel.

If I could give this one 10 stars, I would. I couldn't put it down and flew through it in two days. I laughed out loud more times than I can count as the sass, sarcasm, and wit of Mabel. My heart broke for the young Mabel and the 81 year old her as well. I cried and was torn between hearing her story and never wanting it to end.

Sally Hepworth seriously never does me wrong. Every book of hers is an instant must read for me. While Mad Mabel was pretty different than her "typical" novel, I loved it! Elsie was hilarious and I absolutely adored her relationship with Persephone. This is the second book I have read lately with an older lady as the main character and I am now convinced we need more of these protagonists in our lives!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this novel.

This was a great, so glad I got this ARC from NetGalley! Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick is 81 years old and nobody would ever guess her past. She’s worked hard to conceal it, in fact, she has a strange history of people in her life coming to a fouled end. This story has characters that are deep and watching them evolve and their relationships with each other really blew me away. This is by far my favorite Sally Hepworth book! Mabel is funny and I love her sarcasm. As you get to know Mabel and find out why she’s the way she is she will work her way right into your heart.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!

I loved this book. It was such a great mix of humor, sadness, and mystery that it kept me flipping the pages even when I should have been doing something else!

Mad Mabel’s “origin” story is unique to say the least. And her true friendships are unexpected and delightful. Get ready to laugh, cry, cringe, and sit at the edge of your seat!

This was an engaging read that kept me turning the pages. The dual timelines worked really well and kept me invested in the story. While Hepworth usually leans into thrillers or mysteries, this one read more like contemporary fiction, but it still carried a strong thread of mystery that reminded me of her other novels.

That said, there was just a little something missing for me that I can’t quite put my finger on. Even so, I enjoyed it overall!

I couldn’t wait 7 months to read this book! I love Hepworth, with The Good Sister at the top of my list of faves. Mabel is a story that takes place in dual timelines. In the past we learn about Mabel’s extremely sad and tragic upbringing. Current day, she’s known as Elsie, who lives alone on a quaint block with a bunch of body neighbors and a little girl named Persephone.
This is one of those stories where you’re trying to piece together a mystery the whole time and even when you find out the twists and turns you’re still a little confused. I found myself having to flip back through the book at the end to find some of the bread crumbs Hepworth left along the way.
I enjoyed the story, felt horrible for Mabel as a child, and was on edge as to what horrible things would befall her. The current day with her neighbors was as compelling and I enjoyed her warming up to Persephone and others. If you liked Daisy Darker, Strange Sally Diamond and even Too old for this I think you’ll enjoy Mabel.

Sally Hepworth……you are an author extraordinaire and a literary craftsman with a mind that is both brilliant and dare I say, twisted. I’ve read all your books and Mad Mabel may have just knocked the others down a rung as it climbed its way to the top.

At the heart of the story is eighty-one year old is Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick aka Mabel Wallers. She carries a reputation from childhood as being odd and perhaps dangerous. Everyone has a story about her, from the kids she grew up with to the neighbors in her small community. The suspense of Mabel’s story builds and pushes the reader to decide what’s true and what’s not. This is a deeply human story that explores grief, resilience, loneliness and living with hidden pain.

If you’re a Sally fan, this definitely needs to go on your TBR. If you’ve never read Sally, then you’ve been missing out on some terrific suspense novels.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read an advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest opinion. Sally Hepworth ever disappoints and this story was no exception……I loved it!

First off thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an early ARC of Sally Hepworth's newest release Mad Mabel. With alternating chapters, we are introduced to the cantankerous Mabel (an 81 year old, who knows everyone's business on her block), and is suddenly connected to a suspicious death. Being honest, had this not been an ARC I probably would have given up on this one relatively quickly but I'm glad I hung around, because I did enjoy the ending. I'm a big fan of Sally's books but this one was a miss for me.

Publication Date: April 21, 2026
Rating **

I’ve got a soft spot for Sally Hepworth, and honestly, I’m giving her my highest praise by calling her a Word Witch. That’s what I call authors who can spin words like spells, turning simple stories into something magical. Hepworth has this way of taking people who seem at a glance living ordinary lives and show us just how extraordinary they really are.

Confession Time: At first, I wasn’t sure I was in the mood for this one. I worried it wouldn’t cast the usual spell her other books have on me. And truthfully, this isn’t the first time I’ve felt that hesitation. But here’s what I’ve learned: trust Sally Hepworth. Keep reading. Because sure enough, while the spark of magic came a little later than I’d hoped, that emotional spell she’s so gifted at weaving still pulled me under in the end.

What Lit My Mood
Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick known as Mad Mabel in her past is prickly, sharp-tongued, grumpy and seems perfectly content to live out her days alone. But beneath her sarcasm and stubbornness lies a tangle of secrets she’d rather no one uncover. Enter Persephone, her exuberant seven-year-old neighbor, who bounces (not quietly) into her world and refuses to be shut out.

This book weaves together themes of loneliness, family, unexpected friendships, society’s groupthink, and the way we label people. Hepworth has such a gift for capturing relatable emotional truths and you feel how they shape the character into who they are.

And while the book brims with humor and warmth, she doesn’t shy away from the heavier spells: grief, trauma, and mental health.

And while the tone has plenty of humor and warmth, Hepworth doesn’t shy away from tough topics like mental health, grief, and trauma, making the emotional beats hit even harder.

Where My Mood Flickered
I usually look to Hepworth to cast that sharp suspense spell, the kind that keeps me whispering, “just one more chapter.”This time, the mystery’s magic wasn’t as potent as I’d hoped, with the emotional themes taking center stage instead. But here’s the thing, those very spells of truth and feeling were woven so well that by the end, I was enchanted. And yes, she still conjures up a twist, unpredictable and satisfying, that seals the perfect closing of the circle.

Witchy Mood Reader Rating
Fully aligned, mood met: I was spell-fed by the emotional truths, even if the mystery didn’t grip me as tightly as her other tales.

Verdict: Mark your calendar for April 21, 2026 and make space on your altar for the Sorceress of Twisty Truths herself, Sally Hepworth. This one’s for when you’re craving a story where relationships, lies, and emotions collide in the most magical of ways.

This was a Witches Words buddy read with Debra and Dorie

A decent story, elevated by it’s ending!

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review 💕

Being honest, had this not been an ARC I probably would have given up on this one relatively quickly—but I’m glad I hung in there, because in the end I did enjoy it. The format and the backstory presented so early was a bit off-putting and hard to get into at first. However, there were twists in the last quarter that made the rest of the book worth it. This was my first Hepworth novel, and I’m interested now to check out some of her back catalog!

4 stars.*

I've devoured everything by Sally Hepworth and was intrigued when I saw this new title available as an ARC.

Mad Mabel is a departure from Hepworth's typical style-it is not a domestic thriller in the regular sense, though it does tell a domestic tale. It is just 60 years old. Elsie Fitzpatrick is an octogenarian living in a quaint community where she vacillates between being a curmudgeon and a beloved neighbor. When a neighbor dies, she alerts the police and the community learns that Elsie's real identity is that of the youngest Australian convicted of murder and notorious "Mad Mabel", she is thrust back into the public eye.

I enjoyed the way the story was revealed and I adored Elsie/Mabel, she had a lot of Vera Wang qualities.

I'll definitely recommend this one!

*with thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for this honest review.