At first I was skeptical if I was going to be able to complete the story. Very slow and steady in the beginning. Eventually, we had a snowball effect. One thing led to another and soon I was dying to finish the rest to find out what had happened back then and in the present.
I eventually fell in love with the characters and the neighborhood community. The twists and turns from many different themes kept my attention from the halfway point, onward.
Other than the little spelling errors (not many), I would say this was a very satisfying read and I will be officially adding Sally Hepworth to my backlist authors.

I cannot stop thinking about this mystery! This made me want to read Sally Hepworth's entire bibliography. Her writing and the way she articulates + conveys a story like this wowed me to the core. I could have read her writing in this novel for days on end. Emotions were evoked throughout the entire story, and she made me resonate strongly with numerous characters. The connections she created with characters will touch any reader. They felt genuine, as if I was reading about real people.

Not going to lie, when I first read the description, I was not too excited about it, but it still intrigued me. Old women being murderers doesn't really fascinate me in a book, and I tend to stray away from those. Sally Hepworth certainly put me in place with that. She took this plot line and turned it into a masterpiece. It was everything I was not expecting it to be in the most wonderful ways. Elsie has such a captivating background and story to share—a misunderstood soul who grew from experiences and trauma.

Sally Hepworth tied all the loose ends perfectly together at the end. As a reader, I appreciated how perfectly everything fit. I learned about each character, and I was not left with any lingering questions. Most definitely a favorite mystery of this year for me!

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Sally Hepworth for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. "Mad Mabel" is released on April 21, 2026 (and you should certainly read it)!

Thank you NetGalley and St.Martin’s Press for the ARC of Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth. I absolutely love Sally Hepworth’s writing. Thank you for letting me get to know Mabel. Her story is at times sad, funny, and heartening. Mabel is a strong character with so much love to give and she gained so much from the neighbors on Kenny Lane. Even though she had a tough childhood, and went through a lot of loss, she maintained her sense of humor, her sarcastic attitude and ability to finally feel good about herself. This is one of Sally Hepworth’s best and she remains my most favorite author.

Mabel is now 81 years old and has lived on Kenny Lane for 60 years. She reflects on her life in an interview where she will explain why she was called Mad Mabel. As a child she was known as Mad Mabel because when she was around bad things happened. People got hurt, people died, and people took advantage and used her. She was awkward as a child, taller and smarter then the others, but always alone. Till she meets Daphne and her life is so much better. Read now and get to know Mabel! You will love her.

Mad Mabel introduces us to Elsie “Mabel” Fitzpatrick, an eighty-one-year-old with a prickly reputation and a past surrounded by mystery and death. Told in alternating timelines—Then and Now—we follow her childhood full of loneliness, bullying, and loss, and her present, where she’s long been nicknamed “Mad Mabel” by neighbors, especially after a neighbor dies under suspicious circumstances. Hepworth balances humor and heart really well; Mabel’s sharp, grumpy edges are balanced by glimpses of vulnerability that make her utterly unforgettable.

What I loved: the dual timelines are mostly well done, giving just enough from the past to explain how Mabel became so guarded without bogging down the present. The side characters—Persephone, aunt Cess, Ness, Daphne—are all memorable in their own ways. There were a couple of twists I didn’t see coming, but also some I predicted, which didn’t ruin the experience. My only quibble is that the mystery felt less intense or suspenseful early on—it’s more character study than thriller. That said, it ends in a way that feels satisfying, even if a little abrupt in places. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC — Mad Mabel is a warm, quirky, and emotionally rich read that I’m glad I picked up.

This story was not what I was expecting but I ended up LOVING it! The storyline was so intreguing - not only for the mystery but also the characters you meet along the way. I really enjoyed the alternating past/present views in the storyline. Also loved Mabel and Persephone. Great twist at the end!

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Sally Hepworth has done it again and this is possibly my new favorite of hers.

We have our FMC, Elsie, who is such a sassy firecracker. She is 81 years old and had a really rough life. Accused of murder when she was 15, she served 5 years in a psych facility. Now she is living in a cute little neighborhood, with a spitfire of a little neighbor who is 7. These characters are just so sweet and their relationship is beautiful.

This book is a perfect balance of mystery and emotion. I fell in love with these characters and have so many more questions. I want to know more about Christos and Peter!

Thanks so much to NetGalley and publisher for this amazing ARC!

Thanks for the review copy. I usually like Hepworth's books, but this one is my least favorite. I will continue to read her books, though.

So I write the "cards" that are placed on the books - so my summaries are short

Eccentric elderly woman finds friendship, purpose, and home in her garden after many tragic event in her early life proving life can change at any age.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press for the free digital copy for my honest review.

Firstly I want to say I immediately fell in love with Elsie from the get go. She wasn’t your average 81 year old woman and boy did she show it.

I’m not sure how many other people caught on but I figured out the elephant in the room from the earliest chapters and it changed my POV of how I looked at scenes, but not in a negative way. It only made me want to understand why this was happening, what happened to Elsie to create it?

Learning from Elsie’s past and present was never a dull moment. (I appreciated the short chapters. Made reading flow quickly) When it came down to getting to the ending it just made what unfolded harder and the impact just as painful.

Overall I think this story was very enjoyable and I hope others will feel the same way about Elsie and her story. Once again thank you for the opportunity to read this ARC.

This story centers around Mad Mabel a cantankerous 81 year old woman surrounded by a lifetime of unfortunate deaths. When her 93 year old neighbor with a yappy pug is found dead by a precocious 7 year old child, a host of nosy neighbors’ immediate assumption is that Mad Mabel had something to do with it. Its quirky humor will keep you interested and entertained. The underlying message is how the world treats us dramatically affects our lives. Couldn’t put it down, didn’t want it to end. Thoroughly enjoyed this one. This ARC was provided by St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love when a new Sally Hepworth novel is released! This one was more of a slow burn than her usual stories are. I loved Persephone and her relationship with “Mad Mabel”. There were a few twists that I did not catch on to at all! Not the thriller I was expecting, but a good read.

I LOVED this book. I loved Mabel and her quirkiness. I loved the back and forth between the now and then. The way each section left off made me want even more and to keep reading.

I loved all the twists throughout and how each character developed but also changed how you saw them throughout.

I really enjoyed this story. I do not typically like books that go back and forth between history and current, but this made a lot of sense. The story was important to tell from the past and the present.

I don’t know if Daphne’s storyline was supposed to be as “shocking” as it felt like it was but I figured it out so early on that it fell a bit flat for me.

I wanted Mabel to be a little more mad, holding more evil serial killer secrets

4.5/5

Mabel has a prickly charm about her that in real life would have me less fond of her than her neighbors, but she makes for an excellent entertaining main character, equal parts spunky, jaded, and hilarious. I loved following both her past and present, and how it gave us two character arcs: Mabel as a young girl rejected by the world, and Mabel as an elderly woman whose defenses are hardened and past is still unresolved. It’s a book about the making and breaking of meaningful connections and what that does to a person. The big and small moments had emotional weight that had me near tears feeling like I was the old lady reminiscing on life. I connected the most with the themes of sisterhood and belonging, and its homages to Anne of Green Gables and her bosom friend. It’s different from other thrillers I’ve read in that the two crimes are reflections of each other — in one we know who died but not who dunnit, in the other we know who dunnit but not who died. The twists kept me guessing the whole way through, with a satisfying dogpile of reveals at the end, other than one that felt thrown in just to have another surprise. It did have good foreshadowing though, and didn’t take away from any other aspect of the story. I found the book to be more suspenseful than thrilling, but not for lack of excitement, just different in a way that feels uniquely Sally Hepworth and why I keep coming back to her books.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press for the review copy! I leave my review honestly and voluntarily.

3.5 ⭐️
Mad Mabel is a witty and twisty read with a very memorable main character! Hepworth blends humor, heart and suspense in a way that makes this mystery both entertaining and charming. This book will be released on April 21, 2026

Thank you Netgalley for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I normally am obsessed with everything Sally Hepworth writes and while this was a good story, it didn't keep me as captivated as her others. There was definitely humor in the story that had me smiling throughout, but some of it seemed silly (maybe that was the point). I feel like Mabel glossed over her childhood (the murders/deaths, abuse, and loneliness, etc) and much more detail could've been told. I normally love a dual timeline but this one kind of fell flat. I still enjoyed the story but wanted more.

This book completely swept me away. From the very first page, I was hooked by the author’s ability to create characters who feel not only real but deeply layered. The dialogue sparkles with wit and authenticity, and the emotional beats land with such raw honesty that I found myself tearing up one moment and laughing out loud the next.

The pacing is spot-on—never dragging, never rushed. Every chapter pulled me forward, balancing tender intimacy with sharp, well-timed humor. The romance (and the tension leading up to it) felt natural and believable, with just the right amount of angst to make the payoff incredibly satisfying.

What impressed me most, though, was how grounded the writing is. The author captures small details—glances, gestures, quiet moments—that make the story resonate long after finishing. It’s rare to find a book that feels both escapist and emotionally true, but this one manages it effortlessly.

If you’re looking for a heartfelt, addictive read that blends charm, depth, and plenty of swoon, this is it. I’ll be recommending it widely, and I can’t wait to see what this author writes next.

Thank you, #Partner @stmartinspress @macmillanusa and @netgalley for my #gifted (free) copy. Pub date 4/21/26.This book is so unique and different from Sally's previous books, and I'm not sure not sure how a murder mystery could be heartfelt, but it definitely worked with this one. I was laughing, crying, gasping, and on the edge of my seat throughout this whole novel. It's definitely different, and I think this is going to be a huge hit!

There are two groups of people that are rarely, if ever, suspected of murder: grannies and little girls. Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick is eighty-one years old, living on a quiet street, and she has a past she doesn't want anyone to know about. When word gets out that she is "Mad Mabel," she tells her story of what really happened throughout her life. It is not what you would have suspected. 4.5 stars!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

When I read the reviews for this book and saw it was a thriller I instantly requested it on Netgalley. Imagine my disappointment when I found that this was not quite the thriller I had imagined. Now this could be because I had just come off the heels of a really fast paced thriller and perhaps it’s unfair to compare the two as this was a very slow burn of a novel. It’s not to say the writing wasn’t good or the characters compelling, but I would be lying if I said that it didn’t take me long to warm up to this book. I’d describe this more as a character study about an 81 year old woman who unluckily is surrounded by unexpected deaths throughout her lifetime.


The novel is split between two timelines: Then and Now. The “then” timeline focuses on Mabel’s childhood which was very lonely. Bullied at school for her height and resented by her father, she relies on her bosom friend, Daphne, and her aunt Cess and her friend Ness. Despite this, Mabel finds herself as an outsider. As a reader you can’t help but empathize with her. Because of the disappointments she faced in her life, it’s easy to see why she grows up to be an ornery old lady. Ms. Hepworth captures the dichotomy of loneliness with the fear of connection quite beautifully. She writes witty banter that holds your attention and Mabel’s matter of fact delivery makes for some levity in an otherwise sad novel. I especially loved her relationship with Persephone. The two of them made quite the pair.

I felt the ending was inevitable. Ms. Hepworth plants a lot of clues throughout the novel that give you an idea of the characters’ fates. I wasn’t surprised by some of the twists that came up, although there was one that was a pleasant surprise. Overall, this was a compelling novel, that although had a slow start, managed to keep me engaged.