Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this masterpiece! Mad Mabel is the literary equivalent of your town’s weirdest rumor coming true, and then some. Sally Hepworth serves up family drama, small-town whispers, and a woman so chaotic she makes your aunt’s Facebook posts look tame. It’s a slow burn at first, but once it picks up, you’re in for a wild, wine-worthy ride. Suspenseful, messy, and just the right amount of 'what did I just read? To sum it up, another absolute chef's kiss!

Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth starts out as a quirky novel about a cantankerous old lady named Elsie. She is “forcefully” befriended by her very young neighbor, Persephone. Some neighborhood events throw the story back in time to Elsie’s childhood, and the book swerves into a bit of a mystery delving into why Elsie was known as Mad Mabel. It’s not often that I equally enjoy the character storyline as well as the mystery storyline, but Mad Mabel was perfect in regard to both. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!

Mad Mabel is a wickedly clever mystery with
heart, humor, and just the right dose of
darkness. Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick-grumpy,
sharp, unforgettable-proves that the most
dangerous people are often hiding in plain
sight. When a curious little Girl moves in next
door, long-buried secrets threaten to surface,
and the suspense builds with every page. Sally
Hepworth masterfully weaves past and
present into a gripping, emotional ale full of
unexpected twists. Equal parts charming and
chilling, this book is impossible to Put down.
An absolute must-read for fans of
character-driven thrillers!

This was a little bit different from her normal books, but I have to say I loved it. The characters are so well developed and charming. The story overall was gripping. I really could not put this book down.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC. This will be one of the best I read this year. I love Sally Hepworth books and this one is one of the best. Full of all the things. Fantastic plot. Quirk. Humor. Seriousness. She’ is hands down one of the most brilliant writers out there. Five sold stars.

Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth was such a wild little ride! We meet Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick, 81 years old, grumpy as hell, and not exactly beloved by her neighbors. She’s been living on this quiet, suburban street for sixty years, and you can tell there’s way more to her than just “grumpy old lady”. Without spoiling anything, let’s just say Elsie has a dark past. And when this curious and nosy little girl moves in next door and inserts herself into Elsie’s life, things start to get messy. What I loved: this book is kind of genre fluid. It’s got mystery, but it’s also funny and emotional. It explores themes around justice, redemption, and how the past never really stays buried, no matter how hard you try. The back and forth between past and present is done so well. Add this to your TBR if you like twisty suburban dramas with morally gray women, dark secrets, and unexpectedly badass older characters!

Very well done, Sally Hepworth!! I loved this book. The storytelling was incredible. I felt every emotion imaginable while reading this book.
All I can say is that I genuinely feel this is the book I have been waiting to read for the almost 50 years I have been reading!
Mabel is definitely not Mad! She is amazing!

Then: Fourteen year old Mabel.
Now: Eighty-one year old Elsie, and seven year old neighbor Persephone.
As pointed out early on, children and elderly women are usually not murder suspects. Usually.

Elsie Fitzpatrick changed her name years ago and has lived in the very small enclave of Kenny Lane for sixty years. When her ninety-three year old neighbor is found dead, the local street busybody leaks to the media that “Elsie” once was the infamous “Mad Mabel Waller.” Elsie never had a chance to fight the nickname, but she’s finally going to do so with the assistance of twenty-somethings Libby and Adeem, of the “AdLib” true crime podcast, as she also succumbs to small devil-child Persephone’s school assignment to interview someone “old.”

“Mad Mabel” is a charming, witty, but often bittersweet story of close female friendship, unfair reputations, and how the perception of women from 1959 to now has/or hasn’t changed. Unfair rumors and bullies haven’t subsided in sixty years, although the technology used to spread lies has. This is different from author Hepworth’s past psychological thrillers, but it still features a well-written main character with multiple misunderstood secrets. There’s a lot more humor than I expected from a Hepworth novel, and it helps diffuse the seriousness of the unfolding story. About halfway, something clicked and I figured out a major plot point (although the supporting details were yet to come). But I wouldn’t call this predictable — it’s emotional, tender, and heartbreaking to the end. 5 stars!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO No green eyes, but much ado about Anne of GREEN Gables.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO How bouquets of flowers end up on Kenny Lane is part of the story.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy!

I have read all this authors books and thoroughly enjoy them. This was no exception. Thanks for the opportunity to read and good luck with this one.

Seems like a bold statement to make on July 31, 2025... but I think I have just read my FAVORITE book of 2026. I am about to become a book bully to make everyone read this hilarious, heartwarming, shocking book. If you like books that have a feisty octogenarian, quirky memorable side characters, secrets and twisty mystery, and plenty of laughter through tears, have I got a book for YOU. Especially if you cherished Anne of Green Gables as a kid, and always wanted a bosom friend like Diana Barry.

Elsie knows everything that goes on in her neighborhood, even with her nemesis Imhann. When he ends up dead, precocious neighbor Persephone announcing his demise, Elsie's hidden identity as "Mad Mabel" comes out. But why is she known as "mad Mabel"? What happened in her young life?

Told in alternating timelines, we follow the oddball outcast Mabel from age 3, when her younger sister tragically died of polio, like so many in the 1950's. In the present timeline, Elsie at 81 is charmingly grouchy, annoyed with the police, and begrudgingly ends up with Imhann's dog Nugget. What is her story? How did she become known as Elsie? And did Imhann die of natural causes or was Elsie behind it after all?

I was SO sucked into this story, the CHARACTERS- even minor ones, are so real. I roared with feet-kicking laughter, my mouth dropped open with shock at the reveals, and I put down the book to cry real tears. This book is a supreme roller coaster of emotions that you won't forget. It ABSOLUTELY will be made into a movie. My first choice for playing Elsie is Jane Fonda, but Lily Tomlin would also be phenomenal. Only a skilled actor with incredible range will do.

The last line of the book? Just about threw my e-reader across the room.

Seriously this story is just too good for Hollywood to miss it. I can't wait for you all to read it. It is worth bumping to the very top of your TBR.
6/5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martins press for the ARC. Book to be published 4/20/26