Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth
ARC from Macmillan Audio, St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for an honest review
Book Blurb:
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 Review: 4.25 stars
Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth is probably my favorite book by her and she’s got a long backlist of novels. I think this novel would make an excellent screen adaptation.
Elsie in an octogenarian that has lived a long and arduous life. She grew up with a horrific father who put her in awful situations. Like most people that are bullied or mistreated, there can be long lasting repercussions such as PTSD. When she was young, she was known as “Mad Mabel” and has since gone by her first name, Elsie, to hide her identity.
When a murder happens on her quiet and uneventful street, Elsie happens to be nearby and becomes the number one suspect due to her past. The neighbors, the friends she has – especially Daphne, and Persephone, the seven-year-old that bewitches Elsie into loving her are all fantastic characters. They are well drawn, layered, and completely relatable. Peter loves sharing his Aldi hauls and I totally related because I too love Aldi.
I’m leaving so many open holes in this review because I don’t want to give anything away. However, I can assure you there are some major surprising twists along the way that will completely belt you. Book clubs will lean into this book with its many themes of found family, domestic trauma, found family, the power of reputation and the burden of having your secrets found out. Highly recommend!
Quotes I liked:
A silent tear slips down my cheek. It strikes me that, with all the cruelties in this world, there is still nothing quite as dangerous as kindness.”
“Because, as a few choice victims know, the only thing worse than bullying itself is the shame of speaking it aloud.”
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