The queen of dark domestic dramas is back with a compulsively readable novel. Mad Mabel, from Australian author Sally Hepworth, is the story of Australia’s youngest ever person to be convicted of murder and her life decades later. Hepworth said this book, while about a serial killer granny, is really about women’s friendships, and I’d have to agree.
Living on Kenny Lane in a terrace home, Elsie is 81-years-old and swears like a sailor. She avoids getting to really know her neighbors, instead spending her time sniping about them with her friend Daphne over tea. She’s able to avoid getting too involved in their lives until 7-year-old Persephone enters her life. When a neighbor is discovered dead, the fact that Elsie was once known as Mad Mabel comes to light and she’s soon a suspect. Reminiscent of A Man Called Ove but with a delightedly dark twist, Mad Mabel bounces back and forth between Elsie now and Mabel then. As the secrets are unveiled, readers will gasp out loud (I did!).
In an interview Hepworth said she writes “heartwarming stories about murder,” which doesn’t sound like it should go together, but it honestly works. So, if you’d like a little mystery and murder with your women’s fiction, be sure to check out Mad Mabel. I personally enjoyed the audiobook version with dual narrators Hannah Fredericksen and Jenny Seedsman voicing the different ages of the main character. Thanks to my book bestie Kristen for recommending that I listen to this novel rather than read my digital or hardcover (yes, I have both since I met the author at an event this past spring). Also, if you are a sensitive reader, there are some trigger warnings to consider, as Hepworth deals with some heavy topics, so be sure to do a search for those.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC. All opinions are my own.
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