Mad Mabel
By Sally Hepworth
St. Martin’s Press, April 2026, 352pp.

The Short of It:

Witty and sharp.

The Rest of It:

“Meet Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick: eighty-one years old, gloriously grumpy, fiercely independent, and never without a hot cup of tea—or a cutting remark. She minds her own business in her quiet Melbourne suburb, until a neighbor turns up dead and the whispers start flying.” ~from the publisher

There’s so much more going on here. For one, Elsie is also known as Mad Mabel. She was institutionalized for one murder at fifteen and accused of another, and her quiet suburban neighborhood hasn’t forgotten it. Every so often, it comes back to the surface, especially when a neighbor turns up dead. Fingers start pointing again and honestly, can you blame them? They know what they know. Elsie, for her part, is kind of over it.

Enter Persephone. Seven years old and far wiser than she should be, she ignores the whispers and shows up at Elsie’s door like it’s the most natural thing in the world. She lives next door with her mom, Roxanne, and even though Elsie is not looking for friends, especially not a child who lets herself in unannounced and immediately wants to play games, she can’t help but soften once she realizes Roxanne is dealing with her own darkness.

This book hits a really satisfying balance between humor and mystery. You keep wondering what actually happened all those years ago, and how anyone moves forward from something like that without carrying resentment or doubt.

Friends? Who needs them? Apparently Elsie does. Even when her interactions with the neighbors start with irritation, she finds herself enjoying conversation again, lingering over tea, even getting pulled into Persephone’s games.

I’m always drawn to stories that put older and younger characters together like this. There’s something about the blunt honesty of kids that gets under your skin. Persephone leaves a mark, whether Elsie wants her to or not. Watching Elsie try to process that is half the fun. She’s adorably flustered most of the time, but still sharp and fierce when it counts, especially when the people she’s come to care about are at risk.

Highly recommend.

Source: Review Copy provided by the publisher.
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