REVIEW: MAD MABEL by Sally Hepworth

MAD MABEL by Sally Hepworth: Some women get quieter with age. Others become impossible to ignore.

Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick is eighty-one, gloriously grumpy, fiercely independent, and perfectly content minding her business in suburban Melbourne—until a neighbor ends up dead and old rumors come roaring back. Because long before she was Elsie, she was Mad Mabel Waller, Australia’s youngest convicted murderer. Now with police asking questions, the media circling, and an unstoppable seven-year-old neighbor barging into her life, Mabel may finally have to confront the story everyone thinks they know.

MAD MABEL by Sally Hepworth had the kind of setup that instantly grabs you—an elderly woman with a notorious past, a suspicious death, and everyone wondering what she’s capable of. But what made it so fun was the balance of mystery and personality. The twists keep the momentum going, yet Mabel’s voice, sharp humor, and refusal to play nice give the book its real spark.

Mabel’s story carried so much more than surface-level intrigue. Watching a woman who has spent decades defined by headlines and assumptions finally reclaim her own narrative gave the book emotional depth beneath the cleverness. And the unexpected connections around her added warmth in all the right places.

Tropes
🕵️‍♀️ Amateur sleuth energy
📚 Dual timeline mystery
😏 Unreliable character
👧 Unexpected friendship
🌪️ Chaotic heroine
🔍 Small-town scandal vibes

Themes
⚖️ Justice & redemption
🔐 Buried secrets
✨ Reinvention
🖤 Public judgment
👵 Aging unapologetically
💥 Being underestimated

MAD MABEL by Sally Hepworth is a sharp, twisty, darkly funny story about secrets, second chances, public judgment, and one unforgettable woman who refuses to be underestimated.

Recommended For Readers who love witty mysteries, strong older female leads, layered secrets, and stories with bite, humor, and heart.

QOTD: Do you love a mystery more for the twists or for the characters?

Book Info:

Published: April 21, 2026 | St. Martin’s Press |

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.

Because Elsie hasn’t always been Elsie. Once upon a headline, she was Mad Mabel Waller―Australia’s youngest convicted murderer. But was she really mad, or just misunderstood? Either way, she’s kept her secret buried for decades.

Enter seven-year-old Persephone, a relentless little chatterbox who has just moved in across the road (armed with stickers, questions, and no sense of personal boundaries); Joan, who appears to have it in for Elsie; and a healthy dose of public interest―the cops are sniffing around, and the media is circling like seagulls at a picnic.

So Mabel does what she’s always done best―she takes matters into her own hands.

Is she a cantankerous old lady with a shady past? A cold-blooded killer with arthritis? Or just someone who’s finally ready to tell her side of the story?

Sharp, surprising, and wickedly funny, this is the unforgettable story of a woman who’s spent a lifetime being underestimated―and is about to prove everyone wrong. Again.