Mad Mabel | Book Review

Mad Mabel

By Sally Hepworth

THE BOOK IS CAPTIVATING AND THE AUDIOBOOK IS A STELLAR

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SUMMARY

Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick is an 81-year-old lonely woman, but doesn’t look it.  She is not frail or bird-like; in fact, she is six feet tall and swears like a sailor. She has lived on Kenny Lane for sixty years and keeps her garden and roses in pristine condition. She keeps to herself, although she and her best friend, Daphane, love having a cuppa together every day and talking about the neighbors.

Few would suspect that Elsie has had a heinous past, one that she’s worked exceedingly hard to conceal. But when someone anonymously slips an article under her door, it seems someone knows everything about her. Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick, once a young girl known as Mad Mabel and now an elderly woman, has a mysterious past involving the tragic deaths of the people in her life.  So when Elsie discovers a neighbor dead, she quickly becomes the leading suspect.

“…there are two groups of people who are rarely, if ever, suspected of murder.  Those groups are elderly women and little girls.”

REVIEW

Mad Mabel is a captivating, delightful, character-driven story. The writing bustles along and quickly makes us fall in love with this colorful and sarcastic silver-haired old lady.  The story alternates between the present and the past,  and reveals the tragic events of her childhood that led to her conviction as Australia's youngest murderer.

The book’s theme explores friendships, the consequences of actions, and the impacts of bullying. My favorite character, besides Mabel, is seven-year-old neighbor Persephone, who has to interview an “old” person for a school project. She chooses Elsie and thinks she is 167 years old. Persephone and Mabel somehow become the best of friends.

I listened to the audiobook, and the narrators, Hannah Fredericksen and Jenny Seedsman, brought the characters to life with a highly engaging theatrical performance. The accents, inflections, differentiation, and pacing were impressive. According to Hepworth, one narrator was used for young Mabel and a different narrator for Elsie or old Mabel.

Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for providing an advance copy of this audiobook. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Publisher    Macmillan Audio

Published   April 28, 2026

Narrated    Hannah Fredericksen, Jenny Seedsman

Review       www.bluestockingreviews.com