After beginning Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth in print, I transitioned to the audiobook. If you enjoyed A Man Called Ove, you absolutely should include this in your summer reading or listening plans. I laughed, cried, and got mad as Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick stole a piece of my heart.
by Sally Hepworth
Narrator: Hannah Fredericksen, Jenny Seedsman
Length: 9 hours and 20 minutes
Genres: Mystery
Source: Publisher
Purchase*: Amazon | Audible | Libro.fm *affiliate
Narration: 5 cups Speed: 1.4x
From Sally Hepworth, the New York Times bestselling author of The Soulmate and The Good Sister, comes a twist-filled, darkly funny mystery about the two kinds of people no one ever expects to be murderers: little girls and old ladies.
Meet Mad Mabel.
Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick is eighty-one years old. She's lived on her idyllic street, Kenny Lane, 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 that she has 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.
When a new little girl (talkative, curious, nosy) moves into the neighborhood and stops at nothing to befriend Elsie, her carefully-constructed life threatens to come crashing down as the secrets in Elsie's past start coming to light. Who was "Mad Mabel" fifty years ago? Who is Elsie Fitzpatrick today? And if the past has a habit of repeating itself, who has the most to lose?
Told with Sally Hepworth's twists, humor, charm, and heart, MAD MABEL is novel that weaves past and present together--through the power of justice and redemption, and all the way to its stunning conclusion.
Mad Mabel was an absolute delight. At its core, it’s a mystery, but it’s also a domestic thriller and part women’s fiction. We meet Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick, an eighty-one-year-old woman who has lived on Kenny Lane for the better part of sixty years. Elsie is unapologetically grumpy, sarcastic, sharp as a whip, and holds secrets close to her heart. I loved her narrative as we learned about the people on her street. There is Peter, who is kind, and Joan, who doesn’t seem to like her. Her next-door neighbor, who vexes her at every turn, and a precarious seven-year-old named Persephone, who stole every scene.
When the next-door neighbor turns up dead, Elsie’s secret gets out, and our story truly begins. Elsie was known to most of Australia as Mad Mabel, the youngest woman ever to be convicted of murder. The story goes back and forth between present day and Mabel’s childhood. Twists, turns, and character growth had me laughing one moment and crying the next.
Hepworth touches on many topics, from bias to mental illness, and does so eloquently. The tale is suspenseful and addictive. While admittedly the current-day mystery of the neighbor’s death isn’t very interesting, it is the catalyst for exploring Mabel’s story and had me worried she’d be charged.
I loved that two narrators were used in the audiobook. One for present-day Elsie and one for Mabel as a teenager. Hannah Fredericksen & Jenny Seedsman both did a stellar job of capturing the characters and their emotions. I highly recommend listening.
The story was well-written, and the characters were all memorable, making this a story I will add to my permanent bookshelf. An undeniably gripping tale I will remember long after you’ve read my thoughts.
About Sally Hepworth
Sally Hepworth is the New York Times bestselling author of nine novels, including The Good Sister, The Soulmate and Darling Girls. Drawing on the good, the bad and the downright odd of human behaviour, Sally writes incisively about family, relationships and identity. Her domestic thriller novels are laced with quirky humour, sass and a darkly charming tone. They are available worldwide in English and have been translated into twenty languages. Sally lives in Melbourne, Australia, with her three children and one adorable dog. She has recently taken up ocean swimming (or to put it more accurately, ocean dipping)
About Hannah Fredericksen
Hannah Fredericksen is an actor, vocalist and voice over artist with over a decade of professional performance experience. She is a graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts Bachelor of Music Theatre. Hannah played Moaning Myrtle in Australia’s longest running stage play, ‘Harry Potter & The Cursed Child’ (MCG) and recently completed the national tour of Agatha Christie’s ‘The Mousetrap’ (Crossroads/Shake&Stir) as Mollie Ralston.Hannah is also a sought after voice artist whose audiobook narration credits include ‘Mad Mabel’ (Sally Hepworth), ‘Molly’ (Rosalie Ham), ‘The Love Contract’ (Steph Vizard), ‘The Eleventh Floor’ (Kylie Orr) , ‘The Grazier’s Son’ (Cathryn Hein) & 'Milking Time' (Rachael Treasure).
About Jenny Seedsman
Jenny Seedsman is an actress, known for Neighbours (1985), Blue Heelers (1994) and State Coroner (1997). Jenny won the TDK Audio Book “Narrator of the Year” in 1997, for her recording of “Kings In Grass Castles”.
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About Kimberly
Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. BlueSky | Facebook | Instagram
Rachel @Waves of Fiction
I read this a few months back and absolutely loved it! I have the audio too and I’ll be listening to it next before I write my review. It was a 5-star read for me, too!
Katherine
I just finished a Sally Hepworth story (The Mother-in-Law) and really enjoyed it. The sound of this one really intrigues me. I will definitely look for this one on audio.
Jonetta | Blue Mood Café
I LOVED this story and your comparison to Ove hits the perfect target.
hena
I have this on my TBR. Good to hear you liked it. I have read a few of her books and always enjoyed them.
Mary Kirkland
She definitely sounds like an interesting character.
Ethan
This seems like a bit of a departure for Hepworth, but I’m still eager to check it out for myself. Great review!