Mad Mabel

 

Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth

Fiction

Narrated by Hannah Fredericksen and Jenny Seedsman

2025

Finished on June 15, 2026

Rating: 4.5/5 (Excellent)

Publisher's Blurb:

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 a novel that weaves past and present together--through the power of justice and redemption, and all the way to its stunning conclusion.

Oh, how I loved this audiobook with its outstanding performances by both narrators. I could easily keep track of the alternating timelines and various characters, eager to drag out my daily walks in order to continue listening. Haughty and cantankerous, Elsie reminded me of Maggie Smith in Downton Abbey, although underneath it all, she is tender and loving. This book had me laughing one moment and was tugging at my heartstrings in the next. The power of female friendships, young and old, shines throughout this rich developed story. 

I spotted one twist early on, but there is quite a surprise toward the end that had me gasping out loud, followed by tears welling in my eyes. Mad Mabel is my second Hepsworth novel and I'm now eager to read more. 

Highly recommend!

The Things We Keep

The Things We Keep by Sally Hepworth
Fiction
2016 St. Martin's Press
Finished on August 10, 2016
Rating: 3.5/5 (Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

Anna Forster, in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease at only thirty-eight years old, knows that her family is doing what they believe to be best when they take her to Rosalind House, an assisted living facility. She also knows there's just one other resident her age, Luke. What she does not expect is the love that blossoms between her and Luke even as she resists her new life at Rosalind House. As her disease steals more and more of her memory, Anna fights to hold on to what she knows, including her relationship with Luke.

When Eve Bennett is suddenly thrust into the role of single mother she finds herself putting her culinary training to use at Rosalind house. When she meets Anna and Luke she is moved by the bond the pair has forged. But when a tragic incident leads Anna's and Luke's families to separate them, Eve finds herself questioning what she is willing to risk to help them. 

Well, that's what I get for not reviewing a book as soon as I finish reading it! Until I read the publisher's blurb, I had zero recollection of either the plot or the characters. The Things We Keep was certainly not as good (or as memorable) as Still Alice, which is also about a character with early onset Alzheimer's. The Things We Keep is told from three points of view, one of which felt contrived and predictable. I feel that Hepworth only scratched the surface of what could have been a very good examination of dementia/Alzheimer's. Ultimately, The Things We Keep left me wanting more substance and less fluff.