Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve
Sally Hepworth, in Mad Mabel, has launched a very sympathetic and likeable character in the person of 81year old Elsie Fitzpatrick, once the infamous young murderer, mad Mabel.
The eye-watering success of the Thursday Murder Club series, which is set in an aged care facility, proved that characters’ ages would not hamper readers’ interest.
Whereas the above mentioned super team of sleuths set out to solve crime, Elsie is in fact guilty of murder and has served prison time. The gripping aspect of this novel is the reader wanting to discover whether Elsie is indeed THE mad Mabel, once the youngest murderer in Australia.
She lives in Kenny Lane, an idyllic cul-de-sac, peopled by quirky people of varying ages. They add colour and amusement to life there, with petty disputes and minor confrontations arising. Suspicion rises when one neighbour, addicted to Aldi’s bargains, is found dead, by Elsie. Her past looms and the calm of Kenny Street is disrupted.
Elsie maintains a facade of grumpy old lady but this is gradually replaced by affection for her little neighbour across the way, Persephone. Despite resistance from her, Persephone charms her way into Elsie’s life and becomes one of the book’s most endearing characters.
Mabel/Elsie’s freakish tallness makes school life difficult. Billy the bully steps in and drama follows ..
Sally Hepworth very cleverly dangles clues and suggestions throughout and attempts to reconcile Elsie’s law abiding present with her criminal past. She is the only witness to her mother’s suicide, Billy suffers a severe head injury and is in a coma for weeks, a predatory teacher is accidentally killed by his car crushing him after Mabel had visited his home …
The more complete picture emerges as the narrative swings between ‘then’ and ‘now’.
Her life as a child with her dear friend, Daphne, and the entertaining aunt, Cecily, unfolds. At the same time, her current life involving a You Tube interview with two sympathetic journalists, finally provides answers to why she was burdened by this reputation for violence.
Mad Mabel is not merely a who-done-it with a different slant, it’s a warm-hearted tale of friendship, self-discovery, and kindness, all touched by humour. A trace of menace arrives with Shane, the estranged father of Persephone, but it is the father of Mabel who is undoubtedly the real villain.
Sally Hepworth has written yet another highly enjoyable novel which will add to her legion of fans. Thrillers are such a popular genre, people and their foibles endlessly fascinating, and the theme of people of advancing age being important members of contemporary society, are ingredients that cannot fail.
It could very well be a form of madness not to embrace the story of Mad Mabel….
Mad Mabel
[2025]
by Sally Hepworth
Pan Macmillan
ISBN: 978 17612 6649 2
$34.99; 340pp