Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth

My first 5 star rating for 2026. I lost myself in this story. I loved Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick. I loved her as an unlovable child. I loved her as a cantankerous 81 year old woman. I loved the community that grows around her older self – a community she doesn’t realize is there but is always covering her back. I adored her growing affection for the precocious child Persephone, who won my heart. This was a book I did not want to end. It made me cry.

This is my first Sally Hepworth novel – recommended to me by a dear friend who passed away last Christmas. It was her last novel and she loved it – so do I.

Highly recommended.

Reviewed by Gaby Meares
Murder on a Monday Reading Group