Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth

St. Martin’s Press (April 21, 2026)

Murder Thriller/Domestic Thriller

There are 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.

 

BUY LINKS

Mad Mabel — Sally Hepworth

Currently available in Australia/NZ

Releasing elsewhere Spring 2026

REVIEW

I loved the witty dialogue, the characters, the plot – I loved everything about this book. The conversations between 81 year old Mabel and 7 year old Persephone had me rolling in laughter. This book is full of layers that is the life of Mabel. Covering Mabels heartbreaking childhood, loneliness, friendships, neighbors, and love, it’s heartbreaking as well a comic read. A favorite read of mine this year and I hope everyone gives this book a read – it’s fantastic!
Reviewed by Comfy Chair Books/Lisa Reigel (November 17, 2025)

eARC provided by publisher via Netgalley

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sally Hepworth is the New York Times bestselling author of nine novels, including The Good Sister and The Soulmate. Her latest novel, Darling Girls, was released in Australia in September 2023, and will be released in North America in April 2024.

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)