Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth

 

Summary (from the publisher): Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick is eighty-one years old. She's lived on her idyllic street 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 she's 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.

Review: Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley of an ARC of this book!

Despite her popularity, I have never read a Sally Hepworth novel before but understood that she wrote thrillers. I wasn't sure what to expect from this book but certainly did not expect a heart-warming redemption story that follows 81-year-old Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick. Little do Elsie's neighbors know, but she has a very tormented past. For most of her life, those she loves the most in Mabel's life have died premature and tragic deaths. And often she was blamed for them. 

I suppose it's true you could call this a domestic thriller, but it didn't really feel like a traditional thriller to me. As the novel progresses, it jumps back and forth in time to slowly unravel her life story in both her child and present day. Slowly, the reader uncovers the sad truths of Mabel's life, and the author does a great job in both timelines of building tension to propel the reader on. I loved that the book focuses on an older main character, which you don't see too terribly often in fiction. And I did like the redemptive arc to the storyline. No one can go back and erase the wrongs against her, but it felt like Mable had some closure in the end. 

I really enjoyed this more than I thought I would and felt very fond of Mabel in the end. I did think some of the twists were more predictable than I had hoped. There was one character connected to Mabel thrown in in the end that I didn't feel was fully fleshed out, which made me question why it was even included in the plot.  And I didn't love the ending, which felt a bit too neat and tidy an ending. But overall, an excellent book that focuses on the way reputation can damage us and how false accusations can snowball. 

Stars: 4