by: Sally Hepworth
Goodreads synopsis:
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.
Helen says: 🤓🤓🤓🤓1/2
Bonus book for May! We were going to save it for next month, but had time to tackle it and I am so glad we did. I really loved this book. It was funny in parts and quite poignant in other parts. I worried it would be predictable and a little silly, but it was actually a complex and layered storyline. Do yourself a favor and read this one!
Holly says: 🤓🤓🤓🤓1/2
This would be my favorite book of the month if not for Yesteryear. Mabel/Elsie is a slightly darker, more misunderstood, and even more curmudgeonly Sybil Van Antwerp, but boy is she funny. If you liked A Man Called Ove, you will be a big fan of Mad Mabel. The dual timelines of Mabe/Elsie’s life are ideal for this storytelling. This is the perfect summer read. It’s great – read it!
Helen and Holly Hit the Books 