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Mad Mabel2.jpg

Mad Mabel: A Novel by Sally Hepworth

from $11.60
Hardcover:

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

From New York Times bestselling author Sally Hepworth comes a twisty tale of justice, redemption, and one irrepressible woman who’s not done breaking the rules just yet.

Meet Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick: eighty-one years old, gloriously grumpy, fiercely independent, and never without a hot cup of tea—or a cutting remark. She minds her own business in her quiet Melbourne suburb, until a neighbor turns up dead and the whispers start flying.

Because Elsie hasn’t always been Elsie. Once upon a headline, she was Mad Mabel Waller—Australia’s youngest convicted murderer. But was she really mad, or just misunderstood? Either way, she’s kept her secret buried for decades.

Enter seven-year-old Persephone, a relentless little chatterbox who has just moved in across the road (armed with stickers, questions, and no sense of personal boundaries); Joan, who appears to have it in for Elsie; and a healthy dose of public interest—the cops are sniffing around, and the media is circling like seagulls at a picnic.

So Mabel does what she’s always done best—she takes matters into her own hands.

Is she a cantankerous old lady with a shady past? A cold-blooded killer with arthritis? Or just someone who’s finally ready to tell her side of the story?

Sharp, surprising, and wickedly funny, this is the unforgettable story of a woman who’s spent a lifetime being underestimated—and is about to prove everyone wrong. Again.

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

From New York Times bestselling author Sally Hepworth comes a twisty tale of justice, redemption, and one irrepressible woman who’s not done breaking the rules just yet.

Meet Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick: eighty-one years old, gloriously grumpy, fiercely independent, and never without a hot cup of tea—or a cutting remark. She minds her own business in her quiet Melbourne suburb, until a neighbor turns up dead and the whispers start flying.

Because Elsie hasn’t always been Elsie. Once upon a headline, she was Mad Mabel Waller—Australia’s youngest convicted murderer. But was she really mad, or just misunderstood? Either way, she’s kept her secret buried for decades.

Enter seven-year-old Persephone, a relentless little chatterbox who has just moved in across the road (armed with stickers, questions, and no sense of personal boundaries); Joan, who appears to have it in for Elsie; and a healthy dose of public interest—the cops are sniffing around, and the media is circling like seagulls at a picnic.

So Mabel does what she’s always done best—she takes matters into her own hands.

Is she a cantankerous old lady with a shady past? A cold-blooded killer with arthritis? Or just someone who’s finally ready to tell her side of the story?

Sharp, surprising, and wickedly funny, this is the unforgettable story of a woman who’s spent a lifetime being underestimated—and is about to prove everyone wrong. Again.

  • Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

    Title: Mad Mabel: A Novel

    Author: Sally Hepworth

    On Sale Date: April 21, 2026

    ISBN 13: 9781250284549

    ISBN 10: 1250284546

    Format: Hardcover

    Retail Price: $29.00

    BISAC: Fiction / Mystery & Detective / General

    Page Count: 352

    Dimensions: 9.7 in H | 6.7 in W | 1.2 in T

    Weight: 1.2 lb

  • Sally Hepworth grew up in Melbourne, Australia, and worked in event management and human resources before turning to fiction, drafting her first novel while on maternity leave with her oldest child. She has since become one of the most reliable names in domestic suspense: The Good Sister won Australia’s Davitt Award, Darling Girls took home the Ned Kelly Award for Best Novel, and Mad Mabel itself was named General Fiction Book of the Year at the 2026 Australian Book Industry Awards. Her novel The Family Next Door was adapted into an ABC Television series in 2025. She still lives in Melbourne.

  • Critics are calling it unforgettable, wickedly funny, and utterly compelling:

    • “Sally Hepworth’s Mad Mabel is a magnificent novel... Mabel is truly an unforgettable character.” — Bookreporter

    • “Sharp, surprising, and wickedly funny... a book I inhaled over a day and a half and one I will remember.” — Dear Author

    • “A compelling dual-timeline mystery featuring an unforgettable older heroine.” — That Happy Reader

    • “I absolutely fell in love with Mabel.” — Reader review

This book is for you if

  • You love a heroine who’s decades past caring what anyone thinks of her.

  • You want a mystery where the most dangerous person in the room is the sweet old lady with the tea cozy.

  • You’re drawn to stories about the secrets small towns keep for generations.

  • You like your thrillers with a wicked sense of humor.

  • You root for the underestimated, especially when they turn out to be running the whole show.

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