Review: MAD MABEL, Sally Hepworth

• 
  This edition read on Libby, through my local library
  
• Published by St. Martin's Publishing Group, released 21 April 2026 

Synopsis (Overdrive)

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.

My Take:

Another exceptional story from Sally Hepworth. 

Mabel has always wondered why it has been so difficult to acquire friends, why her father seems to dislike her so much, and what she has done to deserve the nickname of "Mad Mabel". 

Looking back, Mabel has seemed to be followed around by death, and to be honest, she has been Australia's youngest convicted killer - of two people, not just one. But there have been at least two other deaths at her door, and now there appears to be a fifth. But, hang on, Mabel knows she at least she hasn't been responsible for the recent death of her elderly neighbour. This account reveals how the other four were linked to her.

It makes you think about how often unkindness was her lot.  A story written with touches of humour and empathy. And if it hadn't been for Mabel's bosom buddy Daphne, and her latest "friend" Persephone....

My rating: 4.7

I've also read

4.5, THE MOTHER IN LAW

4.7, THE YOUNGER WIFE 

4.7, THE SOULMATE

4.8, DARLING GIRLS

4.7, THE YOUNGER WIFE 

4.7, THE GOOD SISTER

Review: THE GOOD SISTER, Sally Hepworth

•  this edition supplied by my local library

• first published by Pan MacMillan Australia 2020
• ISBN 978-1-76055-219-0
• 330 pages
  

 Synopsis (publisher)

Fern Castle works in her local library. She has dinner with her twin sister Rose three nights a week. And she avoids crowds, bright lights and loud noises as much as possible. Fern has a carefully structured life and disrupting her routine can be ... dangerous.

When Rose discovers that she cannot fall pregnant, Fern sees her chance to pay her sister back for everything Rose has done for her. Fern can have a baby for Rose. She just needs to find a father. Simple.

Fern's mission will shake the foundations of the life she has carefully built for herself and stir up dark secrets from the past, in this quirky, rich and shocking story of unexpected love.

WINNER OF THE DAVITT AWARD FOR ADULT FICTION 2021

My Take

Sally Hepworth has become one of those Australian authors that I look out for,  and in this case, an authors whose past titles I track down.

Fern and Rose are fraternal twins, that is, not identical, in reality very different. 

We begin the story with Rose's journal, recently begun, but beginning with a major event in their lives when they were 12 years old. So we see things in the journal from Rose's point of view. But then we begin to see things from Fern's point of view in chapters headed with her name. Rose appears to be the controller of their lives while Fern comes over as introverted and retiring.

As we put together the picture of their past, we also begin to see their mother, mainly from Rose's point of view, and are led to conclude that their childhood was an unhappy one. 

And then comes the question of a baby, which Rose desperately wants, and Fern thinks she has a solution.

An engrossing read.

My rating: 4.7 

I've also read

• 4.5, THE MOTHER IN LAW
• 4.7, THE YOUNGER WIFE 
• 4.7, THE SOULMATE
• 4.8, DARLING GIRLS
• 4.7, THE YOUNGER WIFE 

Review: THE YOUNGER WIFE, Sally Hepworth

• 
  This edition a large print one from my local library
  
• published in 2022 by Wheeler Publishing
• ISBN 978-1-4326-9708-6
• 477 pages
• author website  
  

Synopsis (author website)

Stephen Aston is getting married again. The only problem is, he's still married to his first wife, even though she is in a care facility for dementia. But he'll take care of that easily, by divorcing her--even if his adult daughters protest.

Tully and Rachel Aston look upon Heather as nothing but an interloper. Heather is the same age as Rachel and even younger than Tully. Clearly she's a golddigger and after their father's money. Heather has secrets that she's keeping close, and reasons of her own for wanting to marry Stephen.

With their mother unable to speak for herself, Tully and Rachel are determined to get to the truth about their family's secrets, the new wife closing in, and who their father really is. But will getting to the truth unleash the most dangerous impulses...in all of them? 

My Take

This is the second time I've read this novel within 12 months. My first review is here. I'm relieved to find that I've given it the same rating.

So why am I reading it again? For discussion with my U3A crime fiction discussion group.

So this time I want to put down some of the things about the book that I want to discuss with them. So Spoiler Alert. Particularly if you have not yet read the book.

• Should Stephen Aston be divorcing Pam (his wife with dementia) and marrying again?
• Were you shocked at the age difference between Heather and Stephen?
• Do you think Heather should have agreed to marry Stephen and then allow him to discard Pam?
• How have Tully and Rachel reacted to stress in their lives?
• Where did the money in the hot water bottle come from?
• Who was Fiona Arthur? 
• Was Stephen abusive? What evidence is there?
• Was Stephen's death justified?
• What issues did the book make you consider?
• What did you think of the structure of the book: the narration by a person at the wedding; the fact that we know something dreadful has happened but not exactly what; the continued intervention by this narrator; her final toast to Stephen.
  

My rating: 4.7

I've also read

• 4.5, THE MOTHER IN LAW
• 4.7, THE YOUNGER WIFE 
• 4.7, THE SOULMATE
• 4.8, DARLING GIRLS

 

Review: DARLING GIRLS, Sally Hepworth

• 
  Publisher ‏ : ‎ Macmillan Australia (26 September 2023)
  
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1761262165
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1761262166

Synopsis (publisher)

SISTERS, SECRETS, LOVE, AND MURDER... Sally Hepworth's new novel has it all.

For as long as they can remember, Jessica, Norah, and Alicia have been told how lucky they are. As young girls they were rescued from family tragedies and raised by a loving foster mother, Miss Fairchild, on an idyllic farming estate and given an elusive second chance at a happy family life.

But their childhood wasn't the fairy tale everyone thinks it was. Miss Fairchild had rules. Miss Fairchild could be unpredictable. And Miss Fairchild was never, ever to be crossed. In a moment of desperation, the three broke away from Miss Fairchild and thought they were free. Even though they never saw her again, she was always somewhere in the shadows of their minds. When a body is discovered under the home they grew up in, the foster sisters find themselves thrust into the spotlight as key witnesses. Or are they prime suspects? 

My Take

As always, this novel by Sally Hepworth has an unusual plot with unusual twists, and, as always, gives the reader something to sink their teeth into.

Jessica, Alicia and Norah came to Miss Fairchild as young girls in need of compassion. But there was another side to Miss Fairchild and the girls were very lucky to survive. 

I loved the construction of this novel and there is mystery to work on right from the beginning.

My rating: 4.8 

I've also read

• 4.5, THE MOTHER IN LAW
• 4.7, THE YOUNGER WIFE 
• 4.7, THE SOULMATE, 

 

Review: THE SOULMATE, Sally Hepworth

• 
  This book made available as an e-book on Libby through my local library
  
• ISBN: 9781761263064
• ISBN-10: 1761263064
• Format: ePUB
• Language: English
• Published: 25th October 2022
• Publisher: Pan Macmillan Australia
• 336 pages
  

Synopsis (publisher)

Gabe is alone at the cliff's edge. His arms are outstretched, palms facing the empty air.

He said she jumped. He wouldn't lie.

Before the woman went over the cliff, Pippa and Gabe were happy. They had the kind of marriage that everyone envies, as well as two sweet young daughters, a supportive family, and a picturesque cliff-side home - which would have been idyllic had the tall beachside cliffs not become so popular among those wishing to end their lives.

Gabe has become somewhat of a local hero since they moved to the cliff house, talking seven people down from stepping off the edge. But when Gabe fails to save the eighth, a sordid web of secrets begins to unravel, pushing bonds of loyalty and love to the brink.

What wouldn't you do for your soulmate? 

My Take

Since he and Pippa have moved to their clifftop house on the Mornington Peninsula, Gabe has become a sort of Good Samaritan, persuading 7 people who've come there not to end their lives. Until the 8th one jumps. Or at least that's what Gabe says. Pippa is not so sure. What Gabe doesn't tell her, is that he knows this woman. 

There are two narrators: Pippa and Amanda, the woman who jumped. The dual narration provide between them a fascinating story. What seemed simple at first becomes a very complex plot with far stretching threads.

Highly recommended.

My rating: 4.7

I've also read

• 4.5, THE MOTHER IN LAW
• 4.7, THE YOUNGER WIFE

Review: THE YOUNGER WIFE, Sally Hepworth

• 
  This edition made available by my local library as an e-book on Libby
  
• Published: 26th October 2021
• ISBN: 9781760784980
• Length: 336 pages

Synopsis (publisher)

The moment she laid eyes on Heather Wisher, Tully knew this woman was going to destroy their lives.

Tully and Rachel are murderous when they discover their father has a new girlfriend. The fact that Heather is half his age isn't even the most shocking part. Stephen is still married to their mother, who is in a care facility with end-stage Alzheimer's disease.

Heather knows she has an uphill battle to win Tully and Rachel over, while carrying the burden of the secrets of her past. But, as it turns out, they are all hiding something.

The announcement of Stephen and Heather's engagement threatens to set off a family implosion, with old wounds and dark secrets finally being forced to the surface.

A garage full of stolen goods. An old hot-water bottle, stuffed with cash. A blood-soaked wedding. And that's only the beginning . . . 

My Take

Every one in this family has secrets: in the case of the younger women, even the new fiance, burdens they have carried for years. And why does the wife with dementia, Pam, keep saying her husband is a terrible person?

This is a book that just gets you in. You want to know more. Everything surfaces under the stress of the impending divorce, engagement and marriage. 

Highly recommended.

My rating: 4.7

I've also read

4.5, THE MOTHER IN LAW

Review: THE MOTHER-IN-LAW, Sally Hepworth

• this edition published by Pan Macmillan Australia 2019
• ISBN 978-1-70655-218-3
• 346 pages
• source: my local library

Synopsis (Pan Macmillan)

Someone once told me that you have two families in your life - the one you are born into and the one you choose. Yes, you may get to choose your partner, but you don't choose your mother-in-law. The cackling mercenaries of fate determine it all.

From the moment Lucy met Diana, she was kept at arm's length. Diana was exquisitely polite, but Lucy knew, even after marrying Oliver, that they'd never have the closeness she'd been hoping for.

But who could fault Diana? She was a pillar of the community, an advocate for social justice, the matriarch of a loving family. Lucy had wanted so much to please her new mother-in-law.

That was ten years ago. Now, Diana has been found dead, leaving a suicide note. But the autopsy reveals evidence of suffocation. And everyone in the family is hiding something...

From the bestselling author of The Family Next Door comes a new page-turner about that trickiest of relationships.

My take

Police don't arrive on your doorstep at dinnertime unless something is wrong.

Diana's death was not unexpected - she had after all told her family that she had breast cancer but she hadn't seemed seriously ill, unless you counted the depression that she had suffered from after her husband Tom had died from MND two years earlier. So it is hard to understand why the police want to question her family so often.

Lucy's relationship with her mother-in-law has not been a comfortable one. Diana believed that her family needed to work hard for what they wanted and she was likely to refuse to give them help unless it suited her. Wealthy at the end of her life, she has worked hard herself and lived through difficult times.

The novel covers the period of about 10 years leading up to her death with glimpses into the past. There are little mysteries cleverly woven into the fabric of the story and it is really not until the end that we have the full story.

This novel is certainly enough to send me looking for another by this author. This one was on the very edge of crime fiction. The crime that has been committed takes a back seat to the issues of the relationships between Diana and her friends and family members. It seems that her other books are mainly about family issues and family ties.

My rating: 4.5

About the author

Sally Hepworth has lived around the world, spending extended periods in Singapore, the UK and Canada, where she worked in event management and human resources. She is the author of The Secrets of Midwives, The Things We Keep, The Mother's Promise and The Family Next Door.
Sally lives in Melbourne, Australia, with her husband and children.