Mad Mabel

In the psychological thriller Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth, we meet 81-year-old Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick, a prickly woman living a quiet life on Kenny Lane. For sixty years, she has successfully hidden a dark past, but her world shifts when a young girl named Persephone moves in next door and forces a friendship. When a neighbor is found dead, the police and a true crime podcast begin digging into Elsie’s history, threatening to expose her as the infamous "Mad Mabel"—once the youngest person in Australia convicted of murder.

The story moves between the "Then" of her 1950s childhood and the "Now" of her elderly years. Readers are taken through a journey of childhood trauma, community gossip, and the murky truth behind the deaths that have followed Elsie her whole life. As she finally decides to reclaim her narrative through a YouTube interview, the book explores whether she is a cold-blooded killer or a victim of a cruel, lifelong myth. It is a gripping tale of resilience, secrets, and the power of truth.