NetGalley Buddy Readers discussion

We will be reading Mad Mabel. We have not chosen a date yet. Everyone is welcome to join. Publication is April 21st (2026).



There are two kinds of people no one ever expects to be little girls and old ladies. 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.

Mid-March?

That works for me. Want to set it for the 16th?

Kristie wrote: "That works for me. Want to set it for the 16th?"

Works for me!

Yay!

I have this one too so happy to join you in March

Excellent, Kevin!

Excited to join you for this one in March!

oh i got approved for this one today! will join you! 😊

Yay, Shruti! Looking forward to this one.

Hi all - I had this in the calendar to start on the 16th. I was reading while traveling and made it through chapter 27 (47%)! I'm really enjoying it and looking forward to seeing where the story goes. It's after 2am here, so I will have to come back to leave my thoughts. Did anyone else start it?

I probably won't start till this weekend.

I’m hoping to start tomorrow, finishing up another book first.

I'm the same, probably won't start until the weekend, totally forgot about this one

I am going to start this one tonight.

Through chapter 3 (8%)

I have been looking forward to this one for a while now.

Elsie Mable, our 81 year old main character, seems like a cranky ole gal-which I can appreciate. lol

(view spoiler)[ She’s fighting with most of her neighbors, not a fan of kids or dogs and apparently has a past that’s going to catch up to her.

Mad Mable was a childhood nickname so I expect some interesting stories from then. (hide spoiler)]

Through chapter 27 (47%) - (view spoiler)[ I get the impression that Elsie's cranky exterior is just a wall she has built to keep her from getting hurt by others. I don't think she really dislikes any of her neighbors, even the dead man. It is just how she interacted with him. She just wants people to think that she doesn't like them and is curmudgeonly to protect herself. It's that sort of 'so what if you don't like me, I don't like you' attitude that's not real.

I think she adores little Persephone. And of course, Persephone loves her too. I think Elsie even likes that little Chihuahua, Nugget. He clearly likes her better than most. lol Pete seems to care for her too. Overall, I think most of her neighbors know she's not as cranky as she pretends to be. (hide spoiler)]

End of Ch 33 / 52%

I'm really enjoying this one. It's less thriller-y than I expected but I really like cranky old Mabel. I think she's (view spoiler)[largely just misunderstood - partly because she's cultivated this persona as a defensive measure.

Her dad was really a piece of work. I understand than he was grieving but how someone can treat their own child like that is beyond me. I think maybe he opened the door himself and feels guilty or can't accept it maybe. And how was his wife's suicide Mabel's fault? And to think he might be the source of all the rumors that led to her being bullied for her entire childhood!

And then Billy on the beach. I guess that's the one she got out in jail for.. but he was a bully. Maybe someone else had had enough too. And then the teacher preying on her is giving me the ick. If she's going to jail for killing someone, I hope it's this creep. This poor girl really can't catch a break.

I'm loving the interaction with Persephone who seems to be thawing the walls she's put up.

(hide spoiler)]

Through chapter 15 (26%)

Ole Mabel sure has been dealt a crummy hand. (view spoiler)[ How on earth are you going to blame a 3 year old for giving her sister polio? Who quarantines said 3 year old on a porch alone? Was that really something that was done? Ok I Googled and it seems not that far fetched of an idea. Crazy. Oh and Mable’s mom offing herself…not her fault either. #justiceformable. lol (hide spoiler)]

Looks like I'll be able to start tomorrow!

Shruti morethanmylupus wrote: "End of Ch 33 / 52%

I'm really enjoying this one. It's less thriller-y than I expected but I really like cranky old Mabel. ..."

I completely agree! Not much of a thriller really, but I don't want to put it down. (view spoiler)[ The teacher is icky. Poor Mabel. (hide spoiler)]

Marnie wrote: "Through chapter 15 (26%)

Ole Mabel sure has been dealt a crummy hand. [spoilers removed]"

I felt so bad for Mabel when (view spoiler)[ her mother killed herself. The last things she said to Mabel were so hurtful and then to have people questioning whether Mabel killed her was so awful, especially the way her father reacted. (hide spoiler)]

I'm up to chapter 42 (63%) and really enjoying this one. (view spoiler)[ I'm really curious to find out who she went to jail for killing and if she actually did it.

Also, she has a bit of an obsession with Peter. He seems to care about her, so let's hope this plays out well and doesn't turn into another terrible thing she has to live through. (hide spoiler)]

Kristie wrote: "I'm up to chapter 42 (63%) and really enjoying this one.

I’m at 63% now. My guess is (view spoiler)[ Her school teacher ( can’t remember his name.) (hide spoiler)]

I'm at 90% end of chapter 68 (view spoiler)[ Her father turned out to be a much worse person than I even thought. Letting that little girl fall on purpose was horrible. I'm sure he let her little sister out of the house and then blamed her for her sister getting polio. Just like he blamed her for her mother's death and spread all the rumors about her and started the Mad Mabel nickname.

I feel bad that she saw Cess & Ness together and was upset by it. Her father had no right being in the house at that moment. What a horrible man. I'm pretty sure he's the one she's going to kill. Will it be an accident? Or maybe not? He has certainly made her life miserable. (hide spoiler)]

Excited to read the end!

I finished.

This was such a good read. Not sure I’d classify it as a thriller but I was enthralled the whole way through.

A couple surprises at the end that I did not see coming. (view spoiler)[ Peter being her son…and Daphne being imaginary- I had no clue. (hide spoiler)]

Marnie wrote: "I finished.

This was such a good read. Not sure I’d classify it as a thriller but I was enthralled the whole way through.

A couple surprises at the end that I did not see coming. [spoilers removed]"

I plan to finish tomorrow morning. I have a couple of theories and I can't wait to find out if they are correct. I also don't think this is really a thriller, but definitely interesting and engaging.

I finished on the plane today. I liked the unexpected ending. This was a good one. I think it will be 4 stars for me.

I finished also. I loved this one!

I thought this was excellent. I really enjoy Sally Hepworth's writing.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I'll be back because I'm almost done (95%) but (view spoiler)[the audacity to steal your dead father's socks after you murder him. 🤣 (hide spoiler)]

Elyse wrote: "I'll be back because I'm almost done (95%) but [spoilers removed]"

🤣🤣 (view spoiler)[ She did say it was the only good thing about him! lol

I wasn't sure when I read that if that was what happened or if she just got good socks when she was older. Like that was what she wanted to take from him or her ode to him because he was still her father. (hide spoiler)]

I did forget to come back lol. I ended up liking it. Grouchy old people are some of my favorites, probably why I like Fredrik Backman's books! Add in a precocious child, yes please. I kind of guessed from the beginning that (view spoiler)[it would be her father she murdered. Everything else was so yikes and I felt so sad when he murdered Cess. Mr. Loukas the teacher...if I'd been his fiancee I would murdered him too! I know for the great reveal of Peter being her son he had to be not much in the story but c'mon. He would've definitely been over her house visiting or vice versa, they're neighbors! Pity Christos was never mentioned again. Didn't think Daphne was invisible but loved that Persephone "met" Daphne/Daisy. (hide spoiler)] One of her better books in recent years, IMO. But definitely not a thriller.

I agree! I don't think it was a thriller, but I loved it. I think promoting it as a thriller is a mistake. Although, after re-reading the synopsis I didn't think they really promoted it that way. I think it's just an assumption on the readers part. I think if people go into it not expecting a thriller, they'll be much happier with it.

(view spoiler)[ I knew it had to be her dad that she killed too. I certainly wasn't sorry for him! What an evil man. I was also sad that Cess died. (hide spoiler)]

25%
(view spoiler)[
How can a parent blame a 3 year old for the accidental death of a baby? Poor Mabel :/

(hide spoiler)]

Dr. B wrote: "25% [spoilers removed]"

Right? (view spoiler)[ I felt so bad for her. (hide spoiler)]

finally got a chance to write this review :)

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Finished and this should not be marketed as thriller.

(view spoiler)[I had a feeling she would end up killing her monstrous father, so that part didn’t come as a surprise. The reveal that Daphne was her imaginary friend was a nice touch! I’m still not quite sure how I feel about Peter being her son, though.
(hide spoiler)]

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...