Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth

Title: Mad Mabel

Author: Sally Hepworth

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Release Date: April 21, 2026

From Sally Hepworth, the New York Times bestselling author of The Soulmate and The Good Sister, comes a twist-filled, darkly funny mystery about the two kinds of people no one ever expects to be murderers: 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.

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Another success in my book!

Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick is eighty-one years old when her past comes back to haunt her.

Elsie was minding her own business when the girl next door tried to strike up a conversation with her. The young girl, Persephone, needs to complete a homework assignment that involves talking to an older person, and Elsie fits the bill. At the same time, it turns out that Elsie’s neighbor hasn’t been seen for a while, and packages are piling up at his front door. Elsie decides to investigate and finds his dead body. Soon, the cops are swarming the scene.

Was it foul play? Was he murdered? And who is Mad Mabel?

We learn from Elsie that, as a child, her mother owned a large property that her father fell in love with. They got married and had Mabel. But Mabel’s life was never easy. Her parents lacked warmth toward her, and her life only became more difficult from there.

Quite an interesting novel with a memorable main character. It’s painful at times, and I won’t lie—some tears might have come out at the end.

I’m a fan of Sally Hepworth. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.

Cliffhanger: No

4/5 Fangs

A complimentary copy was provided by St. Martin's Press via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Half City by Kate GoldenHarker Academy #1

 

Title: Half City

Series: Harker Academy #1

Author: Kate Golden

Publisher: Ace

Release Date: February 17, 2026

Welcome to Harker Academy for Deviant Defense. Keep your daggers sharp, and your wits even sharper.

Viv Abbot is an average twenty-one-year-old girl. She lives in an expensive city where the rent is too high, works long hours at a thankless job, and is dating a guy she doesn’t even like in the hopes of winning her prickly mother’s approval.

She just also happens to be a demon hunter.

Ever since her father's murder, she's been forced to hunt deviants alone, meaning everyone, including her family, sees her as an outsider. . . . Until the day she crosses paths with a dangerously alluring demon, Reid Graveheart. The reformed deviant tells her of a school for people just like her: Harker Academy for Deviant Defense. If she enrolls, she'll learn to hone her craft, work with other hunters, and never be alone again.

But Viv has a deadly secret. One that not even her new friends at Harker can know about. Not when the school might hold the answers to untangling the mystery surrounding Viv's father’s death. When strange occurrences begin to plague the students, Viv will have to figure out who she can trust, and fast. All while trying to ace her classes, not fall for a demon, and make it through her first year at Harker in one piece. How hard could that be?

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Since her father’s murder, Viv Abbot has been hunting deviants alone for over a decade in the streets of Astera. Then, at twenty-one, she learns she can join the Harker Academy for Deviant Defense. She is told about the school by a reformed deviant named Reid Graveheart.

Viv’s first instinct is to kill Reid, but as the weeks of defense training with him go by and she sees him in action, she begins to see a different side of him. Yes, he has taken many souls in his life, but at least he is now helping hunters become better at killing the truly evil ones.

When one of her classmates goes missing, Viv begins investigating with the help of her new friends. They are told that the girl quit school overnight, but that doesn’t add up—she loved being there. Was she taken for nefarious purposes, and if so, what is the endgame? Viv doesn’t know who is behind the strange things happening at the academy, but she knows it can’t be good.

A strong first installment with a solid plot, interesting world-building, and engaging characters. The ending leaves you with so many questions about what is really happening. I really liked the secondary characters—Elliot, Sophie, and Penny all stand out as trustworthy and memorable.

There’s also romance in the air. There’s the tension between Viv and Reid, but I’m also intrigued by the owner of the club. I wonder if something will come of that.

The second book is coming out in October, and I'm excited to read it.

Cliffhanger: No

4/5 Fangs

A complimentary copy was provided by Ace via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.