Mad Mabel

 Mad Mabel written by Sally Hepworth, is a winner of a book. Hepworth is a masterful storyteller with a great ability to build suspense.  This time we meet Elise Mabel Fitzpatrick, an elderly woman living a quiet life down a small lane.  She waves to her neighbors but keeps to herself. When a neighbor dies, Elise’s sarcastic responses to the police bring her past under closer scrutiny. 

Now her quiet life is disrupted by neighbors knocking at the door and a need to tell the story of her past.  As Elise tells the story of her life interspersed between the current events happening on Kenny Lane, Melbourne, Australia, we get a picture of her life story. A difficult childhood, with indifferent parents, Elise has a hard childhood with many challenges and difficulties along the way.  She tells the story of her life and explains so many of the mysteries that have surrounded her and followed her through her life.