by Cathryn_Conroy: This is the very best kind of ChickLit: It’s smart, funny, wise, and witty. I laughed out loud. I teared up a few times. I just loved it! Best of all, it’s about the power of female friendship.
Written by Sally Hepworth, this is the story of Mabel Elsie Waller. We meet her living on Kenny Lane, a cobbled street in central Melbourne, Australia where she resides in one of six single-fronted terrace homes, each of which has a tiled porch and a wrought-iron fence. She is 81 years old and goes by the name Elsie Fitzpatrick in an attempt to forget the very distant past. Mabel, er…Elsie, has the distinction of being the youngest Australian, at age 15, to ever to be convicted of murder. And oh the rumors all these decades later! It has long been thought that this might not have been the only murder she committed. There may have been several more.
It is during this inauspicious time as a teenager that she was given the unsavory nickname of Mad Mabel. Even though she was convicted and spent five years in an asylum as punishment, is she really guilty?
Back to the present: One fine day, Mabel finds her 93-year-old neighbor, a man she thinks of as her nemesis and has nicknamed Old Ishaan, dead on his kitchen floor. She calls the police, and it doesn’t take long for her to be connected in some nefarious way to Ishann’s death. Mad Mabel’s history is splashed in the headlines and on social media. It’s happening all over again.
The book is organized in two timelines: Then and Now. “Then” is primarily Mabel’s sad and troubled childhood living with a father who truly disliked her. She may have grown up quite wealthy with money, but she was poor when it came to love. “Now” covers the current time as she struggles with yet another murderous accusation.
Mabel is feisty, brash, ornery, and says exactly what she thinks, which can (and does) get her into trouble. This is a fun, fun, fun read about a cantankerous old lady who captured my heart and wouldn’t let go. Best of all, it includes a cast of unforgettable characters, including Daphne, Mabel’s best friend since childhood, Persephone, the pesty seven-year-old who lives across the street, and assorted eccentric Kenny Lane neighbors.
And the ending? It’s bittersweet with just enough twisty-turns to surprise most readers—twisty-turns I never saw coming.
This is a delightful novel with colorful characters and a page-turning plot. Read it for a wonderful escape! And give it to your best friend.
