Mad Mabel is a heartfelt novel with strong themes of acceptance, friendship, and redemption. It features 81-year-old Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick, who was once Australia’s youngest convicted murderer but is now her neighborhood’s resident curmudgeon. When her “archenemy” neighbor is found dead in his house, she comes under suspicion, and the past she tried so hard to conceal is revealed in all its scandalous glory.

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Let’s start with a quick summary of Mad Mabel.

Mabel was a plain, awkward child who never quite fit in with her schoolmates and whose father seemingly hated her. She was given the nickname Mad Mabel at a young age because people in her life died at unusually high rates. The implication was that she was somehow responsible. Her father blamed her for the death of her baby sister, she witnessed her mother commit suicide, and the teacher who was perving on her died in a suspicious accident.

While she may not have been responsible for those deaths, she did kill someone as a teenager and spent several years in a mental institution.

Now, she’s a cranky octogenarian who goes by the name Elsie and doesn’t like kids, yapping dogs, or that one annoying neighbor. She’s nosy enough to realize that neighbor hasn’t been retrieving the packages from his porch and feels compelled to investigate. When she finds his body, it sets off a chain of events that include a protest outside her house and a podcast where she reveals secrets from her past.

She ends up with her dead neighbor’s yappy dog, and much to her surprise, comes to like him. She’s also surprised by her growing affection for the precocious young girl across the street who considers Elsie to be her new friend. The girl, Persephone, persistently erodes Elsie’s bristly exterior and is rewarded with something akin to love from Elsie.

While the police investigate Elsie for her neighbor’s murder, she continues to live her life. She finds herself babysitting Persephone at night so her single mom can work. She has a cathartic experience telling her side of the story to the two podcasters and even forms a fledgling friendship with them. And formerly frosty relationships with neighbors begin to thaw.

Towards the end of her life, “Mad Mabel” finally finds her people. Redemption. Acceptance. Love. So good.

I enjoyed Mad Mabel despite its somewhat dark undertones. Mabel is a fascinating character. Broken as a child, she put herself back together with a Kevlar exterior designed to keep people out so they wouldn’t hurt her. But Persephone, often a scene stealer, is oblivious to Mabel’s social cues and plows ahead like only a friendly, precocious kid can do. They need each other and they both benefit from the relationship (although cranky Mabel wouldn’t readily admit that).

The concept behind the plot of Mad Mabel is very creative. I wonder if the author heard of a young, convicted murderer and imagined a whole life story for them. If so, she has a rockstar imagination. The only thing that was a little hard to buy into is the notion that she was called Mad Mabel from a young age, but then we learn that her father was stoking the flames of her bad reputation and it made a little more sense.

What I liked the most about Mad Mabel were the themes. I’m a sucker for a good story where an outcast is embraced and accepted, especially when it’s been a long time coming. It was satisfying to see Mabel thaw and let people get close. And with her final, selfless act, she redeemed herself and her reputation.

I give a thumbs up to Mad Mabel, and if you’ve read it, I’d love to hear your opinion.