Book Review: Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth

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Mad Mabel  by Sally Hepworth  is a domestic thriller about the youngest person convicted of murder in Australia, Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick. Now 81 years old, Elsie is living on Kenny Lane and has been for the past sixty years. When a mother named Roxanne moves into Mabel's neighborhood with her seven year old daughter, an unlikely friendship forms between Elsie and the seven year old child named Persephone. As Elsie's secrets come to light, her world comes crashing down.  Having read quite a few novels by Sally Hepworth, I requested an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of Mad Mabel  without reading the synopsis of the story. I was thrilled when NetGalley and St. Martin's Press approved my request. The expected publication date of the book is April 21, 2026. Not knowing anything about the storyline before I started reading Mad Mabel  made the story much more interesting to me as I had no preconceived ideas. The tale was told from Mabel's perspective in alternating timeli...
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Book Review: The Lake House by Kate Morton

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Book Club Book Review of The Lake House by Kate Morton
When another member in my book club recommended The Lake House by Kate Morton, I immediately asked if the movie of the same name starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock was based on this book. Fortunately, they had nothing to do with each other and when opening up the Goodreads.com app on my phone to look the book up, I saw that I already had it on my to read list.

Not your typical thriller, I had some trouble getting into the book but forced myself to continue since it was a book club pick. By the time I finished, I was glad I read it. The Lake House alternates between the present day Cornwall, England and various years of the past, mainly the year 1933. 

Normally, switching between time periods within a book doesn't bother me, but it did with this one. It was frustrating because when it switched to the past, it didn't do it chronologically. For example, it would jump back to June 1933, then to August 1932, and so on.

Unfamiliar with Kate Morton, I was surprised to see she has written other novels. Many of her fans who reviewed The Lake House felt like it wasn't up to par with her previous novels and thought it followed a formula. I'm interested to read some of her other novels so I can compare for myself.
 
book club book review the lake house kate morton
Other than being slow to start and jumping around the past too much, the novel was very well written. It reminded me of something P.D. James would write. Somewhat predictable, it kept me guessing for the most part. If you like historical fiction or mystery, it's a must read. I gave The Lake House four stars out of five.

Synopsis of The Lake House by Kate Morton

Cornwall, England - 1933. Sixteen year old Alice Edevane loves writing and is working on her first novel at her family's lakeside estate. The night of their midsummer's eve party, Alice's eleven month old brother, Theo, vanishes. Present day. London Detective Sadie Sparrow is visiting her grandfather in Cornwall and discovers an abandoned estate frozen in time. Wondering why the house was left to decay, Sparrow starts digging into the history of the estate, revealing secrets long forgotten.

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