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: Mary-Anne's Bad-Luck Mystery (The Baby-Sitters Club, #17) by Ann M. Martin

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Mary Annes Bad Luck Mystery The BabySitters Club #17 Ann M Martin
Mary-Anne Spier knew she shouldn't have thrown out the chain letter she received. Not only is she having the worst luck, but the rest of the baby-sitters club keep having bad things happen to them too! When Mary-Anne starts receiving letters threatening her and the rest of the club, and a bad luck charm necklace to wear, several emergency meetings of the baby-sitters club are called by Kristy so they can figure out how to counter act the bad luck.

What can I say about Mary-Anne's Bad-Luck Mystery (The Baby-Sitters Club, #17)? Holy nostalgia, Batman! This book made me feel nostalgic for my childhood . . . do kids even send chain letters any more, and do they still believe in things like breaking a mirror causes seven years bad luck?

This is one of the books in the series that I remember better than some of the others, and it was such a joy to reread. I figured out who sent the threatening letters and bad luck charm necklace very easily just as I did as a child.  The one thing that bugs me now (and remember bugging me when I first read it) was that there was no resolution to who actually sent the chain letter. It would have been nice to have that wrapped up in the ending.

I loved the fact that the story included a school dance and that it actually happened at night time like it did when I was in eighth grade. Now, if I remember correctly, the middle school dances happen immediately after school lets out, which takes all the fun out of it . . . at least to me it would. Another thing I loved was that it finally included more scenes with Logan, which made his character seem more real.

There really isn't anything bad that I can say about Mary-Anne's Bad-Luck Mystery (The Baby-Sitters Club, #17). This book made me want Ann M. Martin to write a lot more mysteries and was a major influence in making me love the mystery genre. I gave this book five out of five stars.


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