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: A High Heels Haunting (High Heels, #4.5) by Gemma Halliday

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a high heels haunting gemma halliday
While purchasing Peril in High Heels (High Heels, #11) by Gemma Halliday and Kelly Rey, I thought I'd check to see if A High Heels Haunting (High Heels, #4.5) by Gemma Halliday was available for purchase because every time I went to buy it previously, it was never available. I was super excited that I was finally able to buy it.

Since A High Heels Haunting is really a novella, I was able to finish it in one sitting. Although it is technically part of the High Heels book series, Maddie Springer was barely in the book, and I wasn't expecting that, so I was very disappointed. 

It was very well written and kept me intrigued. I feel like if it hadn't been tied to the High Heels book series, I would've enjoyed it so much more because I kept waiting for Maddie to make a big appearance. What I did love was that I never guessed who the killer was . . . I guessed someone completely different.

The novella is about a web designer named Kya Badder who falls in love with a pair of red high heels that she finds on Maddie Springer's website and decides to buy them. When Kya finally gets the shoes and puts them on, she feels like a supermodel and becomes very confident in herself. All of a sudden, her luck changes and lands a modeling contract AND a boyfriend. But, when Kya starts dreaming about a supermodel's death, she becomes suspicious and starts asking all the right questions to the wrong people.

I gave A High Heels Haunting (High Heels, #4.5) by Gemma Halliday four out of five stars since it didn't feature Maddie Springer, which disappointed me. This novella can be read as a stand alone book and doesn't need to be read between Alibi in High Heels (High Heels, #4) and Mayhem in High Heels (High Heels, #5) since it doesn't really progress the story line of Maddie.

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