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 Lifeguard by Richie Tankersley Cusick

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book review the lifeguard richie tankersley cusick point horror young adult

The Lifeguard by Richie Tankersley Cusick opens with Kelsey and her mom taking a ferry over to Beverly Island to vacation with her mom's boyfriend and his three children. However, Kelsey's beach vacation isn't the paradise it should be. There's a note under her pillow from Beth, who's missing, and Issac, the local drunk, won't stop bothering her. On top of that, there have been several drownings on the island. Little does Kelsey know that lifeguards don't always save people. 

I am in the process of rereading my way through my childhood. When scrolling through Instagram, I saw a post from the user talespointhorrorbookclub where they were voting between two books for their book club, one of which was The Lifeguard by Richie Tankersley Cusick. I decided that this should be the next book for me to reread.

Not remembering much about the YA Novel, it was like reading it for the first time. However, as the book progressed, little tidbits starting coming back to me. I wasn't sure if I remembered everything correctly because there were quite a few red herrings. This was one of her best works in my opinion. Part horror, part suspense, this book was engrossing, and I wish it had been storming to give me that ambiance that would have made it creepier.

Five out of five stars is what I gave The Lifeguard because it was absolutely phenomenal, and I enjoyed it just as much as I did when I read it as a kid. Richie Tankersley Cusick is a fantastic storyteller, and this novel is the perfect book for children eleven and up wanting to read a horror book.

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