Review: Mad Mabel

Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A simply delightful read!

I'm broadening my reading horizons this year but even before that decision the cover of this one attracted me, so when I saw it on NetGalley I had to give it a shot. Great decision!

This tells the tale of Mad Mabel, an 81 year old lady who was once convicted as Australia's youngest serial killer. But what's the true story behind the murders that left Mabel Waller ostracised, isolated and eyed with suspicion?

From the get-go, it's impossible to dislike Elsie/Mabel. She's instantly recognisable as the little old lady with a lot of fight left in her, and the writing does a brilliant job of showing both her hard exterior and soft centre at the same time.

The supporting characters are well illustrated, and the writing keeps the tone light while still lending a gravity to situations when needed.

We get the Then and Now of Elsie's life - in the present day, she narrates her past for a podcast, so we get alternating chapters to fully round out the story. I enjoyed this approach and followed the change easily, getting sucked in to both timelines.

It's quite a wholesome story that will inspire a range of emotions, and I think there is a lot that people will relate to, whether it's the isolation, the strong bonds of friendship or the trials of being a young soul in an aging body.

I loved this one, and highly recommend.

With thanks to NetGalley for an ARC

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Review: Six Strikes

Six Strikes by Antonia Grave
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Narrated by Charlie Sanderson
Presented by Harper Collins UK Audio

A fantastic read!

This hooked me immediately - it follows a woman who has made it her mission to rid the world of 'fleas', i.e. sexual predators. From the very opening scenes I was hooked, because how can you not support her mission immediately?? Any woman reading this will understand exactly how our narrator feels, and she's doing what we all wish could be done.

There's dual timelines, though - we begin her story not long after her rescue from the hands of a paedophile, but we get alternating chapters where she relates her history to a 'guest' at the prison where she's now incarcerated.

This was such an addictive story, but the realness to it is what really sucks you in. She makes some pretty important points while she's out there praying on the predators.

I really enjoyed this; it was addictive, interesting, and made some valid points with a side of brutal honesty and sass.

Highly recommend for crime fans.

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Review: End of Story

End of Story by A.J. Finn
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

An interesting mystery but awful, clunky writing that personifies everything, continuity errors (how did that person ask for a photo if no one has heard from him?) and an ultimately disappointing ending.

The writing was very distracting for most of it - it was a lot of work to understand what the author was trying to say, and I kept thinking more exciting things had happened than actually did. It really reads as the author trying to be clever and write a literary best seller but unfortunately it comes off as pretentious and distracting. Not the right sort of style for this murder mystery, I feel.

Added to the superfluous language, the lack of care with continuity bothered me and made it feel messy. The clues seemed forced on the story and as a result things don't seem to fit right. It draws the mystery out, making it feel a little too long.

Finally, when the conclusion came about, it was too much and felt like a bit of a cop out. I was disappointed and while I think the writer was going for clever, it seemed cheap to me.

Still, complaints aside, there was enough to keep me reading and hold my interest. I was curious about the mystery and spent plenty of time trying to guess what had happened.

So if you're not too fussy, it should entertain, but it's a bit of a messy one to really get behind.

This was Book 1 of my Advent 2 Challenge

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Review: The Atlas Six

The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Some interesting ideas, and very intriguing characters, but unfortunately so crammed full of magic-science and theories etc that it was a bit of an effort to wade through a lot of the time.

I enjoyed the start; I enjoyed the end. Most of the stuff in the middle was so academic it bled all the fun from it and left me feeling like a kid in a class that's way too advanced for me. It was also just incredibly dull.

I thought I liked the Dark Academia genre but the more I read, the more I just think, 'who decided combining magic and theoretical physics would be fun??'

Frustratingly, though, the ending intrigued me enough to look into the blurb of book 2. I'm so curious, but I don't want to sit through another 500-odd page class on science I don't understand mostly because it's been invented by someone way smarter than me.

Character thoughts? Nico, yes. Libby, yes, but make her a little less whiny; Tristan ... yes, but please show me more of what he can do. Parisa, oh yes. I like that I don't know if I like or loathe her. Reina, no real opinion because the poor girl barely rated in this book. I like her edginess though. Callum? Hard no.

Who would I recommend this book to? Smart people, and/or dumb people who want to seem smarter than they are by talking about how much they loved this erudite book.

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Review: Watchmen

Watchmen by Alan Moore
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Oh wow ok yeah this was pretty good!

Alan Moore's writing can come across as quite pretentious but when it all comes together it really blows you away.

This was brilliantly crafted, with some incredible characters and crazy moments. Some not particularly likeable, but intriguing enough to make you want more of them.

Everything revolving around Dr Manhattan was a standout.

Definitely a masterful comic, but particularly notable because it was one of the first to push things this hard. Because of that, it might have newer readers enjoying but not necessarily understanding the fuss.

I think Rorschach's manner of speaking did end up a little too unbearable for me, and the political stuff went a little over my head, which is why it wasn't a perfect read for me. But certainly a great comic well worth reading and worth all the praise it receives.

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Review: There and Back Again: An Actor's Tale

There and Back Again: An Actor's Tale by Sean Astin
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Oh dear.

I am sorry to say I will actively discourage LOTR fans from buying this book.

Why Sean Astin chose to write a biography that shows him in such a negative light is beyond me. Did he really believe saying 'I regret my attitude/action/behaviour/thoughts' was enough to make people think highly of him after this?

This entire book makes him sound like a petulant child and, yes - sorry Sean - it makes it sound like he is a nightmare to work with.

He complains about nearly every other actor/director/producer etc that he meets, and despite relating events in which Peter Jackson repeatedly demonstrated how much he cared, he talks about how he felt left out, neglected and overlooked. Sorry, WHAT?

He was clearly desperate to be the star in a story that is literally about people working TOGETHER.

There's also so many references to him being a child of Hollywood, of having famous parents and knowing the trade, and it all comes off as so arrogant, and like he is criticising others who weren't as familiar with the industry. There was even a point where he mentioned that Orlando Bloom made some career decisions that he wouldn't have made - boy, I can see how that went really badly for Orlando. *eyeroll*

There were just so many things in this book that left me feeling disillusioned and questioning everything I'd been told about the comradery on the set of these films.

I honestly hope that if he went back and re-read his own words here (written in 2004), that he would be ashamed. That seemed to be his process in the book - do or say something self-centred, obnoxious or mean, then regret and reflect on how he wishes he'd done differently.

This book just made me heartsick.

If you have no feelings (or negative feelings) towards LOTR, and are interested in a little insight into Hollywood, you might appreciate some of the technical stuff here. But if you're a Lord of the Rings fan and want your Samwise Gamgee to stay the wholesome, devoted character we all know and love, I genuinely implore you to avoid this one.

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Review: The Hobbit

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**Re-read Dec 2025**

Still holds up.

This is very much a children's story, full of adventure and peril but ultimately a safe little fantasy story.

Very, very different vibe to the trilogy of films done by Peter Jackson.

It's light and whimsical, and the writing is beautifully simple. The characters are mostly wholesome, and the way the dwarves' feelings towards Bilbo develop into great respect is a wonderful journey.

There are some references to the darker world outside of this story, but it's held at length here so that none of that darkness seeps into this tale. Still, there's very clear sides for good and for evil, with strong themes of power and corruption as expected from a Tolkien story.

The dwarves aren't easily differentiated here (though I'm proud to say I CAN, in fact, remember all their names now) aside from poor fat Bombur, but because of this it emphasises their togetherness. It hammers home that they share everything - goals, dreams, hopes and feelings. Thorin is more humble here than in the films, and its easy to develop affection for him as the leader of the company.

Gandalf is definitely a loose unit, but when has he not been? It's just much clearer here that, while he's involved in the small happenings of this crew, he also has bigger, more important responsibilities that interfere every now and then.

Every read of a Tolkien book will give you more context, and more understanding of the world and its people. I'll never tire of reading his works.

Highly recommend. Obviously!


**Original Review, 2013**
I re-read this back in 2012 to coincide with the release of the films and I loved it just as much.

It's a wonderful, light story with some great characters. The hobbits are such unique little creatures, and the contrast between Bilbo and the dwarves makes for a lot of fun.

Gandalf is a bit of a question mark in this one, displaying highly irresponsible behaviours, but hey, that's what wizards are famous for, right? Also, he wanders off a bit. But the dwarves! I'll never remember their names, but if you're familiar with the films it'll help put some faces to names.

I read this after the LOTR trilogy, so it's quite interesting to see how this light adventure story gave birth to the action-packed darkness of the following three books. This book still has a little darkness, but it's more about finding your sense of adventure, and getting out of your comfort zone and enjoying life.

I'm sure this book doesn't need my recommendation this late in the game, but it has it all the same. Just don't ask me whether I prefer the book or the film(s) because I have no idea how to answer that loaded question.

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