The Last List of Mabel Beaumont by Laura Pearson
The list he left had just one item on it. Or, at least, it did at first…
Mabel Beaumont’s husband Arthur loved lists. He’d leave them for her everywhere. ‘Remember: eggs, butter, sugar’. ‘I love you: today, tomorrow, always’.
But now Arthur is gone. He died: softly, gently, not making a fuss. But he’s still left her a list. This one has just one item on it though: ‘Find D’.
Mabel feels sure she knows what it means. She must track down her best friend Dot, who she hasn’t seen since the fateful day she left more than sixty years ago.
It seems impossible. She doesn’t even know if Dot’s still alive. Also, every person Mabel talks to seems to need help first, with missing husbands, daughters, parents. Mabel finds her list is just getting longer, and she’s still no closer to finding Dot.
What she doesn’t know is that her list isn’t just about finding her old friend. And that if she can admit the secrets of the past, maybe she could even find happiness again…
A completely heartbreaking, beautiful, uplifting story, guaranteed to make you smile but also make you cry. Perfect for fans of My Name is Ove, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, and The Keeper of Stories.
My Review
When her husband dies, Mabel is left alone with only the dog for company. Except he’s not ‘her’ dog. Ollie was devoted to Arthur and just gives her the side-eye. He tolerates a walk, eats the food she gives him (of course, he’s a dog), but won’t let her stroke him.
Arthur loved his lists, but just before he died, he left her a list with just one item on it – find D. What could it mean? Mabel decides it means find Dot, her best friend, who left 62 years ago, and she never heard from again. Dot was wonderful, clever, brave, pretty – she was just ‘Dot’.
Everyone had hoped she would marry Mabel’s brother, Arthur’s best friend. But that wasn’t to be. Mabel still married Arthur though, and they stayed together ‘until death do us part’.
In her search for Dot, Mabel makes lots of new friends. There’s her ‘carer’ Julie, who Arthur hired before he died. Mabel doesn’t want a carer, but she does want a friend. Through Julie she meets dance teacher and ex-model Patty, mum-of-one Kirsty, and then there’s Erin who Mabel knows from the local supermarket.
I had my own theory about why Dot left to go to London. I was of course totally wrong, though I quite like my theory. Very different from what actually happened.
It’s a lovely story. I listened to it on Audible, which I really enjoyed. I only have one criticism. I wish Mabel was just a bit younger – maybe 80 rather than 86. I think she would therefore have a few more years left.
About the Author
Laura Pearson is the author of five novels. The Last List of Mabel Beaumont was a Kindle number one bestseller in the UK and a top ten bestseller in the US. Laura lives in Leicestershire, England, with her husband, their two children, and a cat who likes to lie on her keyboard while she tries to write.
