Lenny Marks is one of the quirkiest characters I have read about recently and that is what makes this story so good.

This one is a slow start, so if you find yourself wanting to stop, hang in there. Once it gets going, it really picks up and you can’t help but keep reading.

A letter upends Lenny’s life. As she learns more and begins to truly remember what happened versus what she thought happened, you will cheer her on.

This book will break your heart and warm your heart and I am so glad I had the opportunity to read it.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the copy of this book. All views are my own.

If you're anything like me, you will absolutely love Lenny Marks and you will find yourself rooting for her every step of the way. Lenny lived through a traumatic childhood which made her the "quirky" adult she is today. She just wanted to be seen and liked, like most humans. It was so compelling peeling off the layers of her life and finally getting to the core of who Lenny is. This book was not at all what I expected; it turned out to be so much better; it was a delightful read with a lot more depth than I had anticipated and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks to the author, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Lenny Marks lives a quiet lift. She likes being alone in her little house. Although she has Monica, from the TV series, with her when she wants to play Scrabble or needs to say she already has plans with her "roommate". Lenny doesn't have real friends. Soon she has a dog named Malcolm to keep her company. Lenny's mom is always urging her to make new friends, to get out more, to do things with others. So Lenny is trying, not very successfully, to become friends with the "cool girls" at work. She has trouble reading people and often misinterprets what they are thinking or meaning.

Lenny's stepfather is soon to get out of prison. He is the reason people left her - why everyone leaves her. Lenny's stepfather's voice runs through her thoughts - "this is your fault".

It was a slow start to this book for me. But once I got into the story, I was hooked. I really loved this book. There is really so much more to Lenny Marks than meets the eye. She's amazing in her own special way. 5 stars for this reader. I'm not sure I would put it in cozy mystery genre.

Highly recommend this book. Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC.

4.5⭐️

Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder is a delightful and affecting tale with far more depth than I’d anticipated. Lenny Marks lives a small, carefully curated existence, avoiding socializing and the unexpected as best she can. That is, until something throws her off her axis and forces her to confront how she came to be this way- and if there is perhaps a better option out there. I found Lenny quite relatable, sometimes hitting a bit close to home, and I couldn’t help rooting for her more and more as the story progressed.

Thank you Kerryn Mayne, St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

I'll be honest -- I wasn't sure if this book would be my cup of tea. But there was something compelling about the synopsis, and all of the glowing reviews I had seen online.

I'm glad I gave this one a chance. Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder turned out to be an absolute delight to read. Fun, quirky and compelling, the first third moved a little slow, but quickly picked up. Lenny Marks is my hero of the year, and this should be everyone's Book Club pick this year!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to the author Kerryn Mayne, publishers St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of LENNY MARKS GETS AWAY WITH MURDER. All views are mine.

Everything seemed exactly like it had always been and Lenny couldn't quite work out why she wasn't satisfied with that anymore. p138

Dear Kerryn Mayne: your book reminds me of Sally Hepworth, so congratulations. And enjoy the many quibbles below, which I often also find with her books.

I recommend LENNY MARKS to readers of mysteries and family sagas, lovers of unlikable leads, and fans of ASD rep.

"Amy. I don't know that I particularly like you very much. But you should really like yourself better than this." ...Amy blanched and her face sagged with defeat. p242

Three (or more) things I loved:

1. Lenny isn't my favorite character ever, but she's more than a collection of stereotypes. She also an interesting person with interesting quirks, like the word game she plays with herself, and this: Lenny wished she could pull off nail polish. The few times she'd tried it, she ended up feeling like a child who'd raided her mother's makeup drawer. p57

2. This book is plot-strong and character-strong, proving a story doesn't need to be one or the other. *Plot weakens along the way. At the beginning of the book, Lenny really seems like she has a point to make, but the story quickly devolves into a scene-by-scene description of the fmc's day-to-day life.

3. Omg the posters!!!

4. This book strives to do a lot of things, but it only succeeds at one: it's a really good abuse/survivor narrative. Because it's fiction and not a memoir, it deals with the abuser using murder. It's a good reading experience to follow this line. Unfortunately, there are too many other things going on.

Three (or less) things I didn't love:

This section isn't only for criticisms. It's merely for items that I felt something for other than "love" or some interpretation thereof.

1. Check check, check for all the mindless stereotypes that authors plug into their ASD book characters. You authors are embarrassing yourselves, not ASD people.

2. Lenny's coping mechanisms are garbage and I would suggest no one to ever emulate them. For example, she rejects a friend's offer of immediate emotional support and labor, and instead tells herself to push it down and deal with it alone, even though doing so is very difficult for her.

3. The character is neurodivergent, not the narrator. It shouldn't read this way. This style is so dry I can't engage with it. All the sentences have simple form. Diction is pedestrian. The narrator, unless it's first person, doesn't reflect the characters' traits.

4. The climax occurs on page 195, making this book approximately 60 pages too long. In general, the pacing is very awkward. *edit This is actually the inciting incident! Why take this long to set up a book?

5. Lenny acts completely out of character in the climax, and therefore gets no resolution. It's just such a confusing read because the pace is everywhere.

6. The stand off between Lenny and her Rottweiler, and Jase, a drug dealer and the dog's former abusive owner, is such a ridiculous scene. The characters behave unnaturally. Not even the dog acts like a big dog facing his past abuser.

7. Once Lenny starts getting her stride, she's really a judgy bee. She's overtly mean to people. This whole book's value system on what makes someone likeable is a little *wiggles hand*.

8. The writing is not great. Complicated sentences are clumsy, like on page 174: "...she was ushered into the courtroom with unfamiliar faces everywhere except one."

Rating: 🦮🦮 "adopted" dogs
Recommend? sure
Finished: Jul 7 '24
Format: Digital arc, Kindle, NetGalley
Read this book if you like:
🔪 murder mysteries
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 family stories, family drama
👭🏽 women friendships
💇‍♀️ women's coming of age
🐶 puppers
🔥 slow burn

I absolutely loved this book! Brilliantly written and so easy to get inside the mind of Lenny Marks! Lenny reminded me of a mix between Eleanor Oliphant and The Maid! She went through a traumatic childhood and struggles with social cues. There’s mystery and sadness but also laughs! I enjoyed seeing so much character growth throughout the story! I will read anything that Kerryn Mayne writes from here on out!

I am a big fan of Lenny Marks. She is just a woman trying to make it thru life after a horrible childhood. This story is about her finally coming to grips with her past and starting a future. Lenny is neurodivergent and has a huge heart. She just wants to convince ever she has a normal life. Unfortunately she can’t always figure out what a normal life should be. Thankfully she has people who have tried to look out for her and a “rescue” dog (my favorite storyline). This was a beautifully written story (with some gruesome crime scenes) and I cannot wait to read the authors next book.

Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder by Kerryn Mayne gives us the story of a woman who lives by routine. She needs it. I truly enjoyed Lenny Marks’ character and journey. It was a story about healing and growing and it was emotional and captivating. When Lenny’s past comes calling, her life may never be the same. She was never a social person, but when she least expects, things begin to change. I truly enjoyed reading this debut. The story was character driven with a character that pulled me in from the start. It was at times funny and others sad, but overall, it made me feel. I am looking forward to read more from this author.

Happy reading!

Lenny is a school teacher who’s just a little “off” - which made her very endearing. You can’t help but root for Lenny Marks throughout this story, as she comes to grips with her past and how it affects her today.

Lenny’s anxiety is extra high, though some awkward social interactions at trivia night, and a dog-napping might feed into that.

This was an enjoyable read, and a quick one at that. The pacing was great, and I loved the short chapters.

High on my list of 2024 reads!

Ever had a book make you feel both seen and exposed at the same time? That’s exactly what “Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder” by Kerryn Mayne did to me.

Lenny Marks navigates life with strict routines and a tendency to keep to herself. But as she starts to open up and engage with the world around her, forgotten memories resurface, flipping her life upside down. Everything she believed to be true is suddenly in question. Even as she confronts the painful parts of her past, Lenny is forming new relationships and shaking off some of her old habits and routines.

Reading this book was a rollercoaster of emotions. Kerryn Mayne has managed to craft a story rooted in trauma that somehow feels like a cozy blanket you just want to snuggle into. It’s probably due to Lenny Marks herself—she’s a delightful yet deeply troubled character that you can’t help but root for.

If you’re into good books (and who isn’t?), give this one a try. Kerryn Mayne’s writing style hooked me, and I can’t wait to read more of her work.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest and thoughtful review.

Even though it took me a month to finish this, I really loved it!

I loved Lenny’s quirks and all the Friends and LOTR references.

The story was also not what I was expecting, and I’m so glad. It just made the book more enjoyable.

Lenny Marks has definitely had some trials in her life. I found the story a little predictable but overall it was a good read.

Lenny Marks has a very strict routine. She goes home every day at the same time, buys the same things, always rides her bike. Lenny can't remember anything about the day her mom and stepfather disappeared when she was a child. A voice in her head keeps whispering "You did it". Is the voice real? A letter comes from the parole board for her. As she begins to unravel, can she build a life or will everything fall apart?

I absolutely loved this book! From the first few pages I fell in love with Lenny! She was so relatable to me and I just loved being inside her head.

I was very enthralled by the mystery throughout the story and didn’t see the twists coming ahead of time (which I almost always do, so this is high praise coming from me! Lol).

The touch on autism, anxiety, and trauma was done so well. These are such important topics and I felt this story did a wonderful job of capturing what these things really feel like.

This was such a heartwarming, interesting, and powerful book! I would definitely recommend it to everyone! It had a Liane Moriarty or Sally Hepworth feel but with a neurodivergent twist.

I received a a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and statements are my own.

I liked the cover on Kerryn Mayne's debut novel Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder. But I loved the story I found inside.
Lenny likes having things in their place, schedules, eating the same things every week, having her students' lessons done far in the future and playing Scrabble every night with Monica. Monica from the television show Friends. To be fair, Lenny plays Monica and her tiles.

"She found tremendous peace in this level of organization, which was as close to happiness as Lenny Marks ever planned to be. Happiness, she knew, was unstable and quite unreliable."

And that was good enough until Lenny decides she needs a friend. Why not start with her co workers? I had a lot of anger when the some of those co workers were not very nice!

Between that, her neighbor needing help and the cheerful grocery manger, Lenny's carefully constructed gates start to show cracks.

Now you might think you've guessed what's behind those gates, but there's much more than I imagined.

Mayne has added a clever way for Lenny to keep her anxiety at bay. She creates anagrams mentally using a word that just was used in an uncomfortable interaction. And the anagrams created speak to what's happening.

This was an easy five star for me.

Let me start by saying that this is not a cozy mystery. The cover is bright and cute, but this book falls solidly in the mystery/thriller camp.

Lenny bikes home from work every day, follows the same meal routine, and owns 36 copies of The Hobbit. She never knows what to say or do to make people like her, so instead of seeking out friends she plays internet scrabble against an imaginary Monica from Friends. These routines serve as a bubble, insulating her from the memories of what happened the day her mother and stepfather disappeared when she was a child. But the past begins to encroach on the present, whispering “you did this” and causing Lenny to unravel. She is forced into the community around her and new relationships begin to emerge. She is finally beginning to truly live, but the past is quickly catching up with her.

I really enjoyed Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder! The narration was excellent, and Annie’s accent was so pleasant to listen to. Annie really brought Lenny to life, and I didn’t want to put this audiobook down. I didn’t predict where the story would go, and I thought it was well structured. This was a great debut, and I would absolutely read another book by Kerryn Mayne!

There are some difficult themes in this story, but the heart of the story is a woman finding herself and choosing what kind of a future she wants. Lenny begins the book as a quiet woman, structuring her life around routines. But a forced absence from work causes her to examine her past, present, and future as she steps out of her shell and begins to ask for help from those around her. This book won’t be for everyone, but it’s absolutely worth a read (or a listen, which would be my recommendation).

CWs: Domestic violence, child abuse, death of a child, attempted unaliving.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review!

The title might be misleading, because this isn't a horror/ thriller but more of a later in life coming of age of a neurodivergent individual. It was beautiful and great to see the MC develop!

Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder is basically a coming-of-age novel where the main character is in her late thirties, traumatized from a childhood event, and possibly autistic. As a neurodivergent myself, I immediately saw myself in Lenny and was unable to put the book down. If you liked The Maid (by Nita Prose) and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine you will most definitely also enjoy reading about Lenny!

I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an advance e-galley of this book in exchange for an honest review. Look for it now in your local and online bookstores and libraries.