I couldn’t quite get into this story. The beginning and the ending were intriguing enough for me to keep going. It was interesting in parts and a bit twisty.

Attention fans of "Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine" – I have found your next favorite read!

Lenny is a neurodivergent woman in her late 30s who is attempting to live a very structured life, partly due to her traumatic childhood. She loves routine and rules and is perfectly fine being on her own. The novel follows Lenny's story as her past catches up to her present and she embarks on a journey to try to understand herself.

At times, the story moved very slowly. It felt like the book could have been shorter, but overall, it kept me engaged. There are several heavy themes throughout the book, so please review trigger warnings before reading – this is not a lighthearted mystery.

Equally heartbreaking and hopeful at the same time, you can't help but root for Lenny.

Lenny Marks has always felt different and called weird. She works at an elementary school, plays Scrabble at night (by herself, though she calls her opponent Monica), has predetermined meals for each night of the week. Then there is a slight fissure for change. And she starts getting flashes of memory. The story builds and you become immersed in her life and want to know what happened with her mother and stepfather. Why is the prison trying to contact her about his parole? I could hardly put the book down in the last third and the payoff is well-earned and satisfying.
4.3⭐

Lenny Marks doesn’t have much of a life. She has no friends, she eats the same meals every day, she watches Friends non-stop and plays Scrabble with Monica from Friends. It’s the life she prefers after her mother and stepfather abandoned her when she was just a child.

Suddenly she finds herself making friends at work. Perhaps she’ll even find herself in a new relationship. When she receives a letter from the parole board, memories of her childhood slowly start to return. Everything changes for Lenny and her new life.

It’s an interesting storyline as the reader is given bits and pieces of information throughout the story. You don’t really know what happened until the end. A few things I figured out, but most of it I didn’t. It’s a captivating story that keeps you guessing. It’s a page-turner to say the least.

This is a poignant, dark storyline filled with mystery and a heroine you can care about. Lenny Marks is a unique, quirky character. My heart went out to her throughout the entire book.

I’ll be on the lookout for more books by this author.




FTC Disclosure: I voluntarily reviewed a free Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I just could not get a grasp on this. I thought it'd be a cute 'n quirky cozy about a strong female sleuth (who may or may not be on the spectrum) a la The Maid. But this did not resonate with me at all. I keep seeing comparisons to Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, and now I don't really want to read that either. Sorry.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I can't say I've ever read a book that is written in this type of style and point of view, and I really enjoyed it. Lenny, while very rigid in her thinking and lifestyle, somehow seemed endlessly relatable to me. I enjoyed watching things unravel and how she dealt with all the threads. I was rooting for her throughout and felt really connected to her in the story. I do think, especially at the beginning, the story is slow to build and not as attention grabbing. But overall recommend if you're interested in a character focused, emotional and deep read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to provide my honest review.

This was a sloooooooow burn.
Lenny was such an interesting character to read about with how everything needed to be done a certain way, the same routine everyday and if something went different, it was a struggle for her.
She has forgotten parts of her past and one day it all comes back when she receives a letter that can’t be ignored. Lenny’s routines change, she’s being forced to be in close proximity to other people and talking to them. Towards the end of the book, Lenny has grown as a person with everything she had to face and accomplished.
Just her character in general made the book good to read. It honestly isn’t really a thriller though, the title is a bit misleading 🤷🏼‍♀️ overall it was an okay book!

Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder is a contemporary fiction novel about a young woman who is forced to face her traumatic childhood and find the community around her.

Lenny Marks is a thirty seven year old teacher in a small town with only her former foster mother and old episodes of Friends as companions. But she’s trying to put herself out there and befriend the “cool” teachers, the quirky friendly grocer, Ned and she even steals a dog from an abusive owner. But the letters from the parole board keep coming and it’s time for Lenny to face what happened to her family all those years ago.

This is a heartfelt novel about childhood trauma and how it’s never too late to grow up and make your world a little larger. This is a book full of cute moments with a main character that has a unique way of looking at the world but also about the more serious issues around domestic abuse and mental health. I highly recommend it for readers that want a character they can root for.

4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder by Kerryn Mayne
Contemporary mystery, fiction. Australia.
Lenny Marks lives a very structured and regimented live. She bikes home from work at exactly 4pm everyday, buys the same groceries for the same meals each week, and plays scrabble against an imaginary Monica Gellar while watching Friends reruns.
Lenny is good at not remembering what happened the day her mom and stepdad disappeared. A letter for the parole board triggers changes to Lenny’s life and routines. Hiding and ignoring are no longer easy options.

I prefer to avoid spoilers, but it’s kind of hard when the title is telling what’s going to happen. Back to the beginning, as I was reading, I wasn’t sure if Lenny had developmental issues, possibly on the spectrum or if it was all trauma related. It doesn’t matter because she navigates her life just fine, but it was an interesting correlation between her blocked memory and how she lives her daily life. I loved the dog story throughout. A beautiful and humane way she expanded and added love to her life.

Extraordinary life story resolution, even though it’s fiction. Ultimately hopeful and simply a good book. I’m going to remember details of Lenny’s story for a long time to come and will recommend it to my bookclub.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley.

I love a good story with a quirky or neurodivergent character especially if it’s done well. And in this novel it is extremely well executed.

Lenny Marks is a creature of habit. She does the same things every day and fills in the extra hours watching “Friends” and playing scrabble games with her imaginary roommate Monica.

We know that something traumatic happened to Lenny the day her mother and stepfather disappeared. The memories are triggered when she receives a letter from the parole board.

As we slowly find out what that event was, Lenny is also slowly being pulled into social activities.

This character-driven novel has it all. It’s heart-warming, charming, and thoughtful. I can’t believe this is a debut novel and I look forward to more books from this author!

I loved listening to the audiobook narrated by Annie Maynard! She didn't distinguish too much between the speakers, but her accent was delightful to listen to as she read with animation and enthusiasm.

I enjoyed reading this emotional rollercoaster of a read! Lenny was such a quirky character with her 36 copies of The Hobbit and reciting anagrams in her head as a coping mechanism. I was interested to know what terrible thing she did because she was such a quiet character. The suspense kept me reading until the end. I liked that she had Fay, Kirra, Ned, and Maureen to help her during her rough days. The ending was a bit traumatic, but it was wonderful to see Lenny moving away from the abuse and trauma in her past and moving forward to the future.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio for the ARC and Audiobook in exchange for my honest review!

Lenny Marks is an elementary school teacher who keeps to herself, her strict routines and rearranged words in her head like a game of scrabble to calm her anxieties.

She had a traumatic childhood that she mostly tries to not think about, but recently she received a letter in the mail that has disturbed her peace and memories are starting to trickle back in.

I was completely surprised by this book. It was funny and cozy but also the mystery element had me surprised time and time again.

I think I actually gasped out loud on at least 3 different occasions.

If you like mystery, add this to your tbr. I’ll be keeping my eyes out for anything from this author in the future!

Thanks to #netgalley, the author and publisher for this e-arc! This book is out now!

Covers and titles are our first impressions of a book. Does this cover and title say cozy mystery to you?

What I found inside was Lenny. She’s a quirky, witty, and endearing neurodiverse woman caught up in secrets, heartbreak, and what seems to be a dark mystery.

But Lenny is a wonderful, complex character. As a teacher at a primary school, she is obsessed with The Hobbit, loves reruns of Friends, and plays Scrabble with her imaginary friends. She keeps things, emotions, and even people neat and in their place; she craves consistency.

What gives the book a heavier edge is that Lenny has suffered past trauma, the trauma she has tried hard to forget over the years, trauma a voice tells her, “You did this.” When a notice from the patrol board arrives, Lenny begins to remember, and her tidy life gets messy.

Although there are plenty of funny and heartwarming moments, there are also heartbreaking ones, especially when Lenny starts to remember the events of her past.

This mixes Lenny’s personal journey with the past events when her mother and stepfather disappeared. The facts are revealed slowly, adding a bit of suspense. It was lovely to see Lenny realize many things about herself and that people were there for her. It's a remarkable debut!

If you enjoy audiobooks, grab this one. Annie Maynard’s narration captured Lenny’s personality so well.

Thank you @stmartinspress for the gifted ebook via Netgalley.
Thank you @macmillan.audio for the gifted audiobook.

I loved Lenny Marks. What an interesting character. Kerryn Mayne has created an unforgettable character. Lenny is a woman that struggles in society. She is single and a respected school teacher. She loves routine and has difficulty making friends. She doesn't comprehend social cues. This novel is part mystery and part romance. This equation equals a definite must read!

Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder is the debut novel from Kerryn Mayne. Set in Australia, Lenny is a 37 year old elementary teacher who is very set in her ways and relies on her routine to get through each day. It’s takes a bit, but once we learn more about Lenny’s childhood, the reader can start to understand what makes Lenny tick.

This novel will appeal to those who enjoy quirky character reads that also have a good story. I enjoyed the development of Lenny’s character as she starts to face her past. I found this to be a strong debut and look forward to the next novel by this author.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

Lenny Marks is a 5th grade teacher, reclusive to the point she pretends to have friends so her Foster Mom doesn't worry about her, and bluntly truthful to a fault with an uncanny way with words. Her rocky childhood where she was abandoned by her mother and stepfather and her grandmother gave her up to a foster family make her avoid relationships even though her foster Mom and Dad never failed her. She bravely accepts an invitation to trivia night with the other teachers, drinks too much wine, steals a dog that is being abused and so begins her journey of stepping out of her comfort zone and social awkwardness and maybe even making friends at school and with her neighbor. Until the probation officer finally reaches her to tell her that her stepfather is getting out of prison and her past comes rushing back along with memories she has buried deeply for years and years.

I loved Lenny and her wonderful quirkiness and this story gives you so much more than your typical murder mystery. It makes you laugh and root for Lenny but also makes your heart ache for the kids stuck in bad home situations and the scars that are left behind but wraps it all with love, light and hope. Highly recommend!

I really enjoyed this book and was rooting for Lenny (short for Helena) to overcome her social awkwardness and for people to see her true self. I liked how Lenny calmed herself by finding and mentally listing words within words. As the story progresses and we learn the truth of Lenny's past, she becomes a real heroine, not to be underestimated. The story elicited many different emotions, some good and some bad, and the writing is top-notch.

TW: Domestic abuse, child abuse, animal cruelty.

Hard to believe this is a debut novel. Kerryn Mayne is definitely an author to watch. All the stars!

Many thanks to Althea Mignone, Marketing Assistant, St. Martin's Press via Netgalley for providing a copy of this debut novel for review. All opinions expressed are my own.
Publication Date: July 9, 2024

I had an absolute blast diving into this charming debut! Lenny is a unique, caring soul who struggles with making friends, and trust me, there's an intriguing reason behind her quirks. I highly recommend getting to know Lenny and the other fabulous characters who add spark to this story!

For twenty-five years, Lenny has been trying to forget the day her mother walked out on her when she was just eleven. Her stepfather's harsh words, “You did this,” have haunted her ever since. After a stint with her grandmother, she settled into a happy life with her foster parents, Fay and Robert, though she never talked about her past.

Now, at thirty-seven, Lenny is a dedicated grade-five teacher at Selby South Primary School. She thrives on routine, loves her thirty-six copies of The Hobbit, binge-watches Friends reruns, and plays Scrabble with her imaginary housemate. Her life is predictably cozy until a letter from the parole board lands on her desk, throwing everything into chaos. As old memories resurface, Lenny finds herself juggling the challenge of making her mother and foster mother proud while trying to bring some excitement into her perfectly ordered world.

This story is a rollercoaster of emotions! Watching Lenny confront her past and navigate the twists and turns of her life is both moving and captivating. The characters surrounding her are fantastic, and their interactions make this tale even more compelling. If you’re up for a heartfelt and entertaining read, this book is a must!

CW: trauma, abuse, depictions of mental health, some others

Read as an ARC via NetGalley. “Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder” is available now!

37 year old Lenny Marks is quite content with the way her life is going. She goes to work, comes home, and not much else. Her meals are planned, her schedule is routine, and there are no surprises. Lenny Marks does not like surprises. So when a letter arrives at her work notifying her of just such a surprise, and a wholly unwelcome one at that, it throws everything off. The more Lenny tries to hold onto her routine, the more her hazy past seems to disrupt it. Even worse, though, Lenny starts to remember.

My first thought as I was reading this was, “my god, this woman is neurodivergent as hell.” Eventually, this was followed by, “ohhhhh, it’s the trauma.” By the end, it was, “oh, no, wait, it’s both.” So, basically, I loved it. Seriously though, this was such a good read, and it really hit all of those pesky little emotions along the way.

The real star of the show here is Lenny herself. The setting is ultimately a minor detail, and relatively understated. The plot, though incredibly interesting, is ultimately focused on Lenny, which makes this a character-driven story. And since Lenny is the main character, we’ve come full circle back to my original statement: Lenny is what makes this book incredible.

In the beginning of the story, we get a good look into exactly what Lenny’s life has been since she became an adult. Specifically, her life is routine. Everything is just so, and very understated, and there are no changes unless absolutely unavoidable. It’s a feeling that resonates really strongly with me because I, like Lenny, absolutely detest change. People, for Lenny, are confusing and uncomfortable and it’s really just better if such interpersonal dealings are left to others. We then get to see everything as Lenny tries desperately to hold herself together; memory is a tricky thing, especially when there’s trauma involved, and what Lenny remembers may or may not be what really happened. Coming to terms with that, and dealing with her history, and learning to interact with people—all of these things are difficult and uncomfortable and portrayed so brilliantly that I don’t even know where to truly begin discussing them. By the end of things you just want to give the poor woman a hug and also go on the warpath and also crawl under a blanket and hide from the world. It’s uncomfortable and awkward and heart wrenching and a little bit funny and a lot of something I can’t quite name and it’s all still somehow so cozy. But also, there’s this creeping sense of something being off and you just *know* that it’s going to be bad but you can’t quite stop yourself hurtling towards the truth.

I don’t know how the author managed to pull it off, but this book managed to do all the things while having relatively little in the way of actual outside events happening to the MC. It’s a style that I normally struggle to get through, but I couldn’t put it down; I think a lot of that has to do with it being the equivalent of your brain melting and having to be rebuilt because everything you thought you knew was wrong and also right and somehow it’s all delivered without being terrifying. If you want an emotional story that somehow still manages to be engaging and insightful and entertaining, with a protagonist who doesn’t really fit in her own skin, and a lurking, impending sense of dread without the anxiety, then this is the book for you.

Lenny is a 5th grade teacher who is extremely routine orientated, has a strict schedule and isn’t very social. But she loves scrabble and watching Friends. But she decides she is going to try to be friendly with the school staff and join them for Trivia Night. And she is definitely going to ignore the letter that arrived for Helena Winters.

Unfortunately, things don’t go quite as well as she hoped at Trivia Night and that pesky letter is still staring at her, as she forces herself not to remember that fateful night with her mother and stepfather when her life came crashing down. But she can’t ignore the past. As Lenny is forced to reckon with her past, she also finds that the right social connections just might be what save her in the end.

This novel was not at all what I expected. It is not a cozy mystery. Don’t be fooled by the cover that it’s a silly read. It’s a bit of a thriller but also a story of childhood trauma, friendship and community. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I loved Lenny’s character and the overall story.

Thank you to @stmartinspress and @netgalley for the digital review copy