Kerryn Mayne's debut novel, Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder, is a compelling mix of mystery and emotional exploration. The protagonist, Lenny Marks, is an intriguing character with her rigid routines and eccentric habits, such as owning thirty-six copies of The Hobbit and playing Scrabble against an imaginary Monica Gellar. These quirks add a unique charm to the story and provide a relatable insight into her carefully controlled world.

The narrative takes a dramatic turn when Lenny receives a letter from the parole board, triggering the resurfacing of long-buried memories related to her mother's and stepfather's mysterious disappearance. Mayne skillfully unravels Lenny's past, interweaving it with her present-day struggles and the gradual breakdown of her meticulously structured life. The tension between Lenny's need for control and the chaos of her resurfacing memories is palpable, making for a gripping read.

However, the novel sometimes falters in pacing. The buildup to the core mystery feels slow at times, with prolonged focus on Lenny's day-to-day activities. While these details are essential to understand her character, they occasionally detract from the main plot. The climax, though impactful, could have been more tightly woven to maintain a consistent level of suspense throughout.

Mayne's portrayal of Lenny's journey towards connection and self-discovery is both heartwarming and heartbreaking. The development of new relationships and the sense of community that emerges as Lenny's life unravels add depth to the narrative. The supporting characters, while endearing, sometimes feel underdeveloped, leaving readers wanting more insight into their backgrounds and motivations.

Overall, Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder is a promising debut that offers a unique blend of mystery and heartfelt storytelling. Despite some pacing issues and occasional character development shortcomings, Lenny's story is compelling and emotionally resonant. It's a novel that reminds us of the power of facing our past and the importance of human connections, earning it a solid three stars.

Unfortunately, Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder is not the book for me. While I was initially drawn into the narrative and the writing, I found that the nature of Lenny's idiosyncrasies got repetitive quickly and I couldn't connect. I think part of the problem was that I was expecting a different sort of book--a cozy thriller of some sort or one along the lines of the Finlay Donovan series and was left disappointed to find it was nothing like either.

Thanks to the publisher for the invitation to read and review this book through NetGalley.

The one where…if you’ve ever watched Friends you’ll probably appreciate many parts of this book. Lenny is an awkward woman with a past. She is obsessed with friends and pretends to have a bff named Monica (a la friends). We learn about Lenny’s troubled past and you realize she’s been living half of a life while she hides from her past pain. The book really is quite sad honestly and discovering what happened gave me a tweak to my gut. Lenny is a pretty like able character even though I sound some of her actions…concerning. Overall I enjoyed the book and those the liked Eleanor Oliphant probably will feel the same.

Lenny [aka Helena Winters] Marks, is 37 years old, a socially awkward loner, and a creature of habit/lives in a box. A teacher at an elementary school, she owns 36 copies of The Hobbit [arranged by height], has a weekly routine for her meals, watches Friends obsessively [and plays Scrabble with Monica], and is in my mind, definitely OCD. She had a traumatic childhood [from which she has blocked large parts]--an abusive stepfather [in jail but ready to be paroled], and often reverts to young Helena and Malcolm, her imaginary friend. After her mother "disappeared" [?] she went to live with her grandmother, Zanny, and then to loving foster parents, Fay and Robert. Robert has since passed but Fay is a pillar in her life and continues to watch over her. Lenny liberates a dog she fears is being abused, takes him home, and names him Malcolm. She uses anagrams as a way of coping to calm herself down.

Much back and forth -- especially with Lenny's past -- and present, There are mean girls and boys when she was a student and mean girls she faces as a teacher.

Definite humor:
her grandmother's favorite accessory was a wineglass
"both accessorised infuriatingly effortlessly and knew how to use eyeliner and lipstick without looking like concubines"

New words:
merbau
fossicking

A couple of the plot lines/trajectories I DID NOT see coming, but I did figure out the neat and tidy.

In the distinct minority of readers, 3 stars. Many times I felt I could have walked away, but I persevered.

Lenny Marks likes a routine - she has has 36 copies of the Hobbit, she buys the same groceries every week and prepares the same meals for herself. Her friends are all imaginary, created from characters from shows and she plays scrabble every night with her imaginary roommate Monica (from Friends). Strangely she cannot remember what happened the day her mom and stepdad disappeared from her adolescent life until one day a letter shows up from the parole board and slowly painful memories begin to creep back into her mind. As memories begin to surface and concurrently Lenny starts to interact with her co-workers and other people in her community she realizes that she can have relationships and that maybe there have been people looking out for her all along.

This was totally my kind of novel, in the vein of The Strange Sally Diamond and Interesting Facts About Space, you have a character who doesn't quite know how to interact with the world around them and it's partially due to a childhood trauma. I appreciate these novels because the characters are written with a quirkiness which gives the book a certain levity while there is a serious topic being addressed. Lenny was a lovable character and the ancillary characters were perfect foils to her. This was a great novel and I half read and half listened (always love an Australian accent) and honestly, I couldn't put down. It didn't feel too dark or heavy even with the topic at hand.

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

Wow, I hate to say this but I don't think I was the right reader for this book. Not only did it not grab me right away, it was so difficult to get into that I dreaded picking it up. I also tried the audidbook but that didn't help. I was just not a good fit.

I was just completely sucked into this story from the beginning. It was interesting to see someone who shares some of my same quirks with some socially awkward behavior and not to the same extent, obsessive personality. I thought it was well written and not something there just for some type of plot device that didn't really do anything. I enjoyed this one very much.

3.5 Stars

I was invited to read this one by the publisher since I had previously enjoyed the character of Fern in Sally Hepworth's "The Good Sister", a sympathetic and likeable character who was "on the spectrum". This also reminded me of the main character in Gail Honeyman's "Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine", a book I had also enjoyed.

A 38-year old children's teacher named Lenny Marks is the main character in this book. I immediately get triggered by a little annoyance I have when authors use ambiguous names for their characters. This character's real name is Helena but she goes by the nickname of Lenny. I like to be able to visualize a character clearly and these kinds of things trip me up when I'm reading. I very much enjoyed reading about the daily routines in Lenny's life such as riding her bicycle for transportation, her self-reliance, love of reading, and introvert tendencies (a trait I share). These idiosyncracies always seem to be a problem with everyone else, even though the person is completely fine in their own comfortable habitat. But it's interesting to "watch" these other characters always try to pierce the veil of such a dug in personality.

There is psychological and physical trauma in Lenny's youth that has built her personality and blocked her from facing some horrors in her past. These were slowly revealed throughout the book. While I was interested in the mundane practices of Lenny's daily life and her awkward interactions with others, I shied away from the mystery/murder elements of the book. As a rule, I do not enjoy murder mysteries or thrillers, so this wasn't surprising. Luckily the bulk of the book was more of an interesting character study, so this held my interest and enjoyment of the book.

Thank you to the publisher St. Martin's Press for providing an advance reader copy via NetGalley.

This was an interesting book. It is amazing what the mind does to help someone through a trauma. We follow Lenny, who is content in her life, but one letter changes everything. Lenny will have a more active and fulfilling life. Lenny will also face demons, which she wasn't ready to do until now. So take a ride with Lenny as she navigates life.

4.5 🌟

Not the cozy mystery I was expecting but in the best way possible.

The title of this book is a little misleading - I figured this book would be like other cozy mysteries and this book was heavier than I expected. I fell in love with Lenny as a neurodivergent character and if I could hug her, I would. This was such a great debut!

Thanks, Netgalley for the ARC of this book!

Thank you to St Martins Press for my arc!


First off this book made me cry my eyes out. Lenny's whole thought process made me feel really seen and it was really comforting to read about someone who thinks the way i do. I loved this book so much and it felt like a cozy thriller? it still had a thriller aspect but You're really following along with Lenny as she tries to navigate the world and come to terms with what happened during her childhood.

i highly recommend this.

School teacher Lenny Marks follows a very strict routine. Her companion is the TV show Friends, and she has an ongoing Scrabble game with her imaginary friend, Monica Geller. Lenny does not remember everything that happened on the day her mother and stepfather abandoned her as a child, but a letter from the parole board makes memories from childhood come back.

This well-written and touching debut novel snuck up on me. I went in blind, and this story was not what I expected from the title, etc, but I also couldn't stop reading/listening. I was very invested in Lenny's story. The plot unfolds in an intruging way but I won't say much to avoid spoilers.

Lenny is neurodivergent, socially awkward, quirky, and endearing. A well-developed character who had me rooting hard for her. She has endured significant trauma, and her mind blocked it out almost entirely as a coping mechanism. There are events to sort out, but the heart of the story is Lenny's healing journey and her path to forming relationships and allowing others in her life. Despite her struggles, Lenny's courage and strength grow as her memories of traumatic and heartbreaking past events return. This was a departure for me from my typical reads and I am so glad I took a chance on it. It was emotional, gripping, and thought-provoking. Lenny stayed with me long after I finished, and I look forward to whatever Mayne writes next.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the free audiobook!

What a fantastic book. This seems like a carefree story of a slightly awkward woman, but there is real depth and growth located within. I really loved getting to know Lenny and her families.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

I may be a bit of an outlier on this one, but the exceedingly slow pace of the first three-fourths of the novel really weakened it as a whole for me. Lenny, an almost 40-year-old primary school teacher in Australia, is truly a delightful character. Whatever happened the day her mother and stepfather disappeared when she was still a child, which she keeps deeply hidden inside of her, has affected her psyche immensely. She finds it extremely difficult to have any friends, let alone a relationship of any kind, and spends much of her free time watching reruns of Friends and playing Scrabble with an imaginary Monica Gellar. Eventually, her deeply hidden memories begin to surface, and she is forced to connect with some of the people around her and ignore many of her routines that have been set in stone for years. The last quarter or so of this novel, however, was delightful and made me glad that I read it. All in all, this was an interesting debut, and I look forward to reading more from this author.

Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder. Or does she? Lenny reminds me of an Australian Eleanor Oliphant as she also struggles with social interactions and friendships. She is a middle-aged teacher who still hasn't processed her traumatic childhood. Through flashbacks the reader learns about her tragic past as Lenny finally learns what happened to her and her family as a teenager. She is a lovable character and I found myself rooting for her the whole time.

Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder wasn’t quite what I was expecting.
Not in a bad way, really. But I think I was expecting more mystery and a little more humor instead of an unreliable narrator with repressed trauma and social awkwardness.
I did enjoy the story though, and it was well-written, so bonus points for that.
Overall, I’d give it 3.75 stars, and recommend it for fans of general fiction and drama.

I received an advance copy from the publisher, all opinions are my own, and a review was not required.

This is a great example of pushing through a slow read and it being worth it.

The story started off very slow for me, almost to the point where I dnf’d, but there was something about the writing, mystery and character of Lenny that kept me locked in and I’m glad I read through. I grew to love the character of Lenny, by the end, I understood and appreciated her growth so much better because I think her backstory was carefully carved out throughout the story.

I thought the mystery aspect was done very well also and I really liked that it played into multiple areas: the past, her own “ghost”, and the present. The story all flowed together offering an open wide story of Lenny’s life and I enjoyed it.

The Friends reference and Lenny’s attachment to it was absolutely perfect.

4 quirky character stars

If you are a fan of quirky characters, this one might be right up your alley! Lenny Marks is a teacher who loves routine. I had to laugh at some of her thoughts with her students' parents, especially at parent-teacher conferences!

She doesn’t really know how to cultivate friendships, and some people try to exploit her. When her anxiety gets to be too much, she starts doing anagrams of words people have said or that she thinks up in her head. She’s an ace at Scrabble!

What is quite murky is what happened in her past. We don’t know where her mother is, and she has bad thoughts about her stepfather. A surprise letter starts to unravel her fragile peace with the past.

The first half builds slowly, and things pick up in the second half. I enjoyed getting to know Lenny and was curious to know if the title was literal. Who would she kill? Or was she just able to get away with things?

Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder explores trauma-induced isolation in the form of Lenny Marks, whose murky history has her embracing routine and a life with very few surprises. When she receives troubling news, it triggers her memories and forces her to finally acknowledge what happened in her childhood and from it, how to finally let go.
This is a darker, more tragic story than I assumed, and Lenny’s heartbreaking history could’ve used a few more pages to flesh out her trauma, and the ending could’ve also used a few more pages of resolution. If you move Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, Lenny Marks will also leave an imprint on your heart.

This was not what I was expecting but in a good way. I went into this blind but with the title I was thinking something along the lines of Finlay Donovan. It was surprisingly not at all like that. Lenny has experienced trauma in her childhood that she is now working through as an adult. The murder doesn’t come till later but as she works through her past, she finally becomes who she was always meant to be. This book is truly a journey through overcoming trauma. I listened to this one on audio and it was so engaging that I binged it in one day. I loved the format and the narrator was very good.