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.

This was an interesting read for me. I didn’t adore the book, but I thought the FMC was super interesting and her story and the progression we got was what really drew me in. The writing wasn’t my favorite, I think it felt a little bit disconnected at moments, and I had a hard time really getting into the story, but as I reflect back I think that might have been part of developing the unreliable narrator and Lenny’s story. Overall, though, I think that this is an excellent book for people who like literary fiction, or stories with unreliable narrators and slightly darker themes.

4 stars but I wish I could give Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder 5 stars! My problem with the book was that the first part draggggeddd so much. I almost DNF around 45% but looked at reviews, most with 4 or 5 stars. Many said the book picked up in the second half so I stuck it out and I'm glad I did. I feel this pacing does the novel a disservice because many readers would choose to not finish the book before it got really good. This was a solid debut from the author and I really enjoyed Lenny's story as it unfolded.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Kerryn Mayne for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder hits shelves on July 9, 2024.

This has been a highly anticipated read for me, and I cannot even begin to express my sadness over how disappointing I found it. I was attracted to the synopsis largely because Lenny sounded like someone I’d find relatable. There were certain aspects I could relate to, but I felt like the character was based on a bunch of stereotypes, and never given any depth.

I don’t think this was a well done exploration of neurodivergency or trauma, and the tone was far too light for the content.

I am immensely grateful to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and Macmillan Audio for my copy. All opinions are my own.

It's a charming novel that really grows on you as you go.

Lenny is a teacher and she likes her routine as much as she hates anything that takes her out of it, like the teacher who keeps stealing her tea. But she wouldn't openly accuse her without due proof. Her daily life is disturbed with the arrival of a letter informing her stepfather is to go on parole and they want to hear from her a victim. She prefers not to think about it and go on with her days, she's almost managed to become friends with one of the teachers. However, there's a part of herself that is telling her that it's time to face the facts of what happened the day her mother abandoned her.

3.5 rounded up to 4.

Quality is pretty high for a debut novel, but the beginning was also very confusing for me. Although the first pages already got me loving Lenny, probably to express to us the depth of her trauma, the narration got messy for a while. To be honest, the book almost lost me there. Fortunately, it recovers well as we understand where it wants to go.

Something else that bothered me, aside from the convoluted first quarter, was the tone. When you get a book that doesn't take itself seriously, you don't doubt when things go right all the time. When you get a more serious book, you will demand results to be less optimistic. This book, however, couldn't set the tone well, or at least it was how I felt, which broke credibility at times. For example, what are the chances of a dog that was so mistreated by his owner be the best boy? Not only he never bites anyone he shouldn't, but he knows where to do his business? He knows how to take walks? He's able to socialize with other dogs? Lenny must be the luckiest dog owner ever, because the only times her new dog does anything different, it is to help her with something. In a book with a less serious tone, that would probably not be a problem, it could even be a running joke, but it didn't feel like that was the writer's intention. The dog is only one example, but there are a lot of coincidences, fortunate twists going on that didn't agree well with the tone that was set.

Despite all that, the story is beautiful. Heartbreaking at times, heartwarming at others, or even plainly funny. If this was a debut novel, I can't wait to read how Kerryn Mayne will progress.


Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.

I cannot believe this was a debut novel. Written so well and hope this author continues to write.

It was written very well and just was unique and emotional. I just did not want to put this down i wanted to continue to read this book and find out what was going to happen.

The character build was good and just absolutely loved Lenny Marks! Lenny seems to have the telltale signs of autism and the struggles and social skills she has is very interesting with the story.

Lenny is trying very hard to leave her past behind but when a letter comes from the parole board her life start to unravel. This book was written very well and its so easy to relate to Lenny.

I will recommend this book to everyone and just a great story.

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review.

Thank you NetGalley, Kerryn Mayne and St. Martin's Press for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

FANTASTIC!!! What an amazing DEBUT novel that is uniquely original, masterfully written, and deeply emotional. I found myself completely captivated and fully invested in Lenny Marks and her story. She is such a delightful character, and I absolutely loved her! Lenny exhibits characteristics similar to a person with high functioning autism and therefore struggles with social skills and interpreting expressions. As a 37 year old primary school teacher, Lenny enjoys watching Friends, playing Scrabble, and using word games/anagrams during stressful moments. However, she has a troubled past that she has worked extremely hard to leave behind. When an unexpected letter from the parole board arrives addressed to her, Lenny's orderly life starts to unravel.

Overall, this is a wonderful character-driven story that is thought-provoking and will stay with you for awhile. I wholeheartedly recommend and eagerly anticipate reading more books by this author! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️