Lenny Marks is a socially awkward outcast with a huge heart and an immaculately structured life. Receiving a letter one day that she tries but fails to ignore forces her to delve into her past and open up the memories she has tried so hard to ignore. This sets her on a path that motivates her to branch out, attempting relationships with others and breaking down the walls she has spent her lifetime building. This was a comedic but also dramatic story that pulls in every emotion in the human soul. Brilliantly delivered, this was a fun, well-paced, greatly plotted tale with a highly memorable character that is almost impossible not to like. Four Stars.

Thank you, Netgalley and St. Martins Press for this ARC.

This book was absolutely not what I was expecting and I mean that in the best way possible! This was such a great book and so incredibly well written. 5 stars.

"There was no moon yet that night, making a heavy black curtain for Lenny to play out one of the major scenes in Lenny Marks Gets a Life. She’d title it “The One Where Fergus Goes to Hell”."

When I was invited to read this book I wasn't quite sure what to expect. The title sounds thriller-ish but the synopsis does not give off thriller vibes. Either way it sounded interesting so I gladly jumped in.

Lenny Marks is a remarkable character. She's smart, organized, hard working and completely set in her routine. Despite all this, she doesn't have friends, children or a significant other. She thinks her life and her routine are sufficient as is, thank you very much. And while she has done well for herself, there are definitely some improvements she could make, if she could only muster a little faith in herself and accept some friendly help.

Lenny has difficulty seeing herself and others clearly. She suffers from self doubt and self blame stemming from years of childhood verbal abuse at the hand of her mother's boyfriend, Fergus.

Sadly, a violent event in her childhood left Lenny an orphan. As many do, she developed coping mechanisms to prevent herself from remembering the worst of that fateful morning. She can still hear her stepdad's voice blaming her and all these years later, she can't remember what happened but she does believe it was her fault.

I enjoyed this book. We first see Lenny as a survivor who is going through the motions but not truly living. After receiving a letter from the parole board about her stepdad's possible release, we see her unravel until she hits her rock bottom. As the saying goes, the only way to go from there is up. Lenny's "rebuilding" was full of surprises. I was proud of every moment that she stuck up for herself. I also liked the side characters who were there for her even when she tried to push them away.

Thank you for the ARC! Review to be shared on Bookstagram, Goodreads, Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Kerryn Mayne, does it again

I mean, did we expect anything else?

I completely fan-girled out last year after reading "Joy Moody is Out of Time", and fell in love with Kerryn Mayne’s writing style. Right then, after concluding, I knew that Mayne, would join my list of "auto buy authors" .

I love the way Mayne throws us right into the chaos. The plot is present early on. The character development is on point and each one of the characters come to life between the pages.

This is a MUST READ for everyone who loves thrillers, comedy, and even drama.

Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder, is out July 9th!!! you know what to do! Head on over to your favorite bookstore and pre-order this book!


Teaser :

Lenny Marks is excellent at not having a life.

She bikes home from work at exactly 4pm each day, buys the same groceries for the same meals every week, and owns thirty-six copies of The Hobbit (currently arranged by height). The closest thing she has to a friendship is playing Scrabble against an imaginary Monica Gellar while watching Friends reruns.

And Lenny Marks is very, very good at not remembering what happened the day her mother and stepfather disappeared when she was still a child. The day a voice in the back of her mind started whispering, You did this.

Until a letter from the parole board arrives in the mail--and when her desperate attempts to ignore it fail, Lenny starts to unravel. As long-buried memories come to the surface, Lenny’s careful routines fall apart. For the first time, she finds herself forced to connect with the community around her, and unexpected new relationships begin to bloom. Lenny Marks may finally get a life–but what if her past catches up to her first?

Equal parts heartbreaking and heartwarming, Kerryn Mayne’s stunning debut is an irresistible novel about truth, secrets, vengeance, and family lost and found, with a heroine who's simply unforgettable.

Lenny Marks is unique and charming with her quirky habits. Her heart is deeper than she shows and she just wants to belong and be loved. But Lenny first must face the past and work through the impact it has on her present. With Fay her foster mother, Kirra her coworker, Ned the grocery store friend, and Malcolm the Dog by her side, Lenny finds her path to happiness and opens the door to the world one step at a time. This book reminded me of Eleanor Oliphant in some ways but Lenny was a little more my style and I would love to watch Friends reruns with her any day of the week (I’m also writing this review while watching Friends.)

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the arc.

I recently read Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder by Kerryn Mayne, and I must say, it left quite an impression on me. The story revolves around Lenny Marks, a woman who lives an extremely structured and isolated life. But when she receives a letter from the parole board, her life takes an unexpected turn.

The author has expertly woven the past and present to create a compelling narrative that keeps the reader engaged throughout the book. The character of Lenny is beautifully crafted, and her journey from a reclusive and lonely individual to someone who finally starts to open up to the people around her is heartwarming.

Mayne's writing style is simple yet captivating, and the pacing of the story is just right. The plot has enough twists and turns to keep the reader guessing, and the ending is both satisfying and surprising.

Overall, Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder is a gripping and emotional read that I would highly recommend to anyone looking for a thought-provoking and enthralling novel.

Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder is just the kind of book that I typically love. Little did I know that this gem of a book would be one of my all-time favorite books.

Kerryn Mayne has created a cast of characters that I found hard not to fall in love with.

Lenny Marks doesn't really fit in. She is a bit of an oddball but if we are honest, aren't we all? Some of just hide it better than others. Lenny is an elementary school teacher who is desperately trying to fit in with the "cool young teachers" but isn't getting the hang of social cues and norms.

Mayne has a special way of leading readers through the story. She slowly reviews details in layers that results in perfection. Just when you think you know everything, Mayne gives another nugget of details which results in an amazingly told story.

I will be anxiously awaiting any future releases from Kerryn Mayne. Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder won me over.

5 Star Review. I would give this 1o stars if I could

Possible triggers: Spouse abuse, child abuse, drug use, domestic violence, murder, animal abuse and some others that I won't mention in case I give away too much.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Lenny Marks has her routines. She cycles to her job as an elementary school teacher every day. She watches re-runs of Friends constantly. She plays Scrabble against her imaginary opponent (and roommate to the outside world) Monica. She avoids, as much as possible, contact with the outside world. Her only regular interactions are with the food delivery guy and Ned, who rings up her groceries. She has never been able to make friends and spent most of her childhood in a foster home. She's still close to her foster mother, Fay. Lenny does wonder why her mother abandoned her when she was 11 and why her grandmother, Zanny, also didn't want Lenny to live with her. But it's best not to think about those things. When she begins receiving letters and phone calls from the parole board, she tries her best to ignore them. It seems her evil stepfather, Fergus, is about to be released from prison. As he had something to do with her mother leaving (Lenny is sure her mother blames her for Fergus being locked up), Lenny refuses to engage with the authorities. At the same time, she's starting to think two new teachers at her school, Amy and Ashleigh, might actually become friends. That's until she finds out Amy is the girlfriend of her grocery store contact, Ned, who was also staring to become a friend. Slowly but surely, between kidnapping an abused dog and helping her elderly neighbor with yard work, Lenny is being drawn into a world that she doesn't really understand.

I really enjoyed getting to know Lenny. Her attempts to make friends (and her bafflement when she's still ostracized) were heartbreaking. She has a lot of trauma to remember and work through. I liked seeing how Lenny viewed the world differently but still managed to achieve whatever she set her mind to.

This was such a great story and very hard to put down once I started reading it. Lenny is a very interesting character and I loved getting to know her and the other characters in this book. This is such a compelling story and I enjoy the way it unfolded to find out what happened in Lenny's past. I don't want to give away too much of the story away, but you will not be disappointed in this one!

I loved Lenny Marks, what a heart this girl has, and yet, as you begin this read you wonder what made her tick the way she does.
She is a loner by choice, but she has such great compassion, and willingly goes out of her way to save those in need.
Then the word game she played, and her roommate Monica, sure seemed to work!
This does become a page turner, and yes the answers do come, and there were surprises. Some were manipulated, which we do find out, and in the end praise. We root for Lenny all the way!
This does become a page turner, and yes, there is a murder, how it is handled, well, the author does a great job, and I'll be look for more from Kerryn Mayne!
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher St. Martin's Press, and was not required to give a positive review.

Just finished reading “Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder” by Kerry Mayne.

The title of the book is deceiving and I am not a fan of it but the book itself is great.

Lenny Marks is a woman who has been through a lot. As I was reading, I was under the impression that she was on the spectrum. She’s smart, quirky and a lover of routines plus she has a hard time getting to know people.

As the book continues you learn more about Lenny and part of the reason she is the way she is.

A wonderful book. I really enjoyed it.

I throughly enjoyed Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder by Kerryn Mayne.

I have never wanted to craw into a book so much and hug a character. This was such a beautiful book about loss and grief. I will forever think of it and I think that’s what makes this book special. From start to finished I loved every minute. I was surprised with the ended but in a good way. Highly recommend to my fellow readers!

I really wanted to love this book and was looking forward to reading it. Unfortunately it was a DNF for me. The writing didn't flow and felt really clipped. Thanks for the chance to read!

Lenny Marks is someone very special. Sure she is socially awkward, but she is self-aware, self-deprecating, kind, honest, forthright. All things most of us should strive for - minus the social awkwardness. Sure, she gets away with murder, but he was asking for it, so it can totally be forgiven. I loved this story and Lenny!

What a delightfully unexpected book! This was absolutely giving Eleanor Oliphant, so if you’re a fan of that overall story and the MC, this would be right up your alley. The style and quality of writing here were top notch, the story was an intriguing mystery and kept me wanting more. But mostly, I adored Lenny. She was incredibly quirky but so multifaceted and real that it was hard not to love her. Also, the Friends (and other popular 90’s shows) references throughout were super fun and nostalgic.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy of this ebook!

3.5 stars rounded up

Have you ever thought you were going to really like or love a book and it ended up being rather okay? That was my experience with this one. Lenny Marks has had a tragic life, and the reader learns this early on in the book. And Lenny is also "quirky" (she is rather reminiscent of Eleanor Oliphant, which I read a LONG time ago, so I'm going off memory). Was her quirkiness caused by her trauma, or is it just her, regardless of her experiences? It's hard to tell.

Lenny is a fifth grader teacher, and apparently all the kids love her...their parents and the other teachers - not so much. I don't recall fifth graders being that accepting of quirks, so that didn't land for me. Lenny is trying to be friends with the "cooler" teachers (reason unknown since she has been fine for most of her life with her imaginary friends playing board games), and these other teachers don't want much to do with her. However, there is a sweet teacher who welcomes Lenny with open arms. There's a found family element that expands to Lenny's older neighbor as well, which I really liked.

Lenny's stepfather is due for parole, and the parole board gives notification to Lenny that it's approaching, and that prompts Lenny to search out what her mind has been blocking for so long.

In my opinion, this novel sat in the trauma for a long time. The reader felt farther along than Lenny since the context clues reveal what Lenny had been blocking pretty early on, and then things seemed thrown in to be quirky, like her coping mechanism of anagrams. This novel felt like a mishmash of Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine (loved), the Finlay Donovan series (didn't like), and the Bookish Life of Nina Hill (liked) with a lot more trauma thrown in.

I wanted to like this more than I did, and maybe my perceived unoriginality in the main character and plot brought it to a lower rating for me. Or maybe this novel tried to be too much (mystery, romance, triumphing over trauma, found family, etc.).

So many great things about this book! Lenny Marks is someone who prefers to be alone and has a daily routine that she always sticks to. She doesn’t have the best social skills but one day she decides to go out with her coworkers from school and that sets a chain of events that changes her routine going forward. As the story progresses we learn why Lenny is the way she is and you can’t help but feel for her. She went through a traumatic childhood and an even more traumatic event which ended up shaping her life.
This was such a beautifully written story and you just can’t help but love Lenny and root for her.
Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press. All opinions are my own.

I didn't have any expectations going into this book, which I think helped it immensely. I felt there was a lot of character development as we learn about Lenny, but we still only seem to know her superficially. The title implies that yeah, she's getting away with murder, but her life is so simple that these thoughts don't seem to reconcile. When did she get away with murder, or is she going to get away with murder? I was a little lukewarm on this book for maybe 60% of it, then liked it, and then finally once I got all the pieces could appreciate it. I will definitely pick up another book by this author!

This is a funny story about Lenny Marks. The character of Lenny is so well developed and well written! The reader moves backwards in her life as the book shifts from past to present. Lenny does have past trauma which is why she is socially awkward. She is 37 and a primary school teacher. She really loves her job!

Lenny receives a letter from the parole board and she attempts to ignore it. Lenny's life begins to unravel. Lenny excels at forgetting what happened the day her mother and her stepfather disappeared. The letter is a reminder of her past.

A great debut that is truly enjoyable and charming.
Heartbreaking, Humorous Character, and Internal Struggles. 3 stars

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy. The release date is 7/9/24

I loved this book - the main character Lenny Marks delighted me in the same way that the main character did in the book “The Maid”. A fresh voice, a story about Lenny who is a neurodivergent character - I was emotionally grabbed and engaged throughout. Lenny works as a teacher in an elementary school in Australia where her routine defines her days and nights. Bicycling to work each day, shopping at a local small grocery (less stimulating than the larger supermarket) on the same days each week, dinners planned to the letter, uniformed neutral outfits, and endless watching of Friends reruns each night. At age 37, her life and routine are shaken up by a series of events including a letter with some news about her past and a dog coming into her life in a special way. Don’t forget about the title! It all comes together perfectly and I think and hope this book will find a welcoming audience in the US.