Wonderful story that touches on every human emotion. Lenny Marks is a well developed lovable person who you will stick with you long after finishing this book.

I enjoyed every bit of this book. Highly recommend to anyone who just wants a good, warm and smart story.

This is a debut book for Kerryn Mayne and I cannot wait to read what else the author creates.


Thank you NetGalley for this e-book in exchange for an honest opinion.

Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder is not what I expected, it was better. Lenny is unique and very structured in her daily life due to past trauma. I did not see the twists that kept coming and found myself reading it on my phone when I had a few minutes, it's that good. This is only January but it might be one of my top books of 2024. Kerryn Mayne is an author to follow.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my review copy of this book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️FIVE STARS for LENNY MARKS GETS AWAY WITH MURDER

This was truly a beautiful debut. I like fast-paced thrillers and while this wasn’t that, it was a great story with an unforgettable heroine. She had a need for order, and for things to be just so. I felt that so much. I felt such a pull to Lenny and I think a lot of readers will. This was very character driven with a mysterious plot that unfolded slowly throughout the book.

This book addressed childhood trauma, abuse, and facing your past so you can move on. What was in Lenny’s past was both heartbreaking and shocking. This is a story that deserves to be read.

I will absolutely be reading more from this author!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC!

Lenny Marks reminded me a bit of Eleanor Oliphant at the very beginning of this debut novel… I should have known there was something darker brewing by the title. Lenny is suffering from PTSD from traumatic events involving her stepfather, mother and younger brother. The way that Kerryn Mayne gradually unfolds the events kept me up late reading. I worried Lenny might not be ok, especially when her stepfather is released from prison. thank you @netgalley for the ARC.

I was immensely excited to get approved to read Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder. The cover and title drew me in, and the synopsis sounded like something I would love to read. I was right, I did love it.

Lenny Marks is heartbreakingly endearing. Endearingly heartbreaking? Either way, she was such an incredibly written character. I adore her "quirks", and loved her character development. Her support system is comprised of some very well-written, lovely characters that I truly felt grateful for Lenny to have them in her life.

I'll say this though, the cover lead me to think this would be a cozy murder mystery, and while it has the staples of a cozy, it also was a lot darker than I was expecting. I won't give a full CW list, as to avoid spoilers, but it's largely involving intense spousal and child abuse throughout the book. This wouldn't have stopped me from reading this book, but would've helped with my expectations.

All in all, I throughly enjoyed Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder, and would absolutely recommend it to fellow mystery lovers.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the e-ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

Oh, Lenny. I just love her. Kind of reminds me of Eleanor Olyphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman, another favorite. I was so moved by Lenny’s tale. Had me in tears more than once. To be so broken yet strong enough to survive her past, with the help from new friends. Just love this book!

I may need a book where Lenny Marks and Eleanor Oliphant form a friendship. :) Really great characters and a fun plot made for a heartwarming and fast read.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/195790841

“Lenny Marks seldom found herself unprepared.”

I love triumph over adversity stories as much as I love supporting debut authors!

At first, 37-year-old Lenny Marks appears to be a competent Grade 5 teacher at Selby South Primary School who just prefers living alone and is disinterested in a busy social calendar. You’ll soon discover that she’s found tremendous peace in organization because it’s stable and reliable - unlike happiness. Lenny has carefully curated her world to protect herself: Thai carryout on Saturdays, Friends reruns and groceries on Mondays and Thursdays, rearranging her 36 volumes of The Hobbit, and endless Scrabble games with an imaginary opponent, Monica from Friends. At first, these idiosyncrasies brought a smile to my face and I wondered if perhaps she was on the spectrum, and then I felt saddened when I realized that her unique personality had been shaped by her repressed, traumatic past.

“There was something very wrong with Lenny, and she wasn’t sure it was repairable.”

When a letter arrives for Lenny, memories of her past threaten the ordered lifestyle she’s curated and she appears to remember what drove her to a life of order over happiness. As the author slowly reveals bits of Lenny’s mysterious past, readers are left wondering if Lenny can cope with the new direction she’s taken

“You did this.”

Three words. Three syllables. Lenny’s world comes crashing down around her….

Kerryn Mayne’s superb examination of survivors and their coping mechanisms highlights mental illness, grief, family, friends and happiness. You’ll agree that justice is served.

If you loved Eleanor Oliphant or Molly Gray you’ll enjoy this one.

I promise you, Lenny Marks will leave an impression. You’ll be thinking of her for days afterward.

A unique book with a unique and interesting main character. Lenny is... different, unusual. But you find yourself on her side and both uplifted and heartbroken by her story. Her coping mechanisms and way of life is relatable to anyone who takes comfort in and finds peace in an orderly, small life (me!). But as her world gets bigger, we see there is a benefit to being forced outside our comfort zone.

This book was hard to read at times because it was so obvious that poor Lenny was not mentally well and she was deeply struggling to move on a tragic event from her childhood. While Lenny is socially awkward and also a loner, the author creates a fabulous character profile for her. Lenny is kind, hard-working, decently good-looking… it’s impossible not to like her or, at minimum, have empathy for her.

There were some very surprisingly twists in the book and I think it’s well worth a read.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin e's Press for the eARC.
What a lovely book this is; quite moving at times and sad. But uplifting as well, with a fascinating main character. Lenny.
I loved the fact Lenny rescued Malcolm the dog from an abusive situation and that he became her first best friend on her way to working out her terrible past so she could heal. It was a long and arduous journey, but she survived it and found some peace.
An impressive debut novel!

Lenny is a very unique and delightful character. There is a lot happening in the story but it easy to follow. The character development is well done. I loved the progression Lenny went through.

Ladies and gentlemen, author Kerryn Mayne is one to watch! Rarely have a read a more polished and self-assured debut novel. Lenny Marks, a quirky and thoroughly lovable character, will win her way into her heart, and soon you will be cheering for her to get away with murder and win a life!

When we meet Lenny, she is a primary school teacher at Selby South, and she is on a quest to make some friends. She is 37 years old, but a real loner, playing Scrabble with her imaginary roommate, Monica, named after the character in the Friends show, which Lenny watches incessantly. But trouble is looming on the horizon. There is something in Lenny's past that she has erased from her memory, but blurry edges are starting to appear. A letter from the parole board lets her know her former stepfather is due to be released from jail soon. Uncomfortable memories from her childhood are bubbling to the surface. Where did her mother disappear to all those years ago?

Lenny's healing and start towards a new, less solitary life, begins when she liberates a dog from an abusive owner after a drunken night out with her teaching partners. She names him Malcolm, after her imaginary childhood friend. Lenny will find she has more people rooting for her than she realized, just not necessarily the people she thought were her friends.

Can I just mention how hard it can be to name a character, especially when it features front and center as the name of the book. It's no small feat to achieve a memorable and fun name, and with Lenny Marks, the author did just that.

There is a murder in the this book, but it is not front and center. A lot of the book is about unraveling the mystery of Lenny Mark's past, and watching her grow as a functioning social being. Thus, I think this book could appeal to multiple groups of readers. And this book was championed by one of my favorite writer's, Sally Hepworth!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed getting to know Lenny. She is such an interesting character! She is kind of like Eleanor Oliphant - simple, quirky, good. But it is her haunting past and the choices that she makes in the book that make her so interesting.

The book sort of unravels. At first it looks like a simple book, but as it unfolds, the people and events show up in the right places. I liked the pace and enjoyed every new discovery!

I really enjoyed reading this book and meeting Lenny. It was a hard book to put down! I am going to miss her and Malcom!

Thank you to NetGalley and Kerryn Mayne for an advance copy of this book!

Lenny Marks has very few memories of her life before having been abandoned by her mother and stepfather when she was eleven years old. That’s when she was sent to live with her troubled grandmother, whose fondness for alcohol forced Children’s Services to place Lenny with a foster family where, despite being loved by Fay and Robert as if she were their own, Lenny still failed to remember her childhood. Now, at thirty-seven, Lenny has created the life she needs: she lives alone, in a house she loves where she retreats (except for twice-weekly stops at the market) every day as soon as her fifth-graders have left, and as quickly as she can get there on her bike. Once home, kept company by endless reruns of Friends, and kept busy by games of Scrabble (Lenny plays both sides, although she plays and scores as if her imaginary roommate, Monica, is real). The single memory of her childhood Lenny allows herself is that of curling up as small as she can make herself as she reads from The Hobbit to her imaginary friend Malcolm.

All in all, as long as she can limit interactions with other people, Lenny thinks she functions well until two things happen: first, an official-looking letter arrives at the school for her, asking her to provide input regarding the pending parole of the man whose name she has tried for almost thirty years to repress. And, second, in an act Lenny would once have said was impossible for her, she steals a dog from a man she sees abusing him, a dog who, once she has saved him, she names Malcolm. When Lenny’s terrifying memories begin to creep back, she starts to realize just how alone she is, and how much she needs the people who, for years, she has been shutting out.

Kerryn Mayne’s writing debut is nothing short of amazing! Don’t miss this book!

My sincere thanks to NetGalley and Bantam Australia for the opportunity to read an ARC of this excellent book.

For more of my reviews, follow me on NancysBookNook on Facebook.

Omigahhhhhhh....I dare you to read this book and not fall completely in love with Lenny. She is so well-written and it is hard to believe Kerryn Mayne is a first time author with a husband, four kids, and a bustling career as a police officer. Please keep writing. I promise to keep reading, if you do!!

This was a wonderful debut novel by Kerryn Mayne! I was invested in the main character, Lenny, from the beginning . This story made me happy, sad and outraged … but always cheering for Lenny and hoping she could alter the course of her life. Highly recommend and will definitely look forward to reading the author’s next book.

Thank you Netgalley. I love Lenny Marks!! This book gave me Elinor Opliphant vibes which was a story I adored. The pacing was a bit slower than I'm used to but was definitely worth the wait. The story was great and the characters were so well done. I am looking forward to more from this author. Highly recommend

I loved this book and the characters in it. The book wasn't exactly what I thought it was after reading the synopsis and I ended up liking it even more. There are a few twists and turns that I didn't see coming! I really enjoyed how the author wraps up the book also.

The book feels part rom-com, part mystery and a little bit thriller. It was the perfect combination without being too scary.

SPOILER: This book deals with domestic violence, child abuse and murder. These topics aren't looked at extensively but they are very much a part of the story.

Lenny Mars (given name Helena) is a quirky and unusual person, happy with her job, her bike, and her beautiful home. Throughout the book you learn of her past, where she was called "different," but you soon realize she is neurodivergent. You also learn of a traumatic childhood.

Her coping mechanisms, her way of functioning on the job and in society are very well written. She undertakes projects to help her "get a life." Her efforts on the job to make friends made me squirm a bit, because I couldn't help but sympathize with what she was feeling and going through.

This was a lovely, unique story, and I'm hoping there will be more books in the future from this author.