I loved Lenny Marks so very much! She owns 36 copies of Hobbit, is a teacher, loves Friends and scrabble, sticks to her routines rigidly, has such a big heart, and is misunderstood often.

She also had a very tragic childhood, which she has trouble remembering until a letter from the parole board arrives.

I so loved getting to know Lenny and to watch her navigate through life. I really enjoyed her step mum Faye and how she is always pushing Lenny to really find happiness and joy and to deal with her past.

Malcolm was another favorite. I loved how Lenny came to have him and how protective he is over her.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this delight

I enjoyed this one! Lenny is a quirky, unique character and I love the neuro-diversity representation! I did find it to be slow at times and the ending was a little too wrapped up for me, but overall this was a good read!

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Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder
Author: Kerryn Mayne
Source: St Martin’s Publishing Group
Pub Date: July 9, 2024

Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder is a must-read that will be published in July of this year. I don’t know why I moved this book to the front of my TBR, but I am delighted that I did. Lenny (short for Helena) lives in a lonely world of Hobbits, OCD, autism, the television show Friends, imaginary friends, and routines…lots of routines. Lenny is a creature of habit and has rituals that help her get through her days after her job teaching elementary school. This debut novel gives us a chance to get to the core of Lenny and how her mind works. She doesn’t make friends easily, but Lenny gets by taking small steps to normalcy. Nearing 40 years old, she bought a home, develops a few friendships and has a loving foster Mom who keeps watch over her because both of her parents “left” her. She struggles to figure out how to decide who is a friend and foe, which sets her up for disappointment. I truly LOVED this story. I think it might be the best ARC I have received in a long time. Reviews call it a dark comedy, and maybe it is, but not to me. It is the story of a sweet girl who came from a very dysfunctional and abusive home life and still fought her way to a future. Who can’t get behind a story like that? You will cheer Lenny on and want her to reach for a better tomorrow. I do not consider this a sad book but an inspirational story about overcoming life’s obstacles. This book is a beautiful debut novel by Kerryn Mayne, and I think it will be a roaring success when released in July. #dsyfunctional #OCD #abusiveHome #childabuse #murder #salvation #persistence #triumph #kindness #love #future #fiction @stmartinspress @kerrynmayneauthor #debutnovel #LennyMarksGetsAwayWithMurder
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I received a complimentary copy of this ARC. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own. Thank you to the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this novel. Pub. Date: July 9, 2024
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I really wanted to like this book, but had to DNF about 1/4 of the way out of pure boredom. I want to stick it out to see if things got better, but I’ve made a pact with myself that ready should never be a chore. Perhaps this just wasn’t the right type of book for me, but I was drawn to Lenny’s love of Friends and found her habits a bit charming. As a thriller reader, this was just too slow for me.

Thank you to the lovely human that emailed me a copy of this book & to NetGalley for making it happen. Lenny is an all around feel good character. She makes you feel her story and that’s one of the best things about reading. I loved “watching” her navigate her life and finding herself. Great story! Will definitely recommend when it comes out.

Wow! This was a stunning debut. The story was heartwarming and heart wrenching at the same time. Well done.

I, a noted hater of the tv show Friends, not only put up with the NUMEROUS Friends references in this book…. but really didn’t mind them at all. What a lovely, endearing, journey of a book! (I posted this review on my Goodreads as well)

i liked this way more than i expected, also kinda made me.. a little emotional. i loved seeing lenny’s growth and healing throughout the book. the title is really true, and good for her honestly. i also liked that she finally got together with nick.

thanks to NetGalley and publishers for this arc.

As a lover of mysteries and crime novels, the title. Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder, captivated me. As soon as I started reading, I could not put the book down.

Immensely readable, getting inside Lenny Marks’ head as she lives her routine-oriented life as a 37 year old teacher, was fascinating. The reader knows that she is a bit different, but she is a likeable character and we root for her.

We eventually learn about the early trauma in her life and see her grow into having meaningful relationships and coming to terms with the past. I love how justice was served at the end.

A very enjoyable read!

I loved the premise of this book but unfortunately the book itself was a huge disappointment. It is poorly written and failed to hold my attention.

Engaging and entertaining. A recommended purchase for collections where crime and thrillers are popular.

"Lenny's existence was many things: simple, predictable, and uneventful. It had taken considerable effort and time to get to this point and she was not planning on disrupting the perfectly good order of things."

At thirty-seven, Lenny Marks is most comfortable living her life as quietly as possible. She enjoys her simple daily routine of teaching fifth graders, buying groceries twice a week, and watching her favorite television show reruns. She's been working on cultivating new relationships but socializing is stressful, so she settles for another game of Scrabble with an imaginary Monica from 'Friends'. When a letter shows up with a name on it that Lenny hasn't seen in years, it unearths a host of dark memories involving her missing mother and stepfather that threaten to pull her painstakingly crafted routines apart at the seams. It's up to Lenny to keep the rest of her life from following suit and laying waste to precious new friendships in the process.

Lenny shows signs of neurodivergence, but she also experiences a great deal of anxiety and engages in other behaviors that are the result of traumatic events from her childhood. Although stressful at times, it was also interesting to read about Lenny's thinking patterns and how she rationalizes her actions, especially when it came to socializing with people and other situations that non-neurodivergent people would find commonplace. Her interactions with family members and colleagues were awkward at times and as a result, Lenny was often labeled 'weird' or 'odd' which was always sad to read; Lenny recognizes that she has a difficult time understanding things like emotions and sarcasm but mostly chalks up the awkwardness to not thinking before she speaks.

The book does a decent job of describing the difficulties of the everyday life of a victim of trauma. The anxiety and panic that Lenny experiences when confronted with anything relating to that trauma is quite palpable.
The reader isn't made aware of what exactly the traumatic event is outright though the book does drop hints in the form of flashbacks. Lenny frequently blames herself for that event and other unfortunate things that happen to her throughout her life. These were the portions that were some of the most difficult to stomach.

Although there are some heavy topics addressed throughout the book, the cast of characters mesh well. There is subtle humor from friends and quirky banter with fellow teachers, and it was a joy to see Lenny learn and grow as time went on and apply those lessons to challenges that she faced head-on. The happy moments were truly heartwarming and this is a book I will definitely be recommending to family and friends.

Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder by Kerryn Mayne was just terrific.

Lenny does things exactly the same way every day - she buys the same food repeatedly, leaves work at the same time every day, and doesn't really have any real friends.

She's doesn't think about the past or what has happened in her past life until a letter from the parole board forces her to remember what happened to her and what she did.

It was refreshing to read Lenny coming to grips with, and breaking free of her past and finding her way to a new life. I loved reading about this worthy character grow into her own person and have hope for the future.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest opinion. All views are strictly my own.

I hope to be reading more from this author soon!

This book reminds me of several other books but is unique in it's own way. I really liked Lenny as a character and I definitely see why she manages her time/life the way she does. I love that she steps out of her comfort zone whether by choice or not and decides to do things out of her norm.
At first I could not tell if perhaps she was on the spectrum or if she was suffering from PTSD or just really regimented but as soon as that letter arrived I knew something was amiss.
I did find the end of the book a bit predictable but it was still quite an enjoyable read.

I think this book would be a great read for fans of books like "Eleanor Oliphant", "Where'd You Go Bernadette" and possibly even "Convenience Store Woman".

Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Kerryn Mayne for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This. Was. Good! While you may have encountered similar elements before, this author has crafted something special. Some characters I loved and others I loved to hate. Humor, heartbreak and hope. This is an outstanding debut!

Lenny Gets Away with Murder by K. Mayne, published by St. Martin's Press is the debut from this new to me author.
I started reading and soon I was enthralled, I couldn't put the book down anymore. Literally unputdownable.
I recommend this gem of a story, 5 stars.
Blurb:
"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."

I was in a reading slump, I had a number of saved books, but nothing I started appealed to me. Then came a chance to read (in 48 hours) an ARC of this debut novel. Figured it was worth giving it a try, and so glad I did. I read it with 30 hours and loved every minute of it. Lenny is a complex woman who lives a very structure, closed, solitary life. She is a wonderful character and her “quirks” are result of the (slowly revealed) trauma she suffered as a child. Anagrams, her coping mechanism, add to the enjoyment of this wonderful first novel. I look forward to reading more books by this author.

A cozy murder mystery in Australia? Right up my alley. But hold on...the title is a bit deceiving. There might be a murder but this book is so much more. A tale of fitting in, grief, trauma, abuse, friendship and growth, Lenny Marks will leave a handprint on your heart (thanks, Wicked). When we meet her, Lenny is a 37 year old teacher making the best of the life that she has created for herself. While never explicitly stated, Lenny appears to be neurodivergent and her mum is encouraging her to create a larger world for herself through friendship. This book is a journey of discovery, of recovery, and of love. Sharing much more would be lead to spoilers. Read Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder yourself.

There were parts of Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder that I really loved: for example, the anagrams were a clever commentary on the action. And Lenny herself was mostly believable and loveable. But to swallow the plot, you’d need to had 3 large tablespoons of “willing suspension of disbelief,” a perfectly fine solution for a fairy tale.

I enjoyed the read—fast paced, warm and humorous.

If you enjoyed Eleanor Oliphant, you'll enjoy this - as they have a lot in common. Lenny is clearly a traumatized character and the book unravels her past in bits and pieces. She is a teacher (that seems well liked by her students and competent) that has trouble with social cues and is nearing 40 with only a made up friend Monica for company. The story unfolds in past and present, as characters come in and out, and Lenny has to confront things she clearly hasn't prior.