Review of Uncorrected Digital Galley

The arrival of a letter from the Adult Parole Board Victoria brings chaos of a sort into the well-ordered life of thirty-seven-year-old Selby South Primary teacher Lenny Marks. Until now, her unwavering routine has allowed Lenny [once Helena Winters] to forget certain events from her childhood. She’s kept herself distanced from neighbors and co-workers, interacting with others as little as possible. Contentment comes from teaching her twenty-three grade five students and then returning to her home.

Now, as long-forgotten memories return, Lenny abandons her self-isolation and finds herself associating with others, experiencing connections with those around her. But there’s still that nagging voice in her head, reminding her “You did this.”

Exactly what did Lenny do? And why is the parole board contacting her?

Will Lenny’s past catch up with her before she can embrace the new life she so desperately desires?

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Set in Australia, this tale of long-held [and deeply buried] secrets, fears, and guilt is populated with strong, nuanced, believable characters. Early on, readers realize Lenny is dealing . . . or, through her structured routines, not dealing . . . with a devastating trauma from her past. Her foster mother gently pushes and prods, wanting Lenny to find a way to abandon those stringent survival techniques that keep her from having friends and relationships, from having a sense of belonging, from having a life.

As the unfolding story slowly reveals the abuse of her past, readers see Lenny growing as she deals with the re-emergence of the memories she worked so hard to repress. The telling of this tale is, at times, filled with hilarity; other moments promise to flood the reader’s eyes with tears.

Although the ways in which Lenny deals with the trauma of her past seem unreasonably severe, readers will applaud her efforts to reach out for life, for belonging. And, as her memories return, she comes to realize that she needs no forgiveness, either from herself or from anyone else, leaving her finally free to seek relationships, to become a part of that life she has eschewed for so long.

Readers who enjoy stories of triumph over adversity, perhaps with a bit of mystery, will find much to appreciate here in this unputdownable tale of a woman who finally finds the life she so richly deserves.

Highly recommended.

I received a free copy of this book from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
#LennyMarksGetsAwaywithMurder #NetGalley

Lenny Marks knows that she is different from her co-workers and from everyone she meets. She doesn’t make friends easily, she follows the same routines every week. Many years after the fact, she is still trying to figure out how her mother could choose her nasty stepfather over her. As Lenny makes an effort to expand her life, she starts to remember her past differently. Maybe there can be a normal life for Lenny after all.

The cover grabbed me in, so I wanted to love Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder. However, I didn’t care for the protagonist and in the end it just didn’t hold my interest.

What can I say about Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder?
I can say I absolutely loved this book and Lenny Marks.
Lenny is predictable, she's organized, and she's happy with that, but as we find out, happiness is what we make of it.
Lenny struggles to fit in and to make friends. She's content to be alone, but deep inside, she wants to belong.
As a school teacher, she's fond of her routine, visits to her mum, and her local grocery store, and watching Friends over and over.
Until the day a letter arrives for her, Helena Winters, and the secrets, fears and guilt start to overwhelm her. Eventually those feelings free her, from the horrible things she endured as a child, to releasing the pain she struggles with, to being able to forgive herself, because none of it was ever her fault.
I found myself intrigued by Lenny, and getting to know her is an honor and privilege I will never forget.
I'm hoping to meet up with Lenny again, because now, she's free to really live her life.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advanced copy of the book, but most of all, thank you to the author, for introducing me to the fabulous Lenny Marks.
This book deserves all the stars, it is truly a wonderful piece of art.

I never saw the twists coming and was completely blindsided in the best possible way. And then, when it happened, I had no idea how it could possibly turn out, and then it did. I never wanted it to end. I seriously couldn’t get enough of it and the story was utter genius.

BOOK REPORT
Received a complimentary copy of Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder by Kerryn Mayne from St. Martin’s Press/NetGalley, for which I am appreciative, in exchange for a fair and honest review. Scroll past the BOOK REPORT section for a cut-and-paste of the DESCRIPTION of it from them if you want to read my thoughts on the book in the context of that summary.

A little bit into this book I got my jaw out all sideways because not only had I gotten myself involved with something awfully chick-litty again, the protagonist was one that seems more like a fashionable trope than real person these days—emotionally wounded adult female who may or may not be on the autism spectrum, lives a mostly isolated life, if only she would respond to the people around her who truly care….

I mean, it’s unreal how many of these characters I’m seeing in books and on screen. Guess it’s just what’s in the zeitgeist for the time being.

Anywhoodles, I’m glad I got a little bit over myself and stuck with it, because there were various plot twists that I didn’t see coming, which made for a very solid story overall.

Still not a fan of Rottweilers, though.

DESCRIPTION
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 fine. She’s happy with her isolated, predicatable life and with her memories from the past buried so deep that she can’t quite remember them. This is a story about abuse, dealing with trauma, and learning to open yourself up and take back your life.

While this wasn’t a particularly fast paced thriller or a super twisty whodunnit, I still finished the book in one day, anxious to see all the secrets unravel. While Lenny is reminiscant of Eleanor Oliphant and Molly Gray, I think the book stands on its own, dealing with difficult topics and providing a satisfying arc of character growth. The book takes place in Australia, and there were a few Australian words and phrases that were new to me, but it didn’t take away from the story at all.

By the end of the book I had laughed, I had cried, and I’m reluctant to bid farewell to these characters. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the copy of this ebook!