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!