Based on the cover, the title, the taglines this is a fun and charming read, a cozy mystery. And while it does have a writing style that carries you away, it is anything but light.

Lenny spends her life by herself by choice. She is hiding from the world- more specifically her past. The past she blames herself for.

Lenny's story is heartbreaking and Mayne tells it in a way that unravels the details to the reader in a gentle yet startling manner. Lenny Marks is anything but the quiet recluse she thinks she is. Lenny Marks is fierce.

Fantastic story, great narration, loveable (and loatheable) characters.

The main character, a socially awkward woman, slowly comes to terms with her traumatic past and take action to open up to others.

This story got a lot of heart and humour, and I really found myself rooting for Lenny. It's well constructed and kept me interested until the end.
I liked the narrator for the audiobook version, who helped a lot to give a light-hearted tone to the story even when difficult subjects were discussed.

I enjoyed this book, though it wasn't a "stand out".

Lenny Marks likes a routine - she has has 36 copies of the Hobbit, she buys the same groceries every week and prepares the same meals for herself. Her friends are all imaginary, created from characters from shows and she plays scrabble every night with her imaginary roommate Monica (from Friends). Strangely she cannot remember what happened the day her mom and stepdad disappeared from her adolescent life until one day a letter shows up from the parole board and slowly painful memories begin to creep back into her mind. As memories begin to surface and concurrently Lenny starts to interact with her co-workers and other people in her community she realizes that she can have relationships and that maybe there have been people looking out for her all along.

This was totally my kind of novel, in the vein of The Strange Sally Diamond and Interesting Facts About Space, you have a character who doesn't quite know how to interact with the world around them and it's partially due to a childhood trauma. I appreciate these novels because the characters are written with a quirkiness which gives the book a certain levity while there is a serious topic being addressed. Lenny was a lovable character and the ancillary characters were perfect foils to her. This was a great novel and I half read and half listened (always love an Australian accent) and honestly, I couldn't put down. It didn't feel too dark or heavy even with the topic at hand.

I had a picture in my head of what this was going to be like and it was completely different than my expectations! It gave me vibes of Strange Sally Diamond but I enjoyed it even more!

Lenny Marks is a loner by nature, watches Friends relentlessly, owns the many copies of The Hobbit, and is excellent at not remembering the bad things in life. A letter from the parole board gives her the reason to remember things she would rather leave behind her.

Lenny Marks is a socially awkward teacher who thrives on routine. She enjoys things like buying the same groceries every week, riding her bike home at the same time every day, and watching Friends on TV.

One day, a letter from the parole board arrives at Lenny's work, and she slowly starts remembering her traumatic past. As she works to untangled suppressed memories, Lenny also finds herself making connections and navigating new relationships in her life.

Lenny was an interesting character. She's been through so much, and it was easy to root for her. The plot was slow, but the little clues about Lenny's past throughout helped keep me interested. I did think the ending was pretty unrealistic, but that didn't detract from the overall story and emotions.

The narrator did an excellent job portraying Lenny’s character and kept me engaged throughout the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advance copy!

Such a fun little read! My first experience with this author and it’s definitely a book I’d recommend. I loved following the quirky life of main character Lenny and learning about her past as her life plays out. Perfect summer read

Thanks to NetGalley and #MacMillanAudio for the book #LennyMarksGetsAwayWirhMurder by #KerrynMayne. Lenny likes things a certain way. She does everything the same way each day. Years ago there was a tragedy, and Lenny has always believed that her mother left her behind after her step father locked her in the shed. After 25 years, he has been let out of prison for the murder of her mother and baby brother. Lenny has blocked out so much that she doesn’t realize her mother didn’t leave her. Now she is facing the truth. I loved this book and got attached to Lenny in this story!

School teacher Lenny Marks follows a very strict routine. Her companion is the TV show Friends, and she has an ongoing Scrabble game with her imaginary friend, Monica Geller. Lenny does not remember everything that happened on the day her mother and stepfather abandoned her as a child, but a letter from the parole board makes memories from childhood come back.

This well-written and touching debut novel snuck up on me. I went in blind, and this story was not what I expected from the title, etc, but I also couldn't stop reading/listening. I was very invested in Lenny's story. The plot unfolds in an intruging way but I won't say much to avoid spoilers.

Lenny is neurodivergent, socially awkward, quirky, and endearing. A well-developed character who had me rooting hard for her. She has endured significant trauma, and her mind blocked it out almost entirely as a coping mechanism. There are events to sort out, but the heart of the story is Lenny's healing journey and her path to forming relationships and allowing others in her life. Despite her struggles, Lenny's courage and strength grow as her memories of traumatic and heartbreaking past events return. This was a departure for me from my typical reads and I am so glad I took a chance on it. It was emotional, gripping, and thought-provoking. Lenny stayed with me long after I finished, and I look forward to whatever Mayne writes next.

Annie Maynard's narration of the audiobook was a standout. Her performance brought Lenny to life, capturing the character's quirks and the story's emotions. I alternated between reading and listening to this but ended up listening more toward the end, as Maynard's lovely Australian accent made the listening experience feel truly immersive.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the free audiobook!

This was not what I was expecting but in a good way. I went into this blind but with the title I was thinking something along the lines of Finlay Donovan. It was surprisingly not at all like that. Lenny has experienced trauma in her childhood that she is now working through as an adult. The murder doesn’t come till later but as she works through her past, she finally becomes who she was always meant to be. This book is truly a journey through overcoming trauma. I listened to this one on audio and it was so engaging that I binged it in one day. I loved the format and the narrator was very good.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Terrific!

The title may think that you are about to snuggle up with a cozy mystery, but it’s so much more. It’s about Lenny Marks, a quirky, neuro divergent woman trying to fit into society and follow the rules that she has set to appear normal, when in fact her life is full of made up friends. When a letter is delivered to her workplace for Helena Winters, her scripted life goes into a tailspin about the upcoming parole of her stepfather. She is forced to face the long ago memories that she had forced out of her mind and created new memories of in a type of disassociation.

Where Lenny thinks she doesn’t have any friends she not only realize that she has a community of friends around and supporting her and helping her through her life.

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4.5 🌟 rounded up
A debut author, Kerryn Mayne knocks it out of the park with this book. A story of triumph over adversity, Lenny Marks has had more than her fair share of troubles. A victim of domestic abuse as a child, she struggles as an adult to overcome her past and eventually find the happiness she deserves.
Lenny's character is one you'll want to embrace, protect, and befriend. Some reviews mention her character as neurodiverse. However, the struggles described also mirror chronic PTSD and given the background, this is a very plausible reason for that diversity.
The book deals with domestic abuse, death, grief, friends (both good and bad), happiness, and love. The author takes a serious topic and weaves just enough lightheartedness into the story to make you smile and even chuckle at times.
It did take me a while to finish this one, but only because chronic PTSD is close to my heart, and at times, I felt too near Lenny's trauma. Lenny is proof that you can come out on the other side. It just might take a while longer.
Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the ALC and opportunity to provide an honest review. Side note: The narrator was excellent.

Lenny Marks will stay in your head and heart beyond finishing this book! Think Eleanor Oliphant (as many reviewers have stated), Keiko Furukura (Convenience Store Woman), and Fern from The Good Sister. (Side note and interestingly enough, the author thanked The Good Sister author Sally Hepworth for nudging her to write this great book!).

Initially, you get to know Lenny and immediately you're so into her character. Her routines, her takes on social cues, and just simply her quirkiness. Then she bloomed even more when little by little she became challenged by things from her past. This started off as lighthearted, quirky, and just wanting to root for Lenny one every way. Like when her past school bully came during a parent-teacher conference and was condescending to her, you just want to punch him for Lenny. Then as you think this would continue to be lighthearted, the story darkened and her past came to light. The story stayed brilliantly along the line of disheartening moments while there was triumph in Lenny, which was why her character became so well loved. I absolutely enjoyed this debut, and hopefully we get to read more and more of these types of characters and stories from the author.

Additionally, the narration for the audiobook was great.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the audio eARC of this wonderful read. All opinions are my own.

I tried to read this one as an ARC on here a while back. I loved the concept but just couldn't connect with the story. When I saw an audio version, I was still intrigued enough by the concept (and cover!) to give it another try, thinking maybe I'd do better listening. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case... I simply could not connect with Lenny and find myself drawn into her tale. Interesting, the word list concept - which I found distracting in print form - worked much better for me in audio, but that in and of itself was not enough to keep me engaged, unfortunately. This one remains not for me...

While appearing as a lighthearted book, Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder tells a unique story with hard topics. Lenny has had a traumatic childhood that has left her feeling separated from most everyone around her. She tells lies to make herself look better to others. She is set her in ways and routines and hardly deviates from them. But when someone from her past comes back into her life, Lenny is forced to make changes.

I love how Lenny started to build relationships with people and found that she could be liked and appreciated. I especially loved seeing the bond grow between Lenny and Malcolm.

The parts with voicemail/phone calls was a neat little addition. I like when audiobooks add extra sounds to the listening! The narrator did a great job as well. I love her voice!

Definitely recommend if you are looking for something a little different that still makes you feel warm and fuzzy in the end! Thanks to NetGalley, Kerryn Mayne, Annie Maynard, Penguin Random House and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to listen! I've written this review voluntarily.

Do not judge this book by it's cover!
The marketing of this book is so misleading, I almost passed on it. I don't know why it's presented as a 'cosy mystery' from cover, title to blurb, but it's definitely not.
To me this book is more in the vein of 'Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine' than anything else.
The main character, a socially awkward woman, slowly comes to terms with her traumatic past and take action to open up to others.
This story got a lot of heart and humour, and I really found myself rooting for Lenny. It's well constructed and kept me interested until the end.
I liked the narrator for the audiobook version, who helped a lot to give a light-hearted tone to the story even when difficult subjects were discussed.
If you like that kind of personal journey, give this book a chance.

🎧🎧 Book Review 🎧🎧 Lenny Marks lives a quiet life as a fifth grade teacher. She creates such a lovely routine that I am a little envious of: biking home at the same time every day, rewatching Friends while “playing” Scrabble against Monica Gellar, and rearranging her bookshelf. Underneath this endearing propensity for order is an unthinkable history of trauma. Kerryn Mayne creates a beautiful slow building story arc of creating a life when overcoming trauma. With the help of these coping mechanisms, we meet a wonderfully developed and delightfully quirky female main character. Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder is an extraordinary tale made relatable through extremely ordinary and familiar pop cultural references in a perfectly balanced juxtaposition that allows the reader a unique connection with Lenny. When a letter arrives that completely disrupts her perfect pattern, we are all in for one wild ride! The narrator brings Mayne’s novel to life in a vibrant, inviting manner, absolutely engaging to listen to from start to finish. This is such a beautiful read, a

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Review is posted on Goodreads and will be on instagram closer to the publication date!

ARC: Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder
Author: Kerryn Mayne
Pub day: Jul 9th 2024
Genre: women’s fiction, General Fiction, adult
Format: Audio book
My rating: 4⭐️

My thoughts: this was a really well told story. When I first started I was expecting a bit more of mystery. There was mystery but I guess I was expecting MORE! That’s on me- not the book. Once I understood that this book is more like telling you a story and you learning about a character and her life and her past + secrets I began to love it more (because again this is not a mystery thriller lol 😂 I went in thinking it would be - why? I have no clue. Maybe the title?)

I give this book 4⭐️ because I believe there will be many people that will enjoy this book and enjoy this character- I personally really liked her! 🩷 the story was good and the ending was very satisfying to me. I also enjoyed seeing the character development. 💛

@netgalley #lennymarksgetsawaywithmurder #kerrynmayne

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

Lenny Marks is a teach who lives by a very strict schedule. She's a bit different and has some memories issues. She can't remember what happened after her mom and abusive step father disappeared. After a letter from the parole board comes, her carefully constructed life starts to come undone. Well worth the read.

Excellent narration.

Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder follows a woman as she lives her everyday life following rules and routines. When she receives a letter from the parole board regarding a night her mother and stepdad went missing, she is forced to slowly face what really happened. Lenny finds her courage and discovers what friendship really looks like along the way. This book is both sad and heartwarming and really shines a light on what could happen if you experience trauma at a young age. If you enjoy quirky, possibly neurodiverse characters that accept themselves through hardship, you might like Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder!

Narration performed by Annie Maynard was outstanding.

I received an ALC from Macmillan Audio via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Not your ordinary mystery!

Lenny Marks is just an ordinary girl. She has the same routine every day, eats the same meals, reads the same books, and watches the same Friends reruns on repeat. Did I mention she has over thirty copies of The Hobbit?
As a child, Lenny lost her mother and stepfather, but she just cannot recall what happened the day they disappeared. However, the words "you did this" play over and over in her head as her stepfathers last words.
Lenny's life suddenly changes when she receives a letter from the parole board and details of her life one by one begins to unravel and memories come rushing back.

What a great story. The narrator did a fantastic job conveying all of the necessary emotions.
Would definitely recommend!

Special Thanks to Kerryn Mayne, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.