Well, spoiler alert, the title does give away the ending, however, Lenny Marks’ journey and personal growth getting there makes it worth sticking around for. Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder doles out info in the form of breadcrumbs sprinkled throughout; slowly revealing answers and introducing Lenny to the benefits of actually living life.

I feel the ending seemed a bit too unrealistic considering it takes place in 2022 and there is no mention of cameras (maybe the suburbs of Melbourne are different than those here in the U.S.) or fingerprints or DNA. I’m surprised these plot holes aren’t addressed, in some way, considering Mayne is a police officer.

Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder is a worthwhile and satisfying read. The book blurb describes LMGAWM perfectly as, “equal parts heartbreaking and heartwarming.” You can’t help but fall a little in love with Lenny Marks and root for her to finally find love and acceptance ... mostly from herself.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the digital ARC of Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder.

What an absolute treasure of a book. I honestly wasn’t sure what to make of it at first and was quite dismissive of it for the first few chapters. It felt so similar to other books I had read. I am so glad I stuck with it. I finished it a few days ago and Lenny Marks has stuck with me.

It was a joy to follow Lenny on her journey. Lenny starts the book quote alone and lonely. Bit by bit, chapter by chapter, she figures out her place in the world and surrounds herself with people she loves that love her, too.

I look forward to Kerryn Mayne’s next book.

Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder delights! Lenny is such an adorably quirky character, much like Molly Maid in The Mystery Guest, you can't help fall in love with her and root for her through all the crazy antics to be had. I hope there's more to come from this author! Much thanks to NetGalley and St Martin Press for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to like this, but did I read a different book than everyone else? With all the positive reviews this had, I expected it to be a hit for me as well. Rather foolish to make assumptions, because I ended up DNF’ing this at 50%. I was wholly unable to get into this story - nothing about the writing or story compelled me to read more.

I really wasn’t the reader for this.




Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the DRC

I absolutely loved this book! Lenny Marks is a character I found it easy to identify with. She struggles with making social interactions, but wants to fit in. She feels at home among her books, primarily her beloved collection of The Hobbit. However, one day she receives a letter from the parole board, reigniting long buried memories of a traumatic past. As she begins to let people into her life, she slowly begins to understand that her memories of the past may not be so reliable. As the past starts to rearrange itself, Lenny steps into a new era of her life, full of a new cast of characters. I was sad when this book ended because I loved these characters so much and would gladly read another if Lenny gets up to anymore shenanigans.

I only knew a little about the premise of this book before receiving an ARC from Netgalley. I had no idea it would be one of those books that would give me a book hangover. I'm having a hard time starting another book because the world of Lenny Marks pulled me in so much I didn't want to leave.

Lenny is an elementary school teacher with a mysterious past. The entire book focuses on her as she comes to terms with that past and what that means for her future. Lenny is a memorable character, but all of the others in the book are also well written. I don't want to give anything away about this book. I do think you'll either love it or hate it. I firmly fall in the love it camp. It's a book that moved me to both laughter and tears. It's rare for me to cry over a character in a book, but reading about Lenny's life definitely got to me!

I think this book will be on many best of lists this year. Pick up your copy on July 9th!

A wonderful debut. Lenny Marks leads a simple life with routines that steady her but as we get to know more about her life we realize how resilient she is especially in light of past trauma. She’s lovely and endearing and complex. And she deals with her life in her way. An interesting plot and character, I look forward to more of this authors work.

I really wanted to like this nook more because I fell in love with Lenny. She is charming and so likeable in all of her idiosyncrasies. There are some serious stories and some lighter stories within this book and yet there are just big periods of everyday life that left me wanting more movement and slightly resistant to keep picking it back up to read. Thanks #netgalley for an ARC copy.

While a few plot points were slightly unrealistic (maybe laws are different in Australia), Lenny is a terrific character and #lennymarksgetsawaywithmurder is delightful. I read it in one day and enjoyed it immensely. Recommend.

p.s. thanks to #netgalley for the ARC.

I wasn’t sure about this book because of the title, and even 3/4 of the way in I thought the title seemed inappropriate. However, stick with it and you will learn that Lenny is far more complicated and strong than the beginning of the books leads you to believe. This is a creative story that keeps you guessing about what happened in Lenny’s past all the while hoping that she will have a wonderful future with Ned. I loved Beast/Malcolm and how he gives her such comfort. This is a wonderful book with a twisty, turning ending.

This debut novel from author Kerryn Mayne was an unexpected triumph. I anticipated a cozy murder mystery (which I generally enjoy), but LENNY MARKS GETS AWAY WITH MURDER is so much more than a murder mystery. Kerryn Mayne crafted a unique character in Lenny Marks; her story is memorable.

Lenny Marks's life is perfectly organized and comfortable, thank you very much. She knows what she'll be doing, with whom, where, when, and why every day of the week. Her schedule is dominated by trips to the local market to pick up the exact same groceries every week, games of Scrabble against her "roommate," Monica, and reruns of Friends. Lenny is a creature of habit and routine, and she really does not enjoy unexpected complications--like a letter from the Australian parole board or phone calls from a victim's advocate. This wrinkle of complexity will turn out to be the one thing that will unravel absolutely everything about Lenny's life.

The character created by Kerryn Mayne is brilliant. She is richly complicated and deeply endearing. A neurodivergent young woman with a complex trauma history who embodies what it means to be resilient, there is so much I admire about Lenny Marks. The writing is wonderful, as well: witty and wry, with touches of humor throughout. Each chapter pulls readers into the story more fully, pacing out bits and pieces of plot detail at the perfect pace to keep you hooked. LENNY MARKS GETS AWAY WITH MURDER is one of my favorite reads of the year!

I thank NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and the author for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts and opinions.

LENNY MARKS GETS AWAY WITH MURDER will be published on July 9, 2024.

Oh, Lenny! I really felt like I got to know this character and understand her while also trying to figure out the mystery of her past and what she may or may not have done. The title makes it seem obvious but there was really a lot to explore and figure out. This was a compelling and memorable read.

Ratings
Quality of Writing 4/5
Pacing 4/5
Plot Development 4/5
Character Development 5/5
Overall Enjoyability 4/5

This was a funny, lovable, quirky book with a funny, lovable, quirky main character. It’s a long the same lines as Eleanor Oliphant, but with its own charm. Highly recommend!

I thoroughly enjoyed Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder! Lenny is a unique character (and one that is easy to fall in love with). The author's clever writing style brings the reader into Lenny's brain and has you rooting for her every step of the way. 4 Stars.

Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder has some Elinor Oliphant vibes (I still liked Oliphant better, though). It's weird and fun for the first part (a little slow, too), and then it gets into Lenny's past and why this strange letter is finding her after she has concocted a perfectly fine life for herself.

It's a little slow. The titular event happens much later in the book, and that was the hardest part for me-- the pacing. I was actually interested in her trying to make friends, but it was drawn out so that by the time I got to the end (the psychological stuff that was very interesting), I was bored of the book.

I wanted to skim the last few chapters, and the ending was eh for me. Everything wrapped up in a nice, neat little bow doesn't make a good story. I'm rounding this up to 4 stars-- from 3.5

I loved everything about this character and I think a lot of people will relate to her! There were twists and turns and I loved every second of it!!

Meet Lenny Marks, a socially awkward woman, who teaches fifth grade at Selby South Primary School in Belgrave, Australia, in Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder by Kerryn Mayne, which will be released on July 9. Lenny tries to live a small life with routines she does not break by biking home from school at 4 p.m. each day, buying the same groceries for the same meals every week, watching reruns of “Friends” every day, and collecting various editions of The Hobbit. She has a make-believe roommate named Monica, with whom she has an ongoing game of Scrabble.

What’s wrong with Lenny? Apparently, something tragic that she tries desperately to keep out of her mind. She only allows herself to think that her mother and step-father abandoned her to her grandmother Zanny, who also deserted her, making her a foster child of Fay and Robert Marks.

When she receives a letter from a parole board that arrives at her school, she starts to come undone. While she dodges reading the letter as long as she can, she soon starts receiving phone calls from the Victim Support Unit that she lets go to her answering machine and then ignores, and her schedules fall to pieces. Fortunately, some in her school community, her foster mother Fay, and Ned, the guy who fancies her, offer support as she struggles to deal with the consequences of the ruling of the parole board that shakes her to her core. Forced to face what really happened to her as a child, Lenny can crumble or emerge stronger.

Author Kerryn Mayne is a police officer. When not at work attempting to solve crimes, she writes about crime, as in her other novel, Joy Moody Is Out Of Time. She lives in the bayside suburbs of Melbourne with her family.

My review will be posted on Goodreads starting April 12, 2024.

I would like to thank St. Martin’s Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.

Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder is surprising, heartbreaking, and hopeful. I started this book with an assumption of what the plot was going to be and a general idea of where I thought the story was going. I was completely wrong, and I’m so glad. Mayne is a master storyteller. Lenny and her story are going to stay with me,

Thank you, NetGalley!

My thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for an ARC of this book.

Helena Winters becomes Lenny Marks when the shattered 13 year old is taken in by loving foster parents Fay and Robert Marks. Her new identity effectively severs her connection to the troubled and abandoned little girl of a previous life so terrible she cannot, and will not, deal with it. All Lenny knows is that her stepfather Peter is in prison. He and her mother Tammy locked her in the backyard shed of their Australian home, a frequent punishment. She was found by police and never saw Peter or Tammy again. When her beloved maternal grandmother, who had taken her in, also died, she was sent into “the system.” Luckily for Lenny, her foster parents provided the refuge she needed to heal.

When the story opens, the nearly 40 year old Lenny owns her own home, which she calls “The Tree House,” inspired by her Tolkien obsession, bikes to the nearby primary school where she teaches, is an avid gardener, and watches the TV show Friends virtually non-stop. In fact, the show’s Monica becomes her imaginary housemate and ready partner for the Scrabble games she is obsesses over. Lenny has many harmless obsessions that serve as soothing rituals. She constantly rereads Tolkien and owns 35 copies of The Hobbit, the most important of which is the tattered copy of her mother’s childhood book. She has set menus for every evening’s dinner. She is friendless, misreading social cues, and misinterpreting intentions. When her foster mother, to whom she remains attached, challenges her to make friends, she sets her sights on the most unlikely pair of silly, superficial, and actually nasty young teachers at her school—the exact type who bullied and excluded her in high school.

All this, as well as Lenny’s profound dislike of being caught by surprise, thrown off routine, visited at home, being in crowds and noisy settings, and especially being touched, suggest that Lenny is neurodivergent. She insists she is finely but she is clearly not happy shut into herself as she is.

The ´blockage’ relates to the story she has invented about her childhood. She believes that her mother chose her brutal stepfather over her, that nobody can like her, and that she can rely only on Fay. Even Fay can’t persuade her to seek help to break through the walls of a trauma that have made her dissociative in self protection.

What changes everything is a letter that Lenny avoids opening until her need to know overcomes her need to avoid. She is invited to send a letter regarding the upcoming parole of her stepfather after 25 years of time served. She refuses, because what he did after she was abandoned doesn’t matter to her any more than his abandonment. All that matters is that her mother left her. As Lenny slowly lowers her guard and becomes involved with an abused dog and some people who genuinely care for her, the truth returns. It nearly breaks her, for the second time in her life, but she is not alone this time.

The author succeeds in relating a story that is at once tragic and life-affirming. Seen through Lenny’s eyes, it is clear that the world and its people often do not make sense, and nothing is as it appears. Except that some things and some people are, and they are the ones worth living for. I found this book a delight to read, wry, well-written, sensitive, compassionate but not pitying, hinting toward several possible conclusions but clinching it with one that is frighteningly real. Remarkably, she manages to make it funny too. It’s definitely a five star read for me.

Quirky thirty-something teacher Lenny Marks wants to please her foster mother by making friends and finding a partner. Unfortunately, Lenny’s past refuses to stay buried.

Lenny’s awkwardness is somehow both endearing and cringeworthy. Nevertheless, I found myself wanting her to succeed whether she is trying to fit in with her work colleagues, committing larceny, or trying to getaway with murder.

The secondary characters are well drawn and their interactions with Lenny reveal whether they are friend or foe, even though at times Lenny can’t seem to tell the difference. I enjoyed the portrayal of the dynamics of Lenny’s workplace.

Lenny’s past is beautifully revealed in bits, but since she is repressing a chunk of it, it never feels manipulative. The people who care about Lenny go to great lengths to protect her, which made me also feel protective of her.

The book relies heavily on various pop culture references; the Friends references in particular felt a bit over the top for my taste.

Lenny’s way of looking at the world grew on me as I got deeper into the story. Even though Lenny is an adult, the story has a coming of age vibe as she tries to come to terms with the past and open herself up to new possibilities. I liked how the book explores the way the past colors the present.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press, an imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group, for providing an Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley.