Kerryn Mayne’s debut novel is pleasantly enjoyable. A quirky and charming story about Lenny Marks, a young lady who grew up in trauma and now lives a very particular life. At times heart breaking and at times heartwarming. I’m looking forward to reading more from this author.

Bonus is Annie Maynard’s delightful narration in her lovely Aussie accent.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

Wonderful book! The neurodivergent main character was lovable, quirky, and fun. The amount that this character went through was staggering. She dealt with abuse and trauma and a very complicated family history. I read this book so fast!

Due out July 9th

What we know is that Lenny is 37, a schoolteacher, a scrabble whiz and genius at word games, a lover of Friends, a caring neighbor, and that she follows a careful routine for her clothing, transportation, and eating.

What we learn is that Lenny struggles to make friends, but is largely seen as friendly and a good teacher. Her only family is a foster mother who encourages her to put more effort into trying to be a bit more outgoing.

Lenny's world is thrown off kilter when she receives a letter in the mail, forcing her to either confront her past or continue avoiding it. And it's an enjoyable journey.

Narrated by Annie Maynard, who made an exquisite Lenny.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for an ARC and audio ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Kerryn Mayne's debut novel, Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder, is a compelling mix of mystery and emotional exploration. The protagonist, Lenny Marks, is an intriguing character with her rigid routines and eccentric habits, such as owning thirty-six copies of The Hobbit and playing Scrabble against an imaginary Monica Gellar. These quirks add a unique charm to the story and provide a relatable insight into her carefully controlled world.

The narrative takes a dramatic turn when Lenny receives a letter from the parole board, triggering the resurfacing of long-buried memories related to her mother's and stepfather's mysterious disappearance. Mayne skillfully unravels Lenny's past, interweaving it with her present-day struggles and the gradual breakdown of her meticulously structured life. The tension between Lenny's need for control and the chaos of her resurfacing memories is palpable, making for a gripping read.

However, the novel sometimes falters in pacing. The buildup to the core mystery feels slow at times, with prolonged focus on Lenny's day-to-day activities. While these details are essential to understand her character, they occasionally detract from the main plot. The climax, though impactful, could have been more tightly woven to maintain a consistent level of suspense throughout.

Mayne's portrayal of Lenny's journey towards connection and self-discovery is both heartwarming and heartbreaking. The development of new relationships and the sense of community that emerges as Lenny's life unravels add depth to the narrative. The supporting characters, while endearing, sometimes feel underdeveloped, leaving readers wanting more insight into their backgrounds and motivations.

Overall, Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder is a promising debut that offers a unique blend of mystery and heartfelt storytelling. Despite some pacing issues and occasional character development shortcomings, Lenny's story is compelling and emotionally resonant. It's a novel that reminds us of the power of facing our past and the importance of human connections, earning it a solid three stars.

Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder is the story of a quirky and quite damaged woman who has been through it all and back again. It's quite funny and sad with a little romance mixed in. This book has something for everyone. If you listen to the audio version, you will hear a delightful narrator named Annie Maynard. Her New Zealand/Australian accent is rather intense but is lovely once you get used to it. I recommend this novel. Thank you to Netgalley for the free arc in exchange for an honest review.

Lenny Marks lives a very regimented life that brings her comfort. She had a traumatic childhood she only remembers pieces of it particularly her abusive stepfather.

Suddenly though her life is thrown out of its routine when she gets notice her stepfather is up for parole and suddenly she’s doing very un-Lenny like things.

What will happen as new relationships take root, old ones come back around, and Lenny tries new things?

I love characters like Lenny, so this was a great book for me. I appreciate how things fall into place by the end and the support she finds around her.

What a special book!! Lenny is a delightfully different main character, and I loved learning more about her. It’s clear from the start that Lenny thinks about things differently than those around her, and it was very enjoyable learning more and more as the story progressed. If you enjoyed The Maid by Nita Prose, I think that you’ll really enjoy this story. The only reason that I didn’t give this a solid five stars is because I just felt like I didn’t fully get to know Lenny until much further into the book. I would have liked to understand why she viewed the world the way she did a bit earlier on so that I could enjoy her actions more. Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for an ARC of the fabulously done audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

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...