Book Review: Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder | Kerryn Mayne

I expected a cozy mystery with a humorous side that doesn’t take itself too seriously, but Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder is much deeper than that. I found this to be a bittersweet—at times sad—and heartwarming novel about grief, loss, abandonment, secrets, vengeance, hope, friendship, and acceptance.

Lenny has obsessively organized her life to avoid anything unexpected (such as memories she’d prefer to push down). She bikes home at the same time every day, makes the same meals every week, and plays scrabble with an imaginary Monica Gellar while watching Friends reruns (this doesn’t actually sound like a bad life to me, so perhaps I’m the problem). When Lenny was a child, her mother and stepfather disappeared. Now, she does everything she can not to think about it.

Until a letter from the parole board arrives at work addressed to her real name—Helena Winters. Lenny has learned to compartmentalize her life to avoid things like this, but she may not have a choice when her carefully constructed world unravels. Long-buried memories surface, her structured routines fall apart, and Lenny is forced to actually engage with others for the first time in a long time. But just as Lenny starts to get a life she enjoys, her past may catch up with her after all…

Flashbacks to Lenny’s childhood show how she became the person she is today—scared to do anything outside of her routine. Lenny’s story is one of the long-lasting impacts of trauma. Her anxiety fueled her routines, which led her to not engage in or enjoy her life. Lenny finds comfort in predictability and routine, and eventually we learn how that came from a childhood of disorder and trauma. Despite her damage and how closed off Lenny seems, I found her to be a surprisingly resilient person.

In the present, Lenny is dealing with complicated and difficult memories as her world is upended by the fallout from the letter. Her foster mother has encouraged Lenny to push boundaries in her life, and Lenny is trying to make friends and be more open. But her past is bobbing to the surface, threatening to upend everything in her life. I often wanted to give Lenny a hug or reach in and protect her. At times heartbreaking, there is still the hope that everything will work out for the loveable Lenny Marks.

Thank you to St Martin’s Press for my copy. Opinions are my own.

About the Book

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.

About the Author

Kerryn Mayne is an author, former wedding photographer, and current police officer. When not at work attempting to solve crime, she is writing about it or preparing an endless stream of snacks for her four children. Kerryn lives in the bayside suburbs of Melbourne with her husband, children and a highly suspect lovebird. She only owns 11 copies of The Hobbit (for now).

Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder is her debut novel.