Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder by Kerryn Mayne

Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder by Kerryn Mayne was a delightful surprise! Read my book review and learn why I gave it five out of five stars.

Have you ever had a book that made you feel both seen and exposed at the same time? That’s exactly what Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder by Kerryn Mayne did to me. Learn more about the plot and find out why I gave this book five out of five stars!

What is the book about?

[Lenny Marks] 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? [GoodReads.com]

My thoughts:

Lenny Marks navigates life with strict routines and a tendency to keep to herself. But as she starts to open up and engage with the world around her, forgotten memories resurface, flipping her life upside down. Everything she believed to be true is suddenly in question. Even as she confronts the painful parts of her past, Lenny is forming new relationships and shaking off some of her old habits and routines.

Reading this book was a rollercoaster of emotions. Kerryn Mayne has crafted a story rooted in trauma that somehow feels like a cozy blanket you just want to snuggle into. It’s probably due to Lenny Marks herself—she’s a delightful yet deeply troubled character that you can’t help but root for.

If you’re into good books (and who isn’t?), give this one a try. Kerryn Mayne’s writing style hooked me, and I can’t wait to read more of her work.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest and thoughtful review.

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