Review: Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder by Kerryn Mayne

 

Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder by Kerryn Mayne

Publication Date: July 9th 2024 by St. Martin's Press & Macmillan Audio

Pages: 352

Audio Book Length: 9hrs 41min

Narrator: Annie Maynard

Source: Publishers

Rating: ★★★★½

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm |  Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Elementary school teacher, Lenny Marks finds peace in routine, finding contentment in life rather than striving for happiness, a fleeting feeling, in her experience. She’s fine with coming home every day to her favorite show, Friends, and “playing scrabble with Monica”.  However, when she receives a letter from the parole board her carefully constructed life starts to unravel. Flashes of her childhood start coming back, a different version than she’s allowed herself to remember.

 

I completely adored Lenny and her matter-of-fact way she approached life, but I did hope for more for her! I knew things weren’t quite the way she remembered them, and I was eager to find out what exactly happened in her past! Some of these revelations were heartbreaking! I was happy as Lenny started waking up, taking charge, and making changes. I was fully on board with Lenny’s unlawful activities, such as with Malcom the dog and well, other things best left out of this review.

 

I absolutely loved this story! It started out sedate and quiet and ended up with some twisty revelations. I rooted for Lenny throughout her journey and there was even a bit of romance by the end!

 

I alternately listened to and read the story and I can recommend either version. Annie Maynard’s performance was fantastic, her Aussie accent wonderful and she brought Lenny’s quirky personality to life! I listened at my normal 1.5x normal speed. 

4.5 Stars

Book Description:

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.