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PRODUCT
Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder: A Novel
Product Description:
Price:
$14.99
Detailed 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.
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Product group:
Categories: Best Books of 2024 So Far
Product name:
Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder: A Novel
Price:
$14.99
Holly H –
Lenny Marks is a disciplined loner and a great 5th grade teacher. Her only real connection is her foster mom. Her cluelessness about social norms make her immediately loveable, and you just want to help her get on better.
But given the title, I didn’t know what to expect with this story and title seemed mysterious until the very end. Did Lenny actually kill someone? Lenny is trying hard to fulfill her promise to her foster mom to make friends and she becomes surprisingly successful even to herself.
As her past is slowly revealed and flashbacks open Lenny’s memory of her traumatic childhood, the plot thickens and the mysterious title keeps the reader guessing. Did she murder someone? Does she know it and is repressing it? Or is this a false clue and the murder was of her childhood and her family life?
Both plot and characters are very well crafted and the Audible edition is read in a proper Aussie accent with all the wonder of Lenny’s thoughts, routine, terror, and sometimes misguided actions.
Highly recommended.
Kaye Nutman – Hybrid Writer. Author of ‘Headscarves, Headwraps & More’ –
This book had loveable characters and was well written. It was hard to put down and the story was well resolved. A must read.
Brooke –
Wow, an amazing story of how people deal with trauma, in their lives. A story of one woman’s life, trying to deal with abuse. How she finally releases herself, from the guilt. Hmmm can’t say much more will give the plot away. Suffice to say a great who dunnit. The title says it all
Julia Reynolds –
Absolutely loved Kerryn Mayne’s debut novel ‘Lenny Marks gets away with Murder ‘ I could see the similarities between this novel and Eleanor Oliphant but found thus ne more entertaining .
Lenny Marks suffered x horrendous trauma as a child which has caused her to limit her interactions with others . The story unfolds as her past comes to back to haunt her . Loved Lenny and honestly could not put this book down . I live at the foot of the Dandenong Ranges where the novel is set so could imagine the scenes unfolding . 5 ⭐️ from me .
Brooke –
Kerryn Mayne has created a nuanced, relatable and loveable character in Lenny Marks and it was a joy getting to know her. Lenny is socially awkward and has an obsessive personality. She tends to replay social interactions in her head and her anxiety sometimes spirals out of control. Although she doesn’t realise it, Lenny is quite lonely, spending most of her time outside work with her imaginary housemate Monica.
A rollercoaster of emotions, this book gave me all the feels. It explored some dark and possibly triggering topics, but did so with sensitivity and hope. The story was both heartfelt and heartbreaking but ultimately uplifting and I could not put it down. I don’t often rate my reads on here but this one is a very deserving 5⭐️
Nanny Lisa –
I have never been a fan of the show “How to Get Away With Murder” because it irritates me when people do not follow the rules or commit crimes. However, there have been movies that I have watched where the good guy is really a bad guy and I have rooted for him, like Robin Hood. Lenny Marks is a sort of Robin Hood. Kerryn Mayne filled this book with so many little details that made me love this story. I was not fond of all of the events Lenny had to endure as a child, but reading about how she overcame those events made for a very interesting read. The details on Lenny’s character were such an added addition to the story. The “Friends” show reference and the tidbit about a jerk from Lenny’s high school gave me moments of character connection. Malcolm pulled at my heart strings. This is a well -rounded story that is very difficult to put down.
Brian L. Baker –
I found this a difficult read. The main character (Lenny) is, I believe, on the Autism Spectrum. It makes her thought processing different, as well as how she interacts with others.
The denouement tends to imply that the acts of the story climax seem to “cure” Lenny of her Autism, and that’s not possible.
Anne L. Treadwell –
It definitely dragged along in places, as the secrets were slowly revealed, and I’m not sure I loved the main character enough to make it worth the wait.
KimS –
With a shaky start calling out happiness as unstable and unreliable I wondered where Lenny Marks was going to take me. Not very far, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a great story in the short distance. Lenny Marks is a marginalized character, partly by her childhood, partly by her current life, partly by the self-important people that surround her, but maybe mostly by herself. She is organized, she is a planner, and not much for social nuances which inevitably trip her up. Her brain works differently and therein lies the hook that makes you hope for her best outcome. She is in her thirty-seventh year with expectations that are below middling.
Lenny has a limit for “polite interactions and pleasantries” and when time is up she needs to leave. Making friends has been challenging but Lenny has her supporters and they help to shore up Lenny and this story. We know something bad has happened to her, we know that it is going to come out and we know that how Lenny deals with it is going to make or break this book. I loved that Lenny could take on a bad-ass, steal a dog and shelter it with the love and affection that she has never enjoyed. She can’t fail someone again, even if she can’t remember who it was or why she had failed. If anything I would have liked to have had more of the backstory verified earlier but the mechanics worked and I kept reading and rooting for Lenny.
So glad I requested and received a copy of this book. Kerryn Mayne has done an admirable job of weaving an important and affecting story about a woman who presents differently. I wish I had Lenny and her anagrams around when I am attempting to solve the NY Time word puzzles. Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for a copy.
Rachel –
I was surprised to hear that this was a debut novel. I commend those who helped Kerryn Mayne produce such an engaging and (almost) believable novel. This is a real page turner which I happily read into the early hours.the character of Lenny, who I first thought had a form of autism, was complex and at times frustrating, but beautifully portrayed – as were many of her others. I could actually feel the fear of young Helena, which made the story feel alive. I’d love to think there’ll be more from this author, when she can fit it into her hectic schedule of family and work life.