Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder by Kerryn Mayne

4 reviews

hannahs_library__'s review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

 Feel good fiction will forever be one of my favorite genres! 💛

Read this if you like:

• Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine ‼️
• Loveable MC to root for
• Scrabble
• Books about healing and trauma ❤️‍🩹
• Feel good fiction ☀️
• Self help books disguised as fiction
• Friends

If you enjoyed Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, you NEED to read this book.
 
Lenny Marks is a primary school teacher with quite the past. She has exactly 7 meals she eats on rotation, bikes to and from work every day, owns 36 copies of the hobbit, and has Friends to keep her company while she plays scrabble. Miss Marks is perfectly content sticking to her daily routines until a letter from the parole board arrives and starts to unearth feelings and memories she buried long ago. 👀

Lenny is such a loveable main character! Throughout the entire book I was rooting for her and loved seeing her growth as she worked through her past trauma to heal. Her support system in this book was so heartwarming. 

“You can’t change your past, you can only accept someone as they come.”

I went into this story thinking it was going to be a cozy mystery; however, it is definitely more of a literary fiction book. This would be a great one to pick up if you are looking for an inspirational read and can push through some major trigger warnings. ⚠️ While this did remind me of Eleanor Oliphant, it still felt original and I can’t recommend it enough. 

I can’t believe this is Kerryn’s debut novel! I will absolutely be picking up her next book whenever it comes out. The audiobook was so nice to listen to! Annie Maynard, the narrator, had such a lovely, calming voice. Huge thank you to Saint Martin’s Press for sending over this book. I’m genuinely so happy I got to listen to it. 💖

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Blood, and Grief

Minor: Animal cruelty

kerrygetsliterary's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder was not what I expected based on the title and cover. It's giving cozy and funny mystery a la Finlay Donovan, but it's actually much heavier and definitely not cozy.

That being said, Lenny Marks is possibly one of my favorite characters I've ever read. She's a neurodivergent elementary school teacher with a kind heart. She's a homebody, she plays Scrabble against herself, loves the TV show Friends, and rides her bike everywhere. She reminded me a lot of Eleanor Oliphant, She is intelligent and brave, and just trying to figure out her solitary adult life. I loved watching her story unfold, and it was both heartbreaking and heartwarming. I laughed with her and my heart broke for her.

There were some mystery elements to this book, and some things I predicted and some I did not. The writing was phenomenal and I will definitely read more of Kerryn Mayne's work in the future.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

lilibetbombshell's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

How well do you remember your childhood? Are you sure you’re remembering it correctly? 

 

Lenny Marks is alive, but she’s not living. She’d be fine with that if it weren’t for the fact she knows it makes her mom (well, her former foster mom but the closest thing to a mom she’s had in a long time) upset if she doesn’t at least try and engage with the world around her. If Lenny had it her way she’d keep to her strict routines and schedules, never letting anyone get too close to her or know anything much about her. It’s safer that way. No one can abandon you if you don’t let them in, after all. 

 

The themes of abuse, abandonment, fear, anger, loneliness, and loss are all at the heart of Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder. If you think this book is lighthearted at all, be forewarned it’s not. I cried more than once. My eyes are unhappy with me. 

 

Debut author Kerryn Mayne has written a book with an extraordinary protagonist who will rip your heart out from your chest, break it, then repair it before placing it back inside and stitching you back up all shiny and new. Lenny Marks is written as a neurodivergent character who also has a large issue with dissociation surrounding a traumatic event from her childhood. Lenny’s type of neurodivergency isn’t explored or explicitly stated, but Mayne did a terrific job of writing a neurodivergent character without coming across as precious or exploitative. If you don’t fall in love with Lenny I don’t know what kind of person you are, because Lenny is so easy to love. I think that’s why this book has been so widely lauded for breaking people’s hearts and making them cry. You just feel so much for Lenny and what she’s been through. And after all she’s been through, she’s still out there trying her best to survive and do right when so many people who should know better choose to do wrong. 

 

The pacing of this book is lovely, with a natural progression and no filler. Mayne’s writing style is sharp and insightful, with a dark sense of humor and a deep well of emotion. Her characters are well-drawn and her plotting is clear and well-rounded. The dialogue in this book is a delight and one of its best features. 

 

This is definitely women’s fiction, but it’s definitely on the lit fic side of women’s fiction. It’s women’s fiction because the book deals with, in a large amount, issues that widely affect women and their children. The take on these issues is more on the darkly humorous side, which I always enjoy. If you love a tale that ultimately results in revenge, then you’ll end up loving this. 

 

TW for child abuse 

TW for mild animal abuse (one scene) 

TW for violence 

TW for child death 

TW for domestic abuse 

 

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you. 

 

File Under: 5 Star Review/Dark Comedy/Disability Rep/Literary Fiction/Women’s Fiction 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, and Violence

Minor: Animal cruelty, Child death, Domestic abuse, and Blood

tabstitch's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Violence, Grief, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Bullying and Death of parent