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niftyreads's review against another edition
5.0
Thanks, Macmillan Audio, for the audiobook!
With the cute book cover and fun book title, LENNY MARKS GETS AWAY WITH MURDER, it sounds like it’s a cozy, silly mystery novel, but it’s not. There is so much more to it - depth, heart, humor, sadness, and unexpected moments of I need a hug feeling. It has an excellent neurodivergent character, Lenny Marks, as the lead, reminiscent of Molly the Maid and Eleanor Oliphant. Kerryn Mayne has written an outstanding debut novel with a character you want to root for and ultimately be friends and play chess with.
Annie Maynard is the perfect narrator for this novel. I adored her as Lenny and being the voice inside Lenny’s head. I think listening to the book made me love it more than if I read it with my eyes. I still would have adored it, but hearing Lenny come to life was a beautiful experience.
I also get so surprised when I find out books like this are authors' debut novels because if this is how they start, I’m so excited for what comes next!
Lenny is so special to me. Reading the book felt like getting to know a friend better, and I was sad to say goodbye when it was over. But it’s definitely a book I will reread!
Content warnings: domestic abuse, child abuse, emotional abuse, physical abuse, child death, familial death, grief, gaslighting, animal cruelty, violence, injury detail, toxic friendship
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
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 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
larissarose's review against another edition
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, and Murder
eggplantia5's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I feel like with Nita Prose's The Maid - there was this rise of books about "quirky" people who are probably on the spectrum but would never be officially diagnosed as such, which gives the author freedom to give their main characters a happy ending by allowing them to "overcome" some of their quirks.
Anyway, this was entertaining enough, but I found the main character never quite felt real to me, and the twist and confluence of events seem far too unrealistic for my taste.
Anyway, this was entertaining enough, but I found the main character never quite felt real to me, and the twist and confluence of events seem far too unrealistic for my taste.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Murder, and Abandonment
stefappleton's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, and Suicide
bookedwithliz's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Murder
louisekf's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
madlain's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Ableism and Chronic illness
Minor: Infidelity, Stalking, and Lesbophobia
whenimreading's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
This was a surprising story of coping with suppressed childhood trauma, very poignant, heartwarming and mysterious.
Lenny was wonderful, her neurodivergent nature was very sweet. A Hobbit loving fifth grade schoolteacher, commuting everywhere on her bike. Playing Scrabble every night with imaginary Monica Geller from Friends. Trying to step out of her comfort zone and make friends starts the plot of the book - The One Where Lenny Gets a Life.
When Lenny receives a letter from the parole board about her stepfather Fergus, unbeknownst to her, it turns her world upside down.
Narrated by Annie Maynard in a delightful tone throughout added a cozy feeling to the novel. While dealing with heavy topics that Lenny suppressed as a child, we see the world through her rose colored glasses. I loved watching Lenny come out of her shell. The book had great pacing and interesting interactions. Lenny’s Scrabble brain rearranging letters was one of my favorite parts. I enjoyed unfolding the mystery of her upbringing and was gutted for her after finding out the truth (see trigger warnings). It was a shocking revelation but the book takes off in an uplifting and twisty way, it made a huge impression!
TW: PTSD, domestic/child abuse, child death, animal cruelty
Thank you Macmillan Audio for the listening copy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
katrenia's review against another edition
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book is a good choice for someone who enjoys an autistic heroine and loved the television show Friends.
I loved the growth of our character throughout the book as she adapted to new relationships in her life. I didn’t enjoy the last 10% of the book and it isn’t the resolution I would have chosen. But it’s the author’s prerogative to take the story where they want, and it wrapped up nicely.
Trigger warnings for childhood abuse and trauma.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to read and review this book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Murder, and Abandonment
Minor: Animal cruelty