Lenny Marks is good at not remembering.
She has spent the last twenty years not thinking about the day her mother left her when she was still a child. Her stepfather’s parting words, however, remain annoyingly unforgettable: ‘You did this.’
Now thirty-seven, Lenny prefers contentment and order over the unreliability of happiness and the messiness of relationships. She fills her days teaching at the local primary school, and her nights playing Scrabble with her pretend housemate, watching reruns of Friends and rearranging her thirty-six copies of The Hobbit.
Recently though, if only to appease her beloved foster-mum, Lenny has set herself the goal of ‘getting a life’. Then, out of the blue, a letter arrives from the Adult Parole Board. And when her desperate attempts to ignore it fail, Lenny starts to unravel.
Worse, she starts to remember…
I absolutely devoured Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder. Author Kerryn Mayne’s stunning debut is an irresistible novel that’s both chilling and charming, suspenseful and uplifting, and simply unforgettable! Lenny Marks, in particular, leaves an impression that will stay long after you finish the novel.
Despite her traumatic past, Lenny is kind to her core, quirky and an utter delight. All throughout, author Kerryn Mayne cleverly sprinkles Lenny’s mysterious backstory with careful and planned precision, keeping readers enthralled. Lenny will have you crying, laughing out loud and gasping in shock as the story unfolds.
Mayne also masterfully explores difficult topics in this dynamic debut. In particular, her treatment of trauma, mental illness, grief and loss was honest and carefully developed. The novel is intricately layered with a vibrant cast that never allows the darker moments to be trivialised, but instead dealt with honesty and authenticity.
Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder is an incredibly paced story that investigates the duality of human nature through an intensely emotional and often humorous journey of family, friendship, love and happiness. It is fantastically original with surprising twists and I cannot wait to see what Mayne comes out with next.
If you love eccentric protagonists like Eleanor Oliphant with all the excitement of the crime genre, then you won’t regret putting Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder at the top of your TBR pile.
Leave a Reply