Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder
Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder
By: Kerryn Mayne
“She was a human-sized bad omen, as if she’d smashed every mirror, walked under every ladder and put new shoes on every table she’d ever seen. Lenny didn’t really put stock in superstitions and yet her track record spoke for itself.”
I’m guessing the title of this book will be a bit misleading for most. Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder is basically the Aussie version of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. Not in a way where this book isn’t worth reading— because it is— it will just feel a little familiar.
It’s not a thriller. It’s a partly light-hearted and humorous, partly tragic and dark family drama with a neurodivergent main character who is haunted by the malicious phrase “You did this.” without the full memories to explain it.
Thirty-seven- year old Lenny Marks is our practical, straight-forward neurodivergent main character. When she gets overwhelmed she reorganizes words in her head to create anagrams. Or she watches episodes of Friends. She is logical; she labels everything, checks her locks multiple times before bed; she is always nice and polite and sticks to her schedule.
“Lenny’s existence was many things: simply, predictable and uneventful. It had taken considerable effort and time to get to this point and she was not planning on disrupting the perfectly good order of things.”
But just as Eleanor Oliphant’s routine gets disrupted, so does Lenny’s. Except instead of an IT guy, Lenny begins a friendship with Ned, the grocery store guy who is his own version of nerd with his board game making/playing and love of Lord of the Rings and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. [I love worker placement board games so I would totally be friends with Ned.]
Well, more than the various people that start sneaking their way into her life, her bubble is popped by a letter from a parole board regarding her stepfather. And it sends her into a drawn out tailspin as she struggles with the childhood trauma that haunts her and has driven her to avoid relationships. She has gotten into the habit of making up friends and saying no to social invites, but all of a sudden more and more people are creeping into our life in more than a passing way.
This book is the story of how Lenny confronts her memories and how she comes out of her shell: The One Where Lenny Marks Gets a Life.
But yet, we must not forget the title. Because although this book is not a thriller, the title isn’t a lie. How does someone as nice as Lenny Marks find herself in such a provocative title?
“The woman whose most outrageous move, as far as anyone knew, was to down six wines at a suburban trivia night. She was a renowned truth-teller, honest to a fault. She was only conceivably deadly on a Scrabble board.”
And so, in order to find out how she is inconceivable deadly, you’ll have to read the book…
Random Thoughts
I really thought Mr. Pointy was going to become a murder weapon and I’m a little disappointed that it didn’t.
“Good Vibes Only was emblazoned across it… Lenny always thought that particular cushion imposed undue pressure on anyone who came across it. Sometimes one had only mediocre vibes, which should also be acceptable.”
Preach! That phrase and ‘sending good vibes’ are a major pet peeve of mine. Keep your vibrations to yourself. Let me be mediocrely vibing and leave me alone.
“Her knowledge of coupledom could be grouped with what she knew about flying a plane or doing French braids; she knew these things could happen but had no idea how.”
Piloting and french braiding truly are the mysteries of life.
I spent too much time googling netball. Because then I watched some highlight clips and then I needed to know the defensive rules because it appeared like no one was attempting to block shots. And to be honest it left me wondering: why do we need netball if we have basketball?
This book was written and set during the Covid-19 pandemic but the author chose not to incorporate it because social distancing would really put a damper on Lenny’s blossoming social life. I appreciate her choice. I’ve read several books that were written during that time now. I’ve read some that incorporate the pandemic and most that don’t and I will say the books that don’t have the pandemic are way more pleasurable to read.
A couple other notes on the author: she knows Sally Hepworth and was encouraged by her to write this book. Hepworth is an automatic read for me. Check out her books HERE. Also Mayne owns 11 copies of The Hobbit.
Obligatory Aussie Terminology
If you follow my reviews then you know I often include a section of things or words I learned from the book. This one is set in and written by an Aussie. I’ve read quite a few books written by Aussies, but I’m still learning new things!
jaffle: I really wanted this to be a kind of a laugh but I’m told it’s a grilled cheese sandwich; if you want a true jaffle, I’ve discovered you’re going to need a jaffle maker iron which cuts and seals the sandwich into two triangle pieces
Salada: popular Australian cracker that comes in varieties such as spinach, iceberg, and spring mix
melting moments: shortbread cookies with lemon in between; you eat these right after your kids do something real cute
doona: quilted comforter; also what you pull over your head when you doona want to get out of bed
esky: portable cooler probably invented by eskimos
hot Milo: like a hot chocolate with malt
the tip: the dump; or more precisely, the very very top of the dump- the views are superb
Bonox: not to be confused with Botox, this is a beef extract and used as a drink, do NOT inject it into your face, or we will know exactly where the beef is.
windcheater: windbreaker that breaks the wind illegally
Dandenong Range: yet another aspect of Australia that surprises me. If they didn’t have so many creatures that could kill me, I’d be booking my ticket over there right now!
Bonus: oesophagus. I know about different British spellings, but I had never seen this one before!
Recommendation
I would definitely recommend this book! It was an enjoyable read even if it wasn’t quite the thriller I was expecting.
I wouldn’t say it really surprised me because I had read similar books, but Lenny Marks is still her own character and I was happy to see her character develop and see the good in humanity. Sometimes we don’t realize the good until we contrast it with the bad and this book showcases that difference.
It was also a pretty clean book which I appreciate as well. Minimal swearing and sexual content. However, if abuse is a trigger for you, you may want to pass on it.
Now that I know Kerryn Mayne’s style of writing I would read another one written by her- I see she has a new book out this year called Joy Moody is Out of Time that features twins and a character named Britney, which may or may not be too close to home. I might have to give it a shot!
[Content Advisory: 10 f-words, 3 s-words, 5 b-words; no sexual content; some child abuse situations]
**Received an ARC via NetGalley**
This book just released July 9, 2024. You can order a copy of this book using my affiliate link below.
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