Book review: Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder by Kerryn Mayne
Published on 15 July 2025
Genre: Mystery/Australian fiction
Reviewer: Sarah
Why I chose this book:
As a fan of quirky books and flawed characters that you can't help but love, I was immediately intrigued by the title and assumed I was in for a cosy mystery with an endearingly nerdy main character and what I got was certainly quirky but so much more emotional and satisfying.
Quick Summary:
Lenny, a primary school teacher, loves the order and stability of her small-town job and the quiet of her home with its books and scrabble matches with her imaginary housemate.
However Lenny's foster mother urges her to make an effort to socialise and live a little so Lenny does and maybe it isn't so hard after all. Until a letter arrives that implodes her carefully constructed life and suddenly Lenny isn't able to hide anymore and worse, events she had previously been unable to remember start coming back to her.
Will Lenny's past destroy her future?
What I thought:
This book was full of characters to love and hate and the Australian small-town setting added to the quirky charm.
Lenny can be a hard character to like at times but as her story unfolded I found myself waning to reach into the book and give her a hug. This solid debut novel had me feeling so many things - anger, sorrow, despair and ultimately, hope as Lenny grapples with everything that life has thrown at her in ways that will keep the reader wanting to find out what happened as the clues are dropped.
Even though the pacing was slow at times, overall, I enjoyed this book and kept thinking about Lenny and her journey for awhile after I finished it. I urge anyone who loves mystery novels and characters that differ from the norm to give this emotional mystery a go.
Who should read this?
I urge anyone who loves mystery novels and characters that differ from the norm to give this emotional mystery a go.
Read-Alikes: