The 2023 debut novel reviewers are raving about

Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder is a novel unlike any other. At once charming and deep, the book strikes the perfect balance between being a fun read and a supremely moving one. Not only will you tear through the pages, but the book is guaranteed to stay with you long after you turn the last page.

About the book

Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder by Kerryn Mayne

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 . . .

Reader reviews for Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder

• The last third of the novel really grabbed me and lifted Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder to five star status by the conclusion. My sincere congratulations to Kerryn Mayne, a star on the rise in the Australian contemporary fiction field. I’m excited to see what Kerryn Mayne brings us next! – Amanda – Mrs B’s Book Reviews
• You are going to love Lenny Marks. She is a wonderful character that you won't be able to stop thinking about. She will make you laugh, and she will make you cry. She has a big heart and is very misunderstood. You have to meet her. – Mandy White
• A smart, fun and very enjoyable debut that will warm your heart, stimulate your mind and entertain your soul. Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder is everything and so much more. – Craig/Phil
• This book is about loss and grief. It's about friendship and trust. It's about having faith in yourself with a reminder how easily our views are tainted by others and shaped by events around us. I LOVED this book and am sure that those like me who adored Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine will feel the same about Lenny Marks. – Deborah
• Oh Lenny Marks I adore you to bits! Set in the hills of the Dandenongs, Kerryn Mayne’s debut has drawn obvious comparisons to The Maid & Eleanor Oliphant, but it’s unique & strong enough to proudly carve its own mark . . . it’s a brilliantly assured & addictive debut with a character I was so sad to say goodbye to. –  @natashajb74

 

 

 

 

 

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• I absolutely loved this! It’s highly entertaining and heartwarming while also being quite dark and unsettling. It definitely has an Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine feel to it, so if you enjoyed that book then I’d say you are guaranteed to love this one too.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 – @kim.reads_

 

 

 

 

 

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• For me, Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder by Kerryn Mayne is a standout debut novel of 2023! From the first page, I knew I was going to enjoy getting to know our unforgettable main character, Lenny. – @serenity.of.books

 

 

 

 

 

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Praise from media

• A contagious blend of lighthearted moments and dark action, it’s hard to believe this is a debut. My feeling is that writer Kerryn Mayne is just at the start of a long career. – The Weekend Australian
• Lenny Marks is a character with emotional depth. – Australian Women's Weekly
• Personally, I found it hard to put down, and hard to stop laughing! Kerryn hopes readers will love Lenny’s quirks (of which she confesses she shares a few). I certainly did! – Maverick Emmet, Amazon 

Praise from other authors

• With Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder, Kerryn Mayne makes a very grand entrance into the Australian literary scene. With humour, heart and characters you come to love, this is a book you will devour now, and keep thinking about later! – Sally Hepworth, author of The Good Sister
• Such a brilliant combination of light and dark, charm and suspense. A debut you won’t forget! – Candice Fox, author of The Chase
• Devilishly fun: top marks for Lenny Marks! – Benjamin Stevenson, author of Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone
• An incredible debut which will have you both laughing and crying . . . This is a blackly funny, tender-hearted story of the dark and light of human nature, and ultimately, love, friendship, family and happiness.' – Petronella McGovern, author of The Liars
• Kerryn Mayne takes readers on a suspenseful, deeply emotional, and sometimes humorous journey. Lenny is a unique and remarkable character, who will have readers cheering for her from the very first page... This stunning debut marks Mayne as a powerful new voice in Australian fiction. – Lisa Ireland, author of The Secret Life of Shirley Sullivan
• Mayne breaks your heart and shows how sometimes life’s greatest mystery is the truth of our past.' – RWR McDonald

Want to hear from the author herself? Read a Q&A with Kerryn Mayne.