Lenny Mark Gets Away with Murder by Kerryn Mayne
Kerryn Mayne has written a debut novel that makes the reader want to reach into the book and pull the unforgettable protagonist Lenny Marks off the pages into a reassuring hug to let her know life will continue to improve. Of course, it would probably terrify her and drive her back into hiding.
Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder is one of those infrequent works of fiction possessing staying power, lingering in one’s memory long after the final page is read. It is poignant, tugging at heartstrings yet replete with dark humor, a great deal of charm and distinctly memorable characters. The book is set in a suburb of Melbourne, Australia but the situations could take place almost anywhere.
Suppressing Her Traumatic Past
Lenny Marks suffers from trauma-induced dissociative disorder, unsuccessfully treated years ago by a less-than-competent psychologist who recommended she be institutionalized. She had effectively tamped down memories avoiding the truth that her violently abusive stepfather Fergus Sullivan had murdered her loving mother Tammy.
Somehow she had convinced herself they had abandoned her locked in the garden shed and gone away. She was found there on the second day of the police investigation covered in blood from a knife slash down her thigh. This tormented 12-year-old child knew who was to blame; it was all her fault.
Lenny was then entrusted to her grandmother Susannah whom she called “Zanny” and her partner Missy. Zanny baked cookies with her and taught her to play Scrabble but ultimately was unable to cope with her own unbearable sorrow.
Fortunately, at age 13 Lenny was placed in a foster home with caring parents Fay and Robert Marks. It took her four years before she could call Robert “Dad”, the same year he died. Their home was a sanctuary and the bright girl excelled in school although was positively phobic about being touched or cultivating friendships. She graduated from secondary school, completed university studies and began teaching fourth grade at Selby South Primary 15 years ago.
An Eccentric Woman of Routine
Lenny finds peace and copes with life by adopting obsessively strict routines, obeying house rules she had known in the Marks’ foster home and isolating herself. She chose to limit her sensible wardrobe to four colors: charcoal, black, gray and navy blue. Ten years ago, almost miraculously the perfect affordable home with a large garden came onto the market and she is content to live in what she calls “the Tree House”.
Lenny does her own cleaning, home repairs and maintains the lawn and garden in good order. She avoids getting to know the neighbors but does voluntarily mow the lawn of an older woman who lives next door. Lenny rides her classic mint green Polygon Zenith bicycle to work and to do her weekly shopping at McKnight’s General Store enjoying brief conversations with Ned, the owner’s son and store manager. Her meals are frozen entrees, consumed in the same rigid weekly rotation.
Friends, Scrabble and The Hobbit
Lenny had imaginary friends as a child, a habit that continued into adulthood. When questioned about weekend or holiday plans by colleagues in the teacher’s lounge she refers to activities with “Monica”, her roommate and chum. In truth, she owns the entire television series of Friends and repeatedly watches the episodes in order. After dinner, she sets up a game of Scrabble for two and alternates playing competitively but fairly with Monica whom she feels was the brightest of the cast members.
Lenny speaks bluntly when addressed, unaware and thus unsparing of the feelings of others as she lacks the learned veneer of polite society. There are some distinct quirks in her behavior, for instance, owning 36 copies of The Hobbit lined up in chronological order based on date of acquisition, the earliest one being from her mother; the habit of naming events and occurrences as if they were episodes in a television series such as Lenny Gets Away with Murder.
There is a certain survival mechanism that automatically kicks in if she is flustered or requires a distraction that possibly derived from endless Scrabble games. That is, mentally finding word fragmentation or embedded words within words; a form of anagrams such as: routine: inert, ruin, rut and so on. There is an underlying fear of abandonment coupled with the certainty that she is unworthy of love or friendship and will ultimately be rejected.
Dark Secrets Come to Light
Lenny Marks began life as Helena Winters with her name changed when she joined her foster family to avoid curiosity seekers after the heinous crime committed 25 years ago first splashed out in all the news outlets.
Monday morning, May 16, 2022, the careful routines were disrupted when an unexpected official envelope marked “Adult Parole Board Victoria” arrived at school addressed to Helena Winters causing speculation and consternation among the office administrative staff. Lenny refuses to comment or open the envelope.
Wendy Dalton, social worker, Special Victims Unit is determined to obtain a statement from the former Ms. Winters about the impending release of the murderous criminal Fergus Sullivan. Having served his 25-year sentence Fergus is released under certain terms and conditions. Lenny ignores all attempts to contact her by mail and phone calls until she is at last ambushed by Wendy who personally visits her school. This finally cracks the thin veneer of imagination with reality forcing Lenny to examine and acknowledge the truth of the horrific crime.
A Literary Gem to Embrace
Author Kerryn Mayne has written sensitively about the mental fragility of a crime victim who assumed she was to blame and her gradual healing as an adult. There are humorous episodes such as when Lenny chooses to participate in a pub trivia night with her work colleagues and dazzles everyone with her arcane knowledge. She rescues a cruelly maltreated Rottweiler, stealing him from a nasty young drug dealer.
Slowly, cautiously, tentatively, Lenny finds there are people who honestly care and learns to accept their friendships. A beautiful blossoming is portrayed making this one of the favorite books of the season for this reviewer.
Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder is a gem. Fans of Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine (Gail Honeyman), A Man Called Ove (Fredrik Backman) and How to Read a Book (Monica Wood), among others, should rush to embrace this book.
Photo by Kelly Dwyer Portraiture
Kerryn Mayne is an author, former wedding photographer, and current police officer. When not at work attempting to solve crime, she is writing about it or preparing an endless stream of snacks for her four children. Kerryn lives in the bayside suburbs of Melbourne with her husband, children and a highly suspect lovebird.
