My Murder

A Novel

By: Katie Williams

Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman

Length: 7 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY NPR AND GLAMOUR!

“One of those rare emotionally intelligent books that are also fun reads… Going to keep readers turning pages late into the night.”–The New York Times

“Ingenious…fresh and unpredictable.”–The Washington Post

“Gleefully overturn[s] the age-old ‘woman-in-trouble’ plot…eerie and inventive.”–NPR's Fresh Air

What if the murder you had to solve was your own?

Lou is a happily married mother of an adorable toddler. She’s also the victim of a local serial killer. Recently brought back to life and returned to her grieving family by a government project, she is grateful for this second chance. But as the new Lou re-adapts to her old routines, and as she bonds with other female victims, she realizes that disturbing questions remain about what exactly preceded her death and how much she can really trust those around her.

Now it’s not enough to care for her child, love her husband, and work the job she’s always enjoyed—she must also figure out the circumstances of her death. Darkly comic, tautly paced, and full of surprises, My Murder is a devour-in-one-sitting, clever twist on the classic thriller.

©2023 Katie Williams (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“Williams deftly swirls science fiction and domestic suspense plotlines into this fresh and unpredictable tale. . . Imbued with a sharp feminist consciousness, My Murder cheekily invokes and subverts the conventional serial-killer-stalking-terrified-women plot. . .Bringing together the futuristic visions of speculative fiction with the familiar tropes of domestic suspense and noir, My Murder shakes up the same-old, same-old conventions of every genre it touches and has a ton of fun doing so.”—Maureen Corrigan, The Washington Post

“Somewhere between George Saunders’s biting social satire and Anne Tyler’s tender concern for character and consequence. . .My Murder is one of those rare emotionally intelligent books that are also fun reads, and it even manages to perform two or three plot turns that are so masterly that they would make Ira Levin blush. You can read the ending as happy — or as existential horror, as I do — but in any case it’s a book that’s going to keep readers turning pages late into the night.”—Dan Chaon, The New York Times Book Review

“With this suspenseful, smart sophomore effort—a briskly paced story with charming characters at its core—Williams again imagines a near-futuristic, science-altered reality that offers an intriguing perspective on the push-pull of family and freedom…[A]n intelligent, insightful murder mystery that illuminates her imagined world and our own.”—Kirkus Reviews, STARRED review

Gaming sci-fi murder mystery

Not my cup of tea but the plot is interesting and may appeal to those who are into gaming. It has definitely a nice twist of events at the end when the mystery of the murder is solved.

Surprised me

This is really nicely done— the writing is strong (great narrator) and it goes beyond the expectations of the genre.

A little confusing

You get no real time frame when this story takes place or background of what the main character actually does. Auto pilot cars, a cloning program, and virtual rooms all lead me to believe this is in the future but none of that gets written about. Felt like it was an abridged version with a couple chapters on character development got left out. Has a lot of potential, a great original idea for a book for sure.

You Should Know

3.5 ⭐️ rounded up to 4! Here are some things you definitely want to understand before deciding to read this book:

- The writing is wonderful! Love her style/voice!
- This is touted as a science fiction murder mystery. It has elements of those things, but you have to realize it is elementally neither of those in full. The sci fi elements are things like the VR, government run cloning, and certain pieces of the world the story is set in. However, it is not a focus. Neither is the focus on the murder mystery. Don’t get me wrong, it’s there, but I was 4 hours and 45 minutes into this 8 hour audio book before it was even mentioned. The MM is very intriguing and well-executed when it gets going, though.
- The focus is on the psychological and existential coming to terms of the main character with her new self — reconciling if she is or isn’t truly the same woman she was before she was murdered. So, be prepared for lots of focused moments on sights, sounds, things she touches, and deep inward thought/feelings to be expressed, all in great detail.
- Because of the former, the first half of the book is slooowwww — beautifully written and thought-provoking but slooowwww. The stakes in the first half are internally driven — self realization and acceptance. Not a lot “happens.” Very stream of consciousness.
- The payoff if you stick with it into the latter half is worth it.

Slow beginning w/ a twisty end

It took awhile for the story to get going & I’m not sure the end really felt worth the slow burn. But the 2 things I did like about the story were (1) that you realize later there were a few clues left along the way and they’re done pretty well which feels gratifying & well thought out & (2) the author did a good job of not falling into cliches. But definitely be prepared for a very slow first half.

Excellent narration, strong writing but...

Katie Williams writes convincingly about a handful of murdered and cloned women, their struggles to readjust to regular life and the more or less tactful reactions of those around them. The book is very strong until the last quarter of it, when another, bizarre plot twist makes it fall somewhat flat. I had to listen to that part several times to make sure I had gotten it right.
Still worth reading, if anything for Rebecca Lowman's excellent portrayal of the main character.

Introspective & beautiful

I paused several times to take notes on some of the quotes in this book. I resonated with it very deeply, as a woman and as a traumatized person. The concept is sooo unique and interesting and was written less like a thriller and more like a thought experiment on what it means to be a woman. And a human. And a mother, which I am not but that’s just how good the author and narrator are - I could feel all those emotions! The prose was beautiful and just… gah! I loved this book. Read it, and read it again. I’m going to buy a physical copy because my notes app is too full of all the sections I want to go back and read again and again.

Interesting premise

“My Murder” by Katie Williams is a cautionary tale of futuristic medical advancements. The premise revolves around the cloning of five women who were victims of a serial killer. A vocally strong feminist group (similar to the “Me Too” movement) influenced a government agency, the replication commission, to clone these women who were savagely taken providing them with a second chance at life.

Louise was the final victim of Edward Early. She was a young mother with a nine-month-old baby, and she is the novel’s narrator. She refers to her earlier self in the third person. We are privy to her internal dialogue, and we learn she feels like she’s an interloper in her own life. Her memories, feelings, and original personality remain, other than the few days prior to her murder and the murder itself. Louise is uneasy as a clone. She struggles with motherhood and her baby doesn’t seem to like her. Her memories are of her struggles in her marriage and motherhood. She finds a packed duffle bag in her closet that Original Louise (her) packed because she was considering running away from her marriage and life. Now she wants to understand the few days prior to her murder; did she intend to leave her marriage and child?

Cloning isn’t the only futuristic part of the story. There are driverless cars and virtual-reality games to go into alternative universes. Louise’s employment involves her avatar (ensconced in her work skin) providing therapeutic hugs in a virtual space called the Room. Edward Early, the convicted serial killer, is given empathy-enhancing drugs as a form of torture. A virtual reality game was created in which video game players can experience the murders from the perspective of Early, or the perspective of one of his victims. The worse game of all, someone made a game of the six murders. The point of the game is to instill fear in women.

Louise(Lou) is a member of the serial killer survivors’ group, the six cloned women of Early’s rampage. The reader learns of the other victims, their struggles and choices. The women confront their personal issues of returning to their former lives. They confront depression and ambivalence. Louise confronts her complicated feelings around motherhood, marriage, and the domestic life. Of course, they discuss the game involving their murders.

This is a sci-fi, speculative fiction, and domestic fiction book all in one! Through Lou’s internal contemplations we are treated to a brooding mystery that is complicated by our culture’s appetite for technology. It’s an interesting read!

I listened to the audio, narrated by Rebecca Lowman. Her voice added to the noir-feel of the story. This is a thoughtful cautionary tale.

Twisty

I read so many books that end up with the same story. This was a refreshing change. I didn’t see the ending coming. There were so many twists that kept me from guessing the end. This was a satisfying and enjoyable read.

CRAZY Clever Concept!

5 stars for My Murder by Katie Williams the most cleverly creative and unique book I've read in a long time! First, if you are looking for a book that is a fast read - THIS is it. The story line is compulsive and I zipped through this in literally one sitting. Could not stop reading. For me the trick is to write this review without giving more info than you need to be convinced to read this book. I would love to suggest you read very little of the publisher's synopsis and even fewer reviews which can inadvertently spoil some of the fun of this very twisty tale. The story is set in a near future time and this is not typically something that I would normally even give a chance - I am just not a fan of Sci Fi as a general rule. But the author did an amazing job of keeping the nods to the futuristic timeline subtle and 110% believable. For instance, phones are now your "screen" and everyone takes an "auto" which is a driverless car, although the option to drive it yourself is still there. And the setting supports the story of this woman, Lou, who was murdered and then cloned and now has resumed her previous life- husband, baby, job, family. I don't want to give you anymore info than that as it was REALLY FUN going on this joy ride blind and just enjoying all the twists and turns along the way. To be honest, I feel like the cover is very misleading. To me, it looks like a whimsical mystery or a cosy - which it is not. And the quote stating it was "darkly funny" is misleading, too. This book is not humorous. There may have been one or two witty moments but it is dark and far more serious than cover leads you to believe. From the cover I got a Finlay Donovan vibe - this is not that. It's about a serial killer and the victims he left behind.
And it really is more of a mystery/suspense/Sci Fi mashup to be fair.
But so, SO WELL DONE! The writing is exemplary for this genre, in my opinion. Brilliantly descriptive without overdoing it in the narrative. One of the first sentences that caught my attention was in the first chapter when the main character is trying to unclog the bathtub drain and notes, "a dark knot of hair glistening in it's placenta of soap." If you are looking for a unique mystery with some suspense (not really thriller) this is such a great choice. I highly recommend this book and now have to go see what else Katie Williams has written!