Somehow, it’s been over a month since I’ve put up a review. I’m not really sure what happened, but the month of August flew by, and I didn’t finish a book! Was it the book’s fault? A little bit, but I was really intrigued by where the plot was going to go, so I think it really was that I was just exhausted every night. I switched things up for myself and chose to read My Murder by Katie Williams because it was an Ashley Spivey recommendation—she said it was going to be her book club pick for August, so I thought I’d try it. A murder mystery about a clone? That’s definitely something I had never read before.

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.

The synopsis in this one is a little deceiving because I was expecting it to be a twist on a murder mystery—like Lou is brought back to life (cloned), and she’s trying to figure out who killed her as she’s remembering bits and pieces of things that happen… but that’s not the case here. It’s really about the identity struggles of being cloned and thrown back into your old life, which is super interesting but not what I was expecting.

What didn’t work for me

The VR stuff: I love the idea of virtual reality, but I’m not really sure why we had to focus on it so intensely in this book—not only is it Lou’s job, but then there’s the game that I sort of found unnecessary, too. Maybe I just missed something, but I think it was the author trying to make the world seem more different than ours (which it obviously is)…and we leaned in a bit too far for me.

The ending: Though I didn’t piece together every detail, I did figure out what probably happened fairly early on. I wasn’t really satisfied with the motive or how this wrapped up, which left me feeling disappointed.

What I liked

The identity messaging: Maybe it’s because I’m a mom to a young kid, but I related to the identity crisis Lou was feeling around being a mother. Parts of it are hard and all-consuming, and it really changes you at your core, even if you think you’re prepared for it. I also really liked exploring the implications of cloning someone and having them reenter their previous life like nothing had changed. It’s interesting (and terrifying) to think about.

3 STARS

“What did it feel like to meet my murderer? It’s a perfectly reasonable question to ask. Somehow, it felt like nothing much at all.” —Katie Williams, My Murder