What if- what if you could bring someone who was lost back? What makes one person more worthy than another? Who do we save as a society? How were they lost in the first place? Who would you play in the video game about murder- the victim? Or the murderer? Futuristic, twisty, ultimately sweet...

Lou, who died at the hands of a local serial killer, has been cloned and brought back to life by the government. Getting used to her newly cloned body and missing short-term memories, she dutifully attends the serial killer support group meetings sponsored by the government. When she and a fellow support group member meet their killer face-to-face in prison, Lou’s carefully reconstructed life is upended, and she starts to question the circumstances of her death. My Murder has an innovative storyline that is intriguing, if not at times, confusing. For crime and speculative fiction fans.

A woman who was murdered and brought back to life via advanced cloning (including memories) struggles to understand her place in her new world. Lou and the other women murdered by the same serial killer meet regularly, and work to adjust back into their lives, but Lou has a growing suspicion that there is something different about her murder. Williams has accomplished an intriguing and novel work, exploring themes of family, friendship, isolation, and motherhood in almost-but-not-quite our world. Deft world-building establishes the futuristic setting believably and subtly.

DNF @ 50%

This book was so boring, and I didn't feel like forcing myself to finish. I'm assuming there is some sort of twist because what the summary mentions and what happened during the first half do not match up at all. Read if you want a character study of someone who wants out of their life but then gets a second chance at living it. Skip if you're expecting anything else—no "thriller" should be this slow-paced and un-suspenseful.

If you liked Elin Hilderbrand’s Golden Girl you will love My Murder by Katie Williams. Set in the near future the novel combines elements of science fiction and murder mystery into a terrific read. Louise was the fifth victim of the serial killer Edward Early, and like the other four women she has been cloned and reunited with her family. The serial killer survivors’ group meets regularly with a representative of the replication commission but the purpose of the meetings is not clear. The “survivors” are not really survivors as they actually died when attacked and as clones do not really identify as the victims. This confusion about their being causes them to questions both their deaths and being. Their investigation into the mind of their killer and his motives leads to a startling conclusion – and an ending to the novel that will have you stunned.

Katie Williams has put together a very clever near future thriller that spins out many of our fears about cloning, medical advances, immersive technology and gaming in the virtual reality universe. It is also a probing uncomfortable meditation of the essence of self, the challenges of both the marital and the maternal infant bond, and the fragility of memory and trust.

Lou, the narrator, is the fifth woman to have been murdered by a captured serial killer, Edward Early, known for slashing the throats of his victims, removing their shoes and arranging their bodies in a grisly tableau. But cloning has now become viable, though it is reserved for the wealthy and powerful. Due to the nature of these murders of “ordinary women,” and especially of Lou, a young wife and recent mother, the resulting public outcry has led to each of the five women being cloned and given a second life. And part of this second life is for all of them to attend a support group run by a member of the replication commission. It is not an easy transition, especially for Lou who has an infant daughter who cries every time she picks her up, and an almost too understanding and knowing husband, and a job hand holding and hugging people who lack human connection. She also has a secret escape through a VR game setting, which gets upped when the new virally popular game is about Edward Early and his prey. Nothing seems right to Lou, motherhood, her marriage, the cracks in her life before her murder and why can’t she seem to get past her murder, the last of the serial killings?

For all the women, the messiness of reintegration into their former lives, the anger and frustration they feel about the definition of victimhood they are being pushed into, and the questions and amnesia surrounding their deaths provides character and plot rich territory for Williams. As Lou tries to navigate her way through the layered mysteries surrounding her death, she gathers that nothing is as it seems, from her home life to her cloned fellow support group members to the relationships that she holds closest. The big reveals (there are more than one) are beautifully developed as is the level of imagination and invention that Williams pours into her world building of this all too plausible future society, Recommended for a chilling escape. My thanks to NetGalley and Riverhead Books.

I liked the premise of this story, but I found the ending to be confusing and like it was written too quickly without much substance. The best parts were the quirky moments of jesting and attemps at dark humor between the characters. Overall, a good plot and storyline, but it could have used a much better ending.

The near future setting of My Murder is believable in many ways, and too close to our present in the way that women continue to be seen as victims. The creativity of the author shines through as she takes the tired story of a serial killer preying on women and uses it as a jumping off point to explore identity, true crime obsession, and even postpartum depression. What if being murdered really is the least interesting thing about each of these women, and what would it take for the world to see that?

FIVE HUGE STARS! I loved this one so much and loved the premise. Great writing, GREAT plot, and while I sort of knew where it was going, I loved it all the same.

My Murder by Katie Williams was not what I was expecting but it was a treat to read!

At some point in the future, people can be "brought back" from the dead via cloning. After a serial killer murders five women, there is an outcry for the reclamation committee to bring them back. Our mc is Lou, a young married mother who is trying to acclimate to her new reality.

The writing is wonderful and the plot is really unusual for a thriller. I recommend this book and look forward to future titles from Katie Williams!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read this digital ARC.

Lou was cloned by the Replication Commission and resurrected in a new body after she was murdered by a serial killer. As the new Lou tries to assimilate back into her life with her husband and young daughter, she begins to realize her original self wasn't particularly happy and that everything is not as clear-cut as it seems.

I really liked this book. Speculative fiction + crime is my dream combo, and Williams did a great job plotting a twisty mystery set in a futuristic world that made sense. The way she explored Lou trying to figure out who she was in this new body that was her body but not Her Actual Body was really trippy and interesting, especially as she navigated her relationship with her baby daughter - who, again, was hers but not hers. There's a lot more to think about here than the usual thriller. And that ending was amazing.

My favorite parts were the clone support group meetings and Lou's snark - I mean: "It's not nice to say this, but some people's pleasure is annoying to behold" is 100% correct and hilarious.

This was smart, funny, fast-paced, and clever. Highly recommend!

A serial killer is finally caught after he murders five women. Those women have been brought back to life through a cloning process and readers learn each of their stories through their weekly group counseling session Lou, victim number five, was a young wife and mother to an infant daughter at the time of her murder and her death was the catalyst for a ground swell of popular celebrities to bring back the murdered women. But Lou has unanswered questions, yes, she understands that the "re-birth" process wipes out memories for a few weeks before and the day of her murder, but why is she experiencing these disconnected moments to her life now? When Lou and Fern confront the now jailed killer Lou learns that he killed Fern, but not her. If not him, then who and why? This visit sets Lou on a campaign to find out the truth about her murder. The answers are there, but is she willing to dig deep enough and question the motives of the most trusted people in her life? .
An interesting spin on the not-too-distant future. A bit confusing at times for the reader, just as it is for Lou who is trying to sort out her new life. For fans of futuristic tales, family relationships, and mysteries.

LOVED this book. I'm not normally a sci-fi or speculative fiction person, so I almost didn't pick up this novel, but I'm glad that I did! This book had such a distinct, funny, and original voice. I didn't think too hard about the mechanisms of the cloning, etc. but I think if you like that kind of thing, the author probably dealt with it very well (and if you don't, it doesn't at all detract from the novel). It was both genuinely suspenseful and exciting while also being touching and a quick read. Didn't want to put this one down and read it every chance I got.

Lou has been murdered by a serial killer, leaving behind a young child. Normally, that would be the end of it, but a government program has brought Lou back to life. She’s Lou…and she’s not Lou. As she forms relationships with other survivors like herself, Lou begins to question her death; what led up to it, and why was she brought back to life? This is one of the most original, most twisted tales I’ve read in a long time. Don’t expect to sleep if you start reading this at bedtime

#MyMurder #NetGalley Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this novel.