Author: Katie Williams
Genre: Speculative Thriller / Sci-Fi Mystery / Feminist Fiction
Ideal For: Fans of cerebral thrillers, domestic suspense with a sci-fi twist, and stories that challenge your sense of identity
What if you were murdered… and then brought back to life? That’s the chilling, thought-provoking premise behind Katie Williams’ My Murder, a novel that starts as a speculative whodunnit and slowly morphs into a meditation on motherhood, memory, autonomy, and womanhood. It’s sharp, unsettling, and utterly unforgettable.
A blend of The Stepford Wives, Black Mirror, and Big Little Lies, this is the kind of book you finish with goosebumps—and then immediately want to discuss with someone.
Why I Picked It Up
Let’s be honest—any book with a title like My Murder is going to grab attention. Add in the fact that it’s about a woman cloned after her own murder to rejoin society? That’s a premise I had to explore.
I went in expecting a twisty thriller and came out blown away by the emotional depth, eerie atmosphere, and how much it had to say about being a woman in a world that tries to define you.
Plot Summary (Spoiler-Free)
The story follows Lou, a young mother who is murdered by a serial killer. But thanks to a government program that clones victims, she’s brought back—memories intact—and inserted back into her old life: her husband, her daughter, her community. Everything should feel familiar… but it doesn’t.
As Lou resumes her role in her seemingly perfect suburban world, strange details start surfacing. Memories blur. People act a little too scripted. And Lou, quietly suffocating under the weight of her own second life, starts asking dangerous questions.
Who really killed her? And why does it feel like she’s still being watched?
Why It Works So Well
1. An Unsettling Yet Empathetic Premise
At first glance, My Murder reads like a speculative detective novel. But beneath the surface, it’s so much more. The act of cloning Lou isn’t just sci-fi window dressing—it’s a razor-sharp metaphor for the roles women are expected to perform: mother, wife, good citizen. Lou is literally “reinserted” into her life, and the sense of disorientation she feels is deeply relatable, even without the science fiction twist.
This book asks: What makes you you? Is it your body? Your memories? Your trauma? Williams handles these themes with nuance and compassion, never veering into cliché.
2. Lou is One of the Most Compelling Narrators in Recent Fiction
Tense, tender, and always questioning—Lou is a narrator who lingers with you. She’s not perfect, and that’s what makes her so human. You feel her confusion and longing to belong, even as she becomes increasingly suspicious of the systems and people around her.
Her internal monologue is layered with dry humour, existential dread, maternal love, and a persistent desire to reclaim the truth of her own story. It’s an internal journey that’s just as gripping as the external mystery.
3. Atmosphere You Can Feel in Your Bones
Williams builds a world that feels both eerily clinical and uncomfortably familiar. The suburbia Lou returns to is shiny and well-manicured, but there’s a sinister hollowness beneath it all. The novel’s tone is just slightly off-kilter in the best way, creating a persistent sense of unease that’s hard to shake.
It’s not horror, but it is haunting.
You’ll Love This Book If You Enjoy…
- Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro – for its quiet emotional devastation and cloning themes
- The Push by Ashley Audrain – for its complex take on motherhood and female identity
- The Perfect Nanny by Leïla Slimani – for psychological tension in domestic settings
- Severance by Ling Ma – for speculative fiction that doubles as societal critique
- The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides – if you love mystery that messes with your head
Final Thoughts: A Genre-Bending Triumph
My Murder is one of the most original thrillers I’ve read in years. It’s suspenseful without being sensational, emotional without being melodramatic, and quietly radical in the questions it raises. Katie Williams has crafted a genre-bending gem that will appeal to fans of speculative fiction and literary thrillers alike.
This is not just a murder mystery. It’s a story about ownership of self, the right to ask questions, and the quiet ways women resist erasure.
Highly recommended for your book club, your best friend, and anyone who loves fiction that challenges the status quo.
