Dying to Be Murdered

by Judy Fitzwater

A MURDER-IN-THE-MAKING!Expecting her imminent demise, society matron Mary Bedford Ashton is paying novelist Jennifer Marsh $1000 a week to live in her historic mansion and record everything that... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0449006409
• Release Date: May 2001
• Publisher: Fawcett
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.8" x 0.5" x 4.0"

Customer Reviews

They keep on getting better!

I greatly enjoyed the latest Jennifer Marsh mystery. I read it at the beach and it was heavenly to sit in the warm sun while the kids were dug a bottomless hole in the sand, sipping on a cold one and reading this funny, quick-paced book. As always, the characters were real, the plot delicious and, of course, Jennifer solved the crime with her usual mix of humour, luck and brains. Thank you, Judy Fitzwater. Keep 'em coming. Just one question though -- will poor Jennifer EVER get published?

This book has it all!

Jennifer Marsh is asked by an eccentric society matron to chronicle what she says are her last days. She thinks someone is going to kill her. On Jennifer's first night in the spooky (and some say haunted) house, she hears screams and is locked in her room. When she frees herself, she finds the old lady's bloodsoaked and empty bed. Who killed Mary?This was a very fast moving and interesting mystery. It has romance, ghosts both historical and recent, family drama, and a great murder mystery. This is Fitzwater's best book so far.

Murder and Mayhem in Macon

Aspiring, though still unpublished writer, Jennifer Marsh, has gotten herself into a real mess. At the request of a fellow writer and good friend, she's taken the job of "babysitting" aging Macon socialite, Mary Bedford Ashton and keeping a careful record of everything that goes on in her house. Ms Ashton is convinced that her deceased husband's sister, Eileen McEvoy, is about to kill her so that the house and Ashton fortune will be returned to its "rightful" owner and she wants Jennifer to make sure the killer doesn't get away with murder. Ms McEvoy has already taken her to court, but that didn't work and now Mary is finding threatening notes telling her the end is near. Jennifer moves into the mansion thinking Ms Ashton is a bit senile and nothing's going to happen, but she couldn't be more wrong. On her very first night in residence, Jennifer's awakened by Mary's terrible screams and when she finally makes her way to Mary's room, finds the bedding soaked in blood and Mary's body missing. Now Jennifer feels obligated to keep her promise and find Mary Ashton's killer..... Judy Fitzwater has really honed her craft and this is the best Jennifer Marsh mystery to date. Her writing is witty, crisp and very entertaining, her fast paced plot, full of twists, turns and surprises and her original characters, just terrific. This is a mystery that has it all...a huge old mansion, creepy housekeeper, colorful victim, tight lipped suspects who seem to know more than they're telling and a hardworking, likeable, though sometimes inept detective. Dying to be Murdered is the fifth book in this delightful series. For those new to Jennifer Marsh and company start at the beginning with Dying to get Published and read them all. For those who are already fans, you certainly won't be disappointed this time out.

great read

The plot of this novel has already been detailed rather nicely, so I'll just stick to what I liked. To begin, "Dying To Be Murdered" is quite the page turner, and the chapters that deal with Jennifer's first visit to Ashton mansion, and her overnight stay, are quite atmospheric -- a mansion that fairly reeks of secrets and decay; a very sinister housekeeper; and the very fact that Jennifer is given the bedroom of Mary Bedford Ashton's dead stepdaughter! A room that only locks from the outside, and has not seen any redecorating since the girl's suicide!! You don't get much more atmospheric than that! Another thing I liked about this mystery novel was all the twists and turns the plot took. Jennifer starts out thinking that Mary Bedford Ashton is senile and a little paranoid, but likable, but soon realises that she has been expertly manipulated, and that Mary may not be all that nice after all. As usual all the members of Jennifer's writers's group is at hand to provide help, support and wacky deductions, thus adding fun quota to the novel. And what I most liked about "Dying To Be Murdered" was that if you really paid attention to all that is said by the suspects and to Jennifer's stream of consciousness manner of thinking, you actually solve the mystery before the final chapter! The pacing of the novel was taught and brisk; the plot unfolded in a very satisfactory and logical manner; and the characters were all neatly portrayed. "Dying To Be Murdered" is a really fun read, and I think that it is the best Jennifer Marsh mystery to date.

An entertaining who-done-it

In Macon, her writing group partner Monique Dupree obtains a job for unpublished mystery author Jennifer Marsh. Wealthy senior citizen Mary Bedford Ashton is offering a thousand dollars for Jennifer to keep a journal of her last week of life. Though in good health, Mary believes her sister- in-law plans to kill her and wants her murderer apprehended. Reluctantly, Jennifer agrees to serve as a scribe spending an entire week including nights at the Ashton mansion and vows to catch her host's killer.Jennifer expects nothing to happen because she believes the elderly woman is paranoid or senile. However, that first night, Jennifer hears screams that sound like someone is assaulting Mary. Jennifer tries to run to the woman, but is locked inside her bedroom. When she manages to become free, Jennifer sees a ton of blood in Mary's bed, but no body. The police arrive and question Jennifer as if she is the culprit. Unable to sit idly on the sidelines due to guilt for failing to take Mary seriously and because of her vow to catch a killer, Jennifer begins her own investigation, not yet aware of the danger from an unknown source.DYING TO BE MURDERED, the fifth Marsh amateur sleuth tale, retains the warmth of the key cast members and the enjoyment of a clever puzzle. The who-done-it is entertaining, as several twists will keep the audience and Jennifer the bulldog fooled (I realize this is Macon not Athens). Fans will take pleasure in this story while newcomers will be dying to obtain Judy Fitzwater's previous works.Harriet Klausner