My Very Own Murder

by Josephine Carr

Book Overview

Free-spirited and freshly divorced, fifty-year-old Anne Johnson is living the good life. She spends her days in her luxurious, elegant apartment in Washington, D.C., cuddled up with a book in one hand and a martini in the other. Then, she hears a voice in her head, warning that there'll be a murder in her building in thirty days-and she must prevent it. Anne confides in Mary, the building's large-and-in-charge cleaning woman, and together, they plan...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0451216466
• ISBN13: 9780451216465
• Release Date: September 2005
• Publisher: New American Library
• Length: 258 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.4" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Mystery Turns My Head

The day begins for Anne Johnson like most do in her new single life. She has a brand new apartment and nothing to worry about, except her new sex drive. But then she hears a voice. A murder will occur in thirty days. Prevent it. With further prodding, it repeats itself. In the Kennedy apartment building. Thirty days. Prevent it. Anne Johnson does not know where to start. She knows few people from the huge building and has no friends to confide it. Usually she enjoys herself and is never lonely, though she wishes for a confidante. She meets Mary, the resident cleaning lady and they begin on a wild friendship as they try to prevent a murder. Mary believes the only way to meet members of the building is to give a party. So that is what the new friends decide to do. Mary's husband comes along to look for suspicious people. Anne invites her ex husband and both of her children. The party is a success, but the friends are no closer to solving the mystery. But neither really feel like they must rush. Mary has her own worries while Anne wonders about the god like Russian who adores her. Will they solve the mystery before it is too late? My Very Own Murder kept me reading. Readers, maybe not even mystery readers, will be brought into this storyline. Anne will be like a lost friend who you want to give advice. Stay away from the Russian. Solve the mystery. Why are you worrying about little things? If all mysteries kept readers interested, I would be a big time fan!

As crisp as a well-chilled martini

Anne Johnson, a mid-century thoroughly modern divorcee, lives a life to which many women secretly aspire. She is independently wealthy, has two well-adjusted adult children and lives in a ritzy high-rise downtown Washington D.C. apartment worthy of Architectural Digest. Although she spends her days experimenting with new recipes, napping, sipping martinis, cleaning her extremely tidy apartment and wafting about in her favorite white gown while thinking about sex, she tells herself and her family that she's not bored, that her life is absolutely perfect, just as it is. Then one day she hears a voice in her head, a voice that tells her that a murder will be committed in her apartment building within 30 days. The voice also says that she has the power to prevent this murder. Anne confesses this unusual event to Mary, a stout, ebullient African-American woman who works in the building as a cleaning woman. She doesn't clean Anne's apartment since Anne loves to clean, (a passion that I cannot begin to understand) but her position does give her access to and knowledge of many of the residents. Anne and Mary each decide that one of the top candidates for murderer of the month is a suave, handsome thirty-ish Russian gentleman. Mary's investigative techniques involve eavesdropping and observation; Anne follows her overactive libido and decides to sleep with him. I vicariously enjoyed the many martinis imbibed throughout the novel, as this is my Friday end-of-workweek drink of choice. But my absolute favorite part was the secret passage, a device rarely used in an adult book. It took me back to my pre-teen years when I passionately read dozens of "girl running away from castle" books. If you are looking for light entertainment and you aren't wedded to a particular genre preference (I couldn't quite figure out whether this book was a romance with a dash of mystery or a mystery with frivolous flings), pick up a copy of My Very Own Murder. To enrich your overall experience, I suggest you dress in your most comfy "I feel good about me" outfit and apply a chilled martini on your lips.

delightful spicy mystery, well written....

Anne Johnson is fifty years old, recently divorced from a faithless husband, and not suffering in the slightest from that loss. At age fifty, Carr's heroine is still feisty and fit. She lives in a spacious luxury apartment in Washington D.C. and enjoys her quiet time curled up reading by the fireplace. Life is fine just the way it is. She's quite comfortable with her current situation except for missing sex and hopes her hunky neighbor, Ivan Chernislava, might rectify that shortfall. One night while sipping a martini, a voice comes to Anne out of nowhere. "A murder will occur in sixty days. Prevent it." Anne wonders if that disembodied voice is due to one too many martinis, or if she's finally fallen into schizophrenia but decides preventing a murder might be entertaining for awhile at least. She enlists the help of Mary, a savvy Rubenesque cleaning lady, to help find the potential murderer. Their list of suspects includes the sexually robust Ivan, whom Anne lustily "investigates" as often as her strength allows. She and Mary plan a cocktail party for residents of her apartment complex, in hopes of uncovering the murderer, dragging Anne's ex-husband, children, and Mary's husband into their scheme. The results are often hilarious but just as frequently hair raising as these two friends track down a killer.

Fun book with quirky characters

Ms. Carr has written a very funny, entertaining book with very quirky and likeable characters. The back of the book description said that the main character, Anne, likes to "cuddle up beside the fireplace with a good book in one hand and a perfect martini in the other." This sounded like someone I wanted to read more about, so I bought the book, and I am glad that I did. The story takes place in Washington, DC-my favorite city. Anne is a divorced lady who hears a voice saying that there will be a murder in her apartment building in thirty days. She befriends a very amiable woman, Mary, who cleans apartments in the building, and together they plan a party to try to find out who the possible murderer is. There are many twists and turns which will keep the reader guessing. I enjoyed this book because it has everything-humor, suspense and romance. I also love the fact that it is set in Washington, DC and the author uses real locations (restaurants, etc.) throughout the city. You do not need to be familiar with Washington, DC to enjoy "My Very Own Murder". This book will appeal to anyone who wants a fun, entertaining story with unique characters. I am looking forward to reading "The Dewey Decimal System of Love", also by Ms. Carr. She kept me very entertained on my commute to and from work, and up late at night with "My Very Own Murder." I am anxiously awaiting more from this very talented author.

lighthearted serio-comic amateur sleuth

When Anne Johnson discovered her husband was cheating, she divorced him but unlike most women who catch their spouse cheating, she is content because she was never happy in her marriage. She moves into the prestigious Kennedy apartment building and she misses neither her husband nor her children as she revels in being alone and being able to decide what she wants to do. The fifty year old divorcee is shaken to hear a voice in her head saying that a murder will occur in the Kennedy in thirty days and she must prevent it from happening. Not knowing what to think, she goes to the laundry room where she meets Mary, a cleaning woman for many of the apartments in the building. She confides about what the voice says to Mary who doesn't believe Anne is crazy. Together they cook up a scheme where Anne has a housewarming party so that they can look for potential murder suspects and victims. What follows is a friendship that involves a whacky investigation that leads to the criminals who want to silence Anne before she finds out their secret. This is a lighthearted serio-comic amateur sleuth mystery based on a voice in the protagonist's head. The heroine is a delightfully quirky individual who marches to her own drummer and her friendship with the cleaning lady is instant. The mystery of who is behind the suspected crime comes very late in the book but readers won't feel any disappointment because the author is, without being obvious, sprinkling clues that leads to the killer throughout the tale. This is a very special, unique and exciting mystery featuring characters that are razor sharp and diabolically clever. Harriet Klausner