Dying To Be Murdered

Judy Fitzwater

Apr 2016 · The Jennifer Marsh Mysteries Book 5 · Judy Fitzwater

About this ebook

Mary Ashton is convinced someone is going to murder her, and that there’s nothing she can do to stop it. But what she can do is hire unpublished mystery writer Jennifer Marsh to record her final days, so her killer won’t get away with it. Mary may seem a little loony, but she’s one of Macon’s leading socialites, or at least she was until the competency hearing. AND she’s offering Jennifer $1,000 a week to stay in her home, the historic Ashton mansion, reputed to be haunted by a Civil War heroine. The money’s too good to turn down, especially for a starving writer, so Jennifer agrees. And what’s the harm? Why would anyone want Mary Ashton dead? But the first night at the mansion, Jennifer’s awakened by blood curdling screams coming from Mary’s room, which is directly beneath her own. Trapped in her room, Jennifer is helpless. When she finally escapes, she finds a blood-soaked bed straight out of a horror movie but no sign of Mary’s body. Old family secrets and grudges, mysterious deaths, and ghostly lights that move about the mansion lead to a mystery fraught with danger and intrigue.

Jennifer’s writers’ group offers their usual comic relief as they continue their journey toward getting published. Jennifer’s sarcastic reporter boyfriend Sam is there to lend his assistance as well. And, of course, so is her greyhound Muffy.

“I was drawn in at the first page, and it was hard to put down once I started….This is a series worth discovering from the beginning.” Mystery News

“…this is the book in which Judy Fitzwater has totally found her rhythm….I loved Dying to Be Murdered and wish I had the next one already!” Mystery Book Reviews

“I was completely captivated…Dying to be Murdered is funny, entertaining and enjoyable. However, it is also compelling, suspenseful and thought provoking. The plot is a choreographed puzzle and it is up to Marsh to fit the pieces together, or risk becoming a victim.” The Charlotte Austin Review Ltd.

“If you’ve missed your Nancy Drew books, this is the next best thing, in an adult package. And looking very, very good.” The Book Report, Inc.

About the author

Judy Fitzwater hates cold weather, loves chocolate, and enjoys nothing better than a good book. She's never more content than snuggled under a soft throw near a warm fire with a cup of hot chocolate and a mystery, a thriller, or any sort of story that will take her on an adventure she's never experienced before.

Reared an Air Force brat, she discovered early that home is where your family is, and that family comes in many forms, both through blood and by choice. Her one calling in life, other than keeping her two children well, has been to write. Her first foray into the field was as a freelance columnist/feature writer for a small town newspaper. Soon she was asked to cover Superior Court proceedings where she learned a lot about human nature and the justice system.

As her family grew so did the manuscript of a mystery novel that, written in bits and pieces, she finally finished. But it wasn't until her husband was transferred to the Washington, D.C., area and she landed in what she describes as "a nest of writers" that she really learned what she needed to know about writing popular fiction and getting it published.

Her first book, DYING TO GET PUBLISHED, was plucked from the slush pile at Ballantine Books. She has since published 8 books in her JENNIFER MARSH MYSTERY SERIES, as well as two suspense novels, DROWNING IN AIR and NO SAFE PLACE, a ghostly romantic comedy, VACATIONING WITH THE DEAD, and a book on writing, THE ROCKY ROAD TO PUBLISHING: ADVICE ON WRITING. She hopes you'll enjoy her books as much as she's enjoyed writing them.