How to Solve Your Own Murder

Content Warning: This novel contains minor violence and depictions of death.

How To Solve Your Own Murder is a celebration of The Power of the Written Word in many different forms. Frances’s first words in the novel are “I’m writing this all here because I just know there will be things I’ve seen that might matter further down the road,” a prediction that will prove correct (15). It is also a sentiment that could easily be expressed by Annie, who similarly jots down the evidence she’s gathered to make sense of what she sees. Processing through their writing unites the characters. Both protagonists’ journals are at some point confiscated or destroyed, an acknowledgment that there is something threatening or important about their writing. For Frances’s journals, the writing powerfully alters how people see her but also provides information that helps Annie solve both crimes. Without their writing, there would be no solution and no story.

While the journals help inform the characters and solve the crimes, the written threats both receive are powerful in that they show the danger of misinterpretation of the written word. The impact of the small notes Frances finds in her coat pockets is so strong that they send her down a path of suspicion and obsession that might not have occurred otherwise.