Seven novels in which murder victims tell their own stories

Hilary Davidson is the bestselling author of seven crime novels, including One Small Sacrifice, Blood Always Tells, and The Damage Done.

[The Page 69 Test: The Damage Done; The Page 69 Test: Blood Always Tells; The Page 69 Test: One Small Sacrifice; The Page 69 Test: Don't Look Down]

Davidson's fiction has won two Anthony Awards and a Derringer Award, and her short stories have appeared in Thuglit, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Mystery Tribune, and Beat to a Pulp.

Her latest novel is Her Last Breath.

At CrimeReads Davidson tagged seven she loves "for the way they allow the murder victim to 'speak' for themselves and to affect the course of the investigation of their own murder." One title on the list:

Dead Certain by Adam Mitzner

Is everyone living a double life in this crime novel? Yes, starting with the main character, Ella Broden. By day, she was an overworked attorney working on intense cases; by night, she’s a singer in some seedy clubs. The same is true of her sister, Charlotte, a writer who is very secretly juggling multiple affairs. When Charlotte vanishes after selling her first novel, Ella discovers that her sister’s book is in large part a diary, in which her real-life experiences are chronicled behind pseudonyms. Little as she knew about her sister’s life, Ella is the only person who can crack the code.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue