Imagine Murder: A John Lennon Mystery

This fun, gripping crime novel imagines (pun intended) a situation in which John Lennon and Yoko Ono help solve a mystery set in the spring of 1972. Imagine Murder is a fictional glimpse at the actual film company-Joko Films-owned by John and Yoko in 1970s New York City and was written by a member of the original company’s staff.

It’s the spring of 1972: the US is deeply involved in the Vietnam War, and demonstrations are being organized across the country. New York City is beginning to slide toward bankruptcy. It’s been nearly two years since the Beatles broke up, and John Lennon and Yoko Ono are establishing themselves as New York residents and artists. John’s biggest solo album, Imagine, hit the charts late the previous year, and he continues to record. However, his and Yoko’s newest passion is film, the result of which is Joko Films, housed at an undisclosed location in SoHo.There, on the eve of the Watergate break-in, one of Joko’s employees is brutally murdered, and the hunt for the killer-amid a publicity storm-is on.

Conceived and written by one of the actual employees of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s film company, Imagine Murder is, as the name implies, a murder mystery, the first in a series of novels set in the little-publicized world of John Lennon in 1970s New York.

It is easy to confuse Dean Thompson with Imagine Murder’s David Johnson. Both came to New York City in the 1970s from Ohio, and both worked at Joko Films-although David’s time there is fictional. As for Dean, in between working for John Lennon and writing Imagine Murder, he has continued in film and television.＂I was approached by many people to write a book about working with John,＂ Thompson said, ＂but I didn’t want to be someone who wrote another ’I knew John Lennon best’ book. While it is fiction, I think this book gives readers a chance to experience the John Lennon I knew in a unique and personal way.＂ Dean’s coauthors-wife Victoria Hallerman and best friend Thom Moon-have remained a steady part of his life since his time at Joko Films.

It is easy to confuse Dean Thompson with Imagine Murder’s David Johnson. Both have experience working with John Lennon at his Joko Films’ SoHo NYC location. Both came to New York City in the 1970’s from Ohio and both live in a Tudor-styled house in Staten Island which overlooks New York Harbor. In between his time with Lennon and writing Imagine Murder, Dean has continued to work in film and television while his co-authors, wife, Victoria Hallerman, and best friend, Thom Moon, have remained a steady part of his life. ＂I was approached by many people to write a book about my time working with John,＂ Thompson said, ＂but I didn’t want to be someone who wrote another ’I knew John Lennon best’ book. While it is fiction, I think this book gives readers a chance to experience the John Lennon I knew in a unique and personal way.＂