Kristen Perrin's debut novel, How To Solve Your Own Murder, is a gripping blend of mystery, suspense that will keep readers on the edge of their seats until the very last page. Perrin's writing is both atmospheric and evocative. The pacing is brisk, with plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader guessing at every turn. The author deftly weaves together elements of the paranormal with traditional mystery tropes, creating a narrative that feels fresh and original. How To Solve Your Own Murder is a standout debut from a talented new voice in the genre, and fans of mystery and supernatural fiction alike will find much to enjoy in this captivating tale. Overall, How To Solve Your Own Murder is a haunting and immersive read that will linger in the minds of readers long after they've turned the final page. Kristen Perrin is definitely an author to watch, and I eagerly anticipate her next literary offering. Highly recommended.

So many times when I read a dual timeline book I find myself disliking one of the timelines and wishing the author would get back to the other one. I didn’t feel that way with this book! I enjoyed both timelines and they both really added a lot to the storyline. I found the story interesting and exciting and it moved quickly. One thing I would have liked more of was a bit more romance. There were tiny hints about possible romance and I wish that would have developed just a bit more. Overall, it was a fun mystery.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Annie is summoned to her great-aunt Frances' country estate to discuss Frances' will. When she and the other invitees enter the home, they find Frances dead on the floor. Frances had spent her life trying to solve her own future murder after she received an ominous message from a fortune teller. She was also trying to solve the mystery of the disappearance of one of her best friends. It is now Annie's turn to solve these mysteries so that she can inherit Frances' estate, but she is in competition with Frances' step-nephew and the local detective. Frances' own words in the diary Annie found may help Annie solve the mysteries.
This cozy mystery takes place in England, in two time periods: present day and 1965/1966. Annie is a relatable main character and the secondary characters are likeable or appropriately unlikable. There are no red-herrings or unexpected twists to frustrate the reader, but enough possibilities to keep the reader guessing. There are several subplots that were not fully developed, such as a possible romance, but this may be intentional as this is the first in a series and will keep the reader interested in following up with the characters.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for this egalley.

It was OK. Definitely not as fast paced as I would have liked. I enjoyed the first half a lot and then it kinda dragged a bit and I felt the tug of boredom but i pushed through only because I wanted to know who did it.
I did enjoy the flashback scenes we got sprinkled throughout and the fortune used as clues was a great use of karmic insight (Objectively speaking anyways).

Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy!

Unusual but intriguing premise for a cozy mystery. Our protagonist, Frances, learns from a psychic that she will be murdered one day, She accepts her fate as inevitable but spends her long and varied life solving the mystery of who would kill her, how, and why. She summons her niece, Annie, to a reading of her will, but Frances is murdered before Annie arrives, leaving Annie to finish the investigation. She commits to the challenge and is relentless in her pursuit of the truth. The story kept me guessing the whole way. Everyone was a suspect, then no one was. Recommended read for fans of cozy mysteries. I received this Advanced Reader Copy of How to Solve Your Own Murder from PENGUIN GROUP Dutton and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Penguin Group Dutton and NetGalley for the ARC of the book.

Annie Adams is invited to Castle Knoll to meet her great aunt Francis who is known to be superstitious and is obsessed with an old prediction of her death. Now that Francis is gone, Annie has to solve her murder in order to get an inheritance.

Kristen Perrin created a great atmosphere with a perfect combo of creepy prediction from a fortune teller, mysterious death, bunch of suspects and amazing dialogues.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me a free eARC of this book to read in exchange for my review!

This book was SO MUCH fun. I didn't actually manage to predict the ending, which surprised me - but in a pleasant way. I wouldn't say this book is particularly mentally taxing, which was a very nice surprise. It was very much a cozy mystery, and I recommend it to anyone who likes murder mysteries with less dark elements to it!

I had a great time reading this book!! I enjoyed the who-done-it type of mystery and the flashbacks through the journal. I don’t think we particularly need this to be a series, as the last chapter seemed to be setting up. I actually think I would’ve enjoyed it more without that last chapter. That said, it was the most enjoyable and engaging book I’ve read in a while

Thank you NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Dutton for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin is about Annie Adams, an aspiring writer who is summoned by her Great Aunt Frances to finally meet. However the trip does not go as planned and Annie ends up in a race to solve her Great Aunt's murder. In the investigation Annie finds Frances' diary and we get to see what teenage Frances was like.
I really enjoyed this mystery. I liked the back and forth of the timelines to be able to get into her Great Aunt's head. To see what the people were like as teenagers that Annie is interacting with in the present was a cool concept. The twists in this novel could sometimes be confusing with so many characters but once I got everyone straight I just got that much more into the story.
Overall I liked this story and it had a good rhythm to it. I would recommend it to cozy mystery lovers.

In this book, an aspiring author faces the murder of her great aunt, whose death was predicted six decades prior. I enjoyed the pace and coziness of this mystery novel, the writing style, and the unique plot. I suspended a bit of disbelief with the legality of the case and methods, but that did not hinder my reading too much. There are two timelines, which was sometimes difficult to follow, but the characters and twists were fun for this type of whodunnit story.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for this advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

Massive thanks to both NetGalley & PENGUIN GROUP Dutton for the ARC copy of this mystery that is out now!!

I absolutely enjoyed how well the author did with making you think that every character was guilty and the culprit. I also loved the dual timeline and thought it gave a great platform for Annie to be able to trace Frances' steps present day.
Another piece I really thpught was interesting were the diary entries - this gave a unique side to the story in my opinion.

I think overall this was definitely a fun and cozy mystery that you should check out!

Had such a fun time reading this book! Couldn’t put it down and thought the twists and turns along the way were super fun.

Annie lives with her artist mom at a home that's owned by her Great Aunt Frances, whom Annie has never met. But when Great Aunt Frances summons Annie and others, including her lawyer, to her estate for a meeting, they anticipate a change in Frances's will. What they don't expect is for Frances to be murdered, and for the fortune she received 60 years ago to apparently come true. Frances's will stipulates that Annie or the nephew, Saxon, must solve the murder before the local detective in order to be named her heir. Annie finds herself intrigued by the mystery - and all the gossipy files Frances kept on everybody - and starts investigating.

A fun mystery that is drawing some comparisons to "Knives Out", and certainly matches its quirkiness. How to Solve Your Own Murder is Perrin's adult debut, and does have a few issues to work out. I never really understood the point of having the fortune and whether it was real or a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy as Frances interpreted everything through its lens. The back and forth between Frances' diaries from her teenage years in the '60s and Annie's investigation made for good pacing, and the characters were all intriguing. We're kept a little bit in the dark of all that Annie figures out so the reveal is a bit Agatha Christie-like where everything comes together at once and the murderer confesses. A solid choice for fans of cozy mysteries set in small English towns.

It's 1965, and Frances Adams attends a country fair with her friends. She received a foreboding reading from a fortune teller predicting one day Frances will be murdered. Though her friends don't think she should, Frances believes this future will come to fruition. As a result of this (mis)fortune Frances spends the rest of her life trying to prevent her murder, or at the very least leave enough clues for it to be solved. This story is told through multiple time-lines, as Frances' great niece Annie is tasked with solving said murder in the present.

I thought the premise was interesting, and had potential to be great, but didn't totally meet expectations. As well, I found some of the time-line to be a bit hard to follow/keep track of. It was a solid cozy mystery, and one I mostly enjoyed. A 3.5 rounded up.

I will definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves a good murder mystery, and would be open to reading from Kristen Perrin again in the future.

Thank you to Penguin Group Dutton for the e-ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for sending me an ARC of this book!

Rating 3.75 Stars

This book kind of had a similar riddled mystery to the inheritance games in my opinion, which I absolutely loved. Though the difference being this is more of a slow paced and cozy mystery versus action packed. Which is nice to have every once in a while honestly!

The premise of this book sounded like something that was right up my alley- a fortune that predicts murder that then comes to fruition, leaving a family member to solve the murder. Unfortunately, it just kind of fell flat. As you get to meet the characters and watch them interact with each other, the more forced and stilted it became. Outside of the character interactions, even the mystery aspect again fell flat. There were so many red herrings that ended up just leaving the story in a mess rather than intrigue.

Should you read this book?

Yes, if… you love a good whodunnit and a slowly unraveling thread you can keep tugging at
No, if… you don’t like riddles!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for honest review.

Someone else commented “Part Agatha Christie, part Colombo”man’s I couldn’t agree more! A fantastic cozy mystery. Frances visits a medium who tells her she will be murdered, that psychic reading comes true, and leaves her entire fortune to the person who can solve who did it. I love a dual timeline, and this delivers! Told in present time, as her great niece follows breadcrumbs trying to figure out the mystery behind the murder & past tense following Frances youth. It feels like a book within a book. A fun read.

Part Agatha Christie, part Columbo, this book tells the story of an old women who lives with a psychic reading that tells her murder. Then, that murder comes true and she leaves her fortune to the person who can solve it, hopefully her great neice. Told in dual timelines, we get to follow the current events as her great-niece follows the trail of crumbs to the real story of the death as well as the events from the youth of her great aunt. Not every character in this quaint English country village is who they pretend to be, and not every fact tells the story you expect it to. I love the modernization of this story format, even as the charm and vintage quality of the style is preserved. There are just enough red herrings and clues to lead the reader and the twists and turns were interesting. The human element of the story was woven through the clues in a skilled way and the journey to the end was delightful! How to Solve Your Own Murder was a delightful read and I enjoyed my time solving this crime.

Frances Adams visits a medium in 1965 who tells her she will be murdered. She spends the rest of her life trying to figure out who murdered her. In the present day, her body is found in her country mansion in Castle Knoll, and her great niece. Annie, has to figure out who murdered her in order to inherit Frances' fortune. A typical English cozy country murder case with the added fillip of being another book within a book. Annie finds Frances' journal and as she reads it, she begins to figure out who had the biggest motive to murder Frances. Not as good as I wanted it to be.