think the cover of this is so cute, and the title and premise sucked me in. Unfortunately, the story fell a little flat for me.

I don’t usually mind dial timelines, but with the number of characters introduced, some who appeared in both timelines, I had a hard time keeping track.

The story itself was a little slow and didn’t keep me interested. There were lots of red herrings. Overall not a bad book for the mystery lovers, just a miss for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for sending me a copy of this book!

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I ended up liking this book! It took a little bit to get into it, but within 10% or so, I was shocked by how quickly I read through it. The flashbacks via journal entries fleshed out the story well while also leaving some details a mystery. I enjoyed the cast of characters and appreciated that the main character was realistic and used their knowledge of mystery stories to avoid classic mistakes. I also felt that the reveal was well developed and not so obvious that I immediately guessed it. I’m hoping, based on the goodreads listing, that there will be a sequel? And maybe we’ll see more of Detective Crane?!?

Oh man! I wanted to love this one so bad. The premise, the title, the cover - I had such high hopes! I DO think this was a good book, just perhaps not a good book for me. It was well-written and paced, and the flashbacks were interesting and kept the story propelled forward. If you are someone who loves a good cozy mystery, this would probably be a 4 or 5 star read. Unfortunately I don't particularly enjoy cozy mysteries, so this just didn't work for me, 2.5/5 stars.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group DUTTON for providing me with a digital review copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

What a fun and clever murder mystery.

Annie is called to the house of her eccentric aunt Frances to learn about the elder woman's updated will. Of course, before they meet for the first time, Frances is found dead, Even more interesting, her death had been predicted when she was a teen by a local psychic. Frances had spent the rest of her life trying to solve it. Of course, there are quite the cast of characters who could be behind the murder. A budding mystery writer, Annie decides it's on her to figure out who killed her aunt.

This story is a delightful read. The cast is quite fun, and the plot is quite clever. As you read, you're not only learning about Annie's investigation but about Frances' youth as well, especially how her best friend goes missing around the time she meets her husband.

I have nothing negative to say about this book. It's that good!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing an advanced readers copy to me! It was greatly appreciated.

I absolutely loved the premise of this mystery novel. It was giving Agatha Christie and Knives Out vibes in terms of gathering for a reading of the will of the protagonist’s distant great-aunt, set to have her inheritance given to her. When great-aunt Francis is found dead, our mystery begins!

The story contains two time lines, both of which, admittedly, are tough to follow just given the amount of characters we get introduced to. When we go back to the present day, we’re working alongside the main character Annie trying to figure out who is related to who, who had kids with the other person, town secrets and all while trying to figure out who murdered our aunt! It’s a lot. That said, it was quick to get to the premise, an extremely slow buildup and then finally….and ending that almost seemed unsure of itself. I had really high hopes but I was left feeling like I didn’t quite get enough of what I was looking for. Overall, fun premise but fell short.

I almost couldn’t finish this book. I will keep it simple, as there are far better 1-2 star reviews that break down all of the absurdity of this book. The most crucial things you need to know are as follows:

1) The pacing of this book DRAGS ON FOREVER without anything relevant happening.
2) The language and tone is incredibly immature and childish, even though the protagonist is supposed to be a smart and fully grown woman. The more “mature” language is used in the flashbacks meant to be written by a 17-year-old, so even more incongruous.
3) The love interests (yes, the alluded TWO of them in a dreaded love triangle) are both profoundly dislikeable and I find at least one of them to be an absolute asshat.
4) This book is supposed to be about a mystery-writing woman solving a murder mystery in her own life, yet at every turn, she eschews every possible rule of murder-solving!!! It removes credibility, it eradicates trust, and makes her seem like an actual imbecile that I as a reader could not root for less.

By the end of this book, I didn’t even care who had or hadn’t murdered Aunt Frances. I just needed it to be over. Please spare yourself the slog of this book, no matter how curious the title makes you (as it did me).

1.5⭐ on this one, rounded down to 1 on Goodreads cause it just made me that mad.

*Thank you again to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

This was such a fun murder mystery book! The only thing that kept it for being a 5 star read was that I found the flashback timeline confusing, and there were too many characters.

When we are reading Frances’ diary, the timeline was confusing to me. Within the diary, she talks about flashbacks, so it was hard for me to keep track of the order of events. For example, we learn about Tansy’s baby before we even know Emily is pregnant.

There were a lot of characters to keep track of as well. I would have loved to see a picture of the murder board or a family tree to keep everyone straight.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an advanced reading copy.

As a teen, Frances visits a psychic who tells her she will be murdered. Two timelines unfold to solve a mystery first predicted sixty years earlier. It's story of a small town, different classes, and taking what you want. A cozy-ish mystery.

“Your future contains dry bones. Your slow demise begins right when you hold the queen in the palm of one hand. Beware the bird, for it will betray you. And from that, there’s no coming back. But daughters are the key to justice, find the right one and keep her close. All signs point toward your murder.”

A fortune teller reading gone astray leads Frances to spend her life trying to solve her murder before it happens.

Are the people she chose to spend her life surrounded with there because she trusts them completely or because she feels the need to watch them?

I enjoyed a great deal of this book. It did seem like a lot of coincidence in the generations around years later, maybe a little clunky in making the pieces fit.

Overall, a fun read!

Full review to come - absolutely loved this book and all its read herrings. Also loved a dual murder mystery! Soooo good!! Can’t wait to see more from this author and read the second one when it comes out!

When an estrange great-aunt invites Annie to her countryside manor, a weekend stay soon becomes a murder investigation.

A comfy, cozy little murder mystery set in an English countryside town. This started off strong enough, but my interest in solving the murder started to wane about halfway through. The diary entries became a little too long-winded and the final murder plot/reveal was a little too convoluted for my liking. Overall, as far as cozy murders go, this was entertaining and well-written enough to get an average rating from me.

As a teenager, Frances visited a fortuneteller, and was given a laundry list of things to look out for, culminating with the warning, "All signs point toward your murder." She spends her life in trepidation, waiting for the axe to fall . . . literally.

This one was just an okay read for me - a great premise with a so-so follow through. The many characters seemed very similar, and none of them interested me much.

I see that this is to be a series, and it may indeed get better as it goes along.

This book was everything I hoped it would be, and more! The characters were unique and well-developed. The setting offered just enough intrigue to keep me entertained, and the mystery kept me guessing all along! I loved the dual timeline going back to the diary as Annie solved the murder. It also had so many laugh out loud moments that I enjoyed so much!

Thank you to the publishers for allowing me to read and review this book. I will definitely recommend it to my Instagram followers.

It is hard to believe that this is Kristen Perrin’s first novel. She writes with an assured hand and keeps readers turning the pages in her take on a traditional mystery.

The story-Frances Adams was a teen growing up in the sixties when she went to see a fortune teller. She was given a very detailed and particular warning of things to watch out for. Much of her subsequent life was spent trying to evade her own death by nefarious means. On this night, Frances was with her friends Emily and Rose. They have roles to play in the story.

Frances had a niece and grandniece who are living an eccentric London life as the story opens. When Annie is summoned to meet with Frances’s lawyer in the small town where Frances has an estate, off she goes. There she meets Walt, the attorney and his relative, Oliver. She also encounters the annoying Elva and her family.

Not a spoiler because this happens early in the story, Frances is found dead. Who will inherit her money? Who killed her? Find out in this very enjoyable novel.

It is easy to recommend this title. Hopefully, Ms. Perrin will keep writing twisty, fun mysteries.

Many thanks to Penguin Group-Dutton for this title. All opinions are my own.

I really liked this book! It really reminded me of And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie in that I truly suspected everyone. It was a unique concept for a mystery, and the characters were well developed. The reader gets clues and information alongside the protagonist, and has to piece together the story with her. Just when you think you might have something figured out — you might not!

This one was just okay for me. The premise was so good and original but it kinda fizzled out for me as the book went on. It was hard to keep track of all of the characters and I didn’t feel strongly about any of them. But it was a quick read and good for an easy afternoon read

This was a really fun and clever mystery. It had a great cast of characters with a classic mystery plot.

The set up is so engaging: a woman spends her whole life trying to prevent her predicted murder, only to be proved right sixty years later when she is found dead in her grand country estate.

The clues are set out in a way that I wanted to get out my notebook and make a chart to organize all of the information. Even without creating a chart, I did figure out a piece of it, but didn’t figure out the whole thing until the end.

I could see this being an entertaining series or even a great adaptation for television.

In How to Solve Your Own Murder we are once again reminded of the peril of living in a quaint English village. You really are taking your life into your own hands.

This was a highly entertaining murder mystery with a fantastic premise. I loved the diary flashbacks to the past, and the idea of the fortune teller predicting Frances' death was such an interesting take on a murder mystery.

I definitely figured out the culprit before the end, but I don't mind that at all. It was great fun and overall a superb mystery.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I thought this book was really fun and I was secretly hoping at the end that Frances was going to be alive and congratulate Annie for solving the murder. I liked the different timelines because it really helped put in perspective why everyone acted the way they did, and why everything happened for the reasons they did. BUT I will also say I got a bit confused with some characters, specifically Joe. Maybe I just forgot really who he was... Rose's son? grandson? And why he tried killing Annie? She called for Magda (I can't remember if that's her name) but then Joe showed up because there's 2 ambulances. How did Joe show up if that's not who she called... but that's what she planned? Also Annie almost killed herself in the beginning with the roses but then no, just kidding, she was just having a panic attack... but it was nightshade/hemlock. So it could have killed her if it entered her bloodstream, which .... wouldn't it? If it stabbed her? And produced blood? That didn't really make sense to me. Because didn't it kill Frances? So why didn't it kill Annie? I don't really get it. Now I'm questioning if this book really was as good as I thought it was. Maybe there were some plot holes. Also, she had all this evidence/information and just kept it in her room. Why wouldn't you bring it with you 24/7? And she kept getting scary notes but didn't tell anyone? Or she told the detective about one but that was it? Idk I felt like she could've been smarter about it a bit. But the premise of this entire book was great. I just wish Frances was alive at the end :(

I absolutely love many "surface" aspects of this book. The premise is amazing, and the title and cover do it justice. However, the book itself didn't entirely live up to those promises. The characters weren't really compelling (and were a bit hard to keep straight) and the dialogue was sometimes a bit stilted. The plot was interesting, but there were perhaps a few too many red herrings and a solution that wasn't entirely satisfying. In all, I'd say this is a decent read, but not a great one.