Thank you to Kristen Perrin and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

This book offers a captivating premise that I found engaging from start to finish, it was a hard one to put down. While the pacing may occasionally drag, the novel shines with its unexpected twists and turns that had me gasping at times. Perrin skillfully weaves together a fun mystery set in both 1965 and the present day, centered around Frances Adams' eerie prediction of her murder. The transition to the present day, with Frances' great-niece Annie determined to catch the killer, adds depth to the storyline. With a cast of endearing and eccentric characters, each harboring secrets and motives, the reader is kept guessing until the final pages. Perrin's ability to blend the past and present seamlessly creates a compelling narrative that will leave readers eager for more. Sometimes jumping back and forth between present events and past events can make a book feel disjointed, but I think this author did an amazing job of making this book flow.

I am having a hard time putting into words how much I love this book. The title is what first caught my attention and I wanted to go into it blind because that’s my personal preference for reading in general, and I am so glad I did! I don’t know what I was expecting from this book but what I read was not it. It kept me engaged and interested from the very first page until the very last page and it kept me guessing the whole time. I think what I liked best is once the mystery was revealed, I didn’t feel like it came out of nowhere and didn’t make sense like a lot of mystery or thriller books are. Everything made perfect sense once it was revealed but I still would have never guessed. I loved the dual POV of the diary entries to present day. The only thing I found challenging was keeping up with all of the characters and family relationships because there were a lot of those. Otherwise it was perfect!

In the late 60s, the 3 teens were inseparable. Frances, Rose and Emily borrowed each other’s clothes, went on double and triple dates together, and attended the fair that fateful day when Frances received a disturbing fortune telling her that her destiny was dry bones. Although Emily is the one who disappears, Frances lives her long life convinced that someone, some day, will kill her.

Sadly the prediction comes true. Annie, her great-niece, receives word that she will inherit something and is asked to come and meet her. But when Frances doesn’t arrive at her lawyer’s office, Annie and the others go looking for her, only to find her body in the library. Annie and a nephew by marriage are told if they can solve the case in a week, they’ll inherit Frances’ considerable estate. If not, the land will be sold and developed. No pressure, right?

Annie is helped by the fact that she has Frances’ diary from those fateful years when Emily first went missing. She visits Rose, the last of the 3, and Rose gifts her with a photo album which helps fill in some clues. As she roams around meeting the locals and trying to piece things together, she hatches a daring plan. If it works, she’ll solve the case and get a confession. But if it doesn’t, she might just be handing things off to the nephew, and possibly dying in the process.

How to Solve your own Murder is such a fun book! I really enjoyed it. It doles out clues in good time, so that you’re keeping track with Annie but not running ahead. Frances and Annie are believable and likable, and the ending is satisfying. Highly recommended!

Thank you Kristen Perrin, Penguin Group Dutton, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, this book missed the mark for me. I didn't love the writing it felt like it didn't flow for me. I had trouble connecting with the characters and by the end I felt like I just didn't care who did what. I loved the premise of the book, but it did not do it for me.

This was such a great book! I thought the plot was engaging and very interesting. Felt very Agatha Christie level of characters intertwining. Enjoyed the twist and the main character.

I picked this ARC up on a whim based on the description and I loved it from start to finish. Annie Adams' journey from London, with few prospects, to rural England starts as a summons by a great aunt and ends with the aunt's death. What ensues is a race to solve her great-aunt's murder. I'm reminded of quaint murder mysteries but updated and with a jaunty heroine. There is death, obviously, intrigue, romance and more. A fun read!

The perfect book for those that love Agatha Christie and a classic who dunnit murder mystery. A woman was murdered, something that was predicted to happen 60 years prior, and has been trying to prevent ever since. Now, her great niece is tasked with solving the murder. I enjoyed the book overall. I would say the first portion and end portion really kept me engaged, but I found myself bored sometimes in the middle. Some of the story felt repetitive and left me wondering when it would end. The two different timelines piqued my curiosity and interest. I love when a mystery has multiple timelines. Overall I give this book 3/5 stars. I liked it! But I didn't love it.

This book was amazing, and I highly recommend it. Longer review coming, but suffice it to say, it was like Clue, only better :)

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked the concept of this book. The idea of someone receiving a fortune that they would be murdered and then spending their life trying to figure it out and prevent it. I liked the characters. However, I sometimes found it hard to follow since there were a lot of characters to keep track of. I thought the author did a good job of keeping the past and the present clear with the diary entries. That way, you knew when you were reading things from the past. For some reason, I kept thinking that the past was in the 20s but it was actually the 60s. I don't know if it was the language or what.

A fast entertaining read.

It was a clever mystery that kept my interest throughout. The story keeps switching time lines - a macabre fortune and a missing girl in the 1960s has consumed a woman, Frances, throughout her life into current time. After she invites her great niece, Annie, along with a few other people with ties to her past to a meeting about her estate, she is murdered. Annie decides to investigate her aunt's murder and with the help of entries in an old diary, soon finds that the past mysteries are behind it all.
It's wonderfully twisty and filled with suspects, red-herrings, and genuine clues, but at times the story became convoluted. There were times it was easy to confuse some of the characters, especially with time shifts throughout the plot. Overall, there were too many characters and some of their interactions felt awkward and forced. Fortunately, the humor throughout, the main characters, and the mystery made for an enjoyable read. I'll look forward to reading Kristen Perrin's next book.

This book has such an intriguing premise and I was so excited for something billed as Knives Out meets Agatha Christie. I am not a huge cozy mystery or small-town mystery readers so that might have affected my opinions. I struggled with the pace of this books - parts dragged but then went way too fast. I think the large cast of characters didn't suit the vibe of this novel either. I really need to love the characters (like Finlay Donovan) to enjoy cozy reads and the way this book was written didn't allow me to get to know the large cast.

I thought this was interesting and entertaining. I really enjoyed being in Frances' and Anne's heads. I liked the back and forth timelines. I did find myself wanting more of Anne's POV; mostly I wanted more of the side stores from her parts of the story. I thought the whole book was well planned and executed. We get 2 main mysteries to sort through. Plenty of breadcrumbs and mis-directions to weave in and out of. Frances left a treasure-trove of mysteries to solve in her fancy house. I have no idea where book 2 will take us.

Thank you NetGalley, Kristen Perrin, and Dutton books for the opportunity to read this eARC.

Frances fortune told or murder so she separated herself from everyone to prevent her murder. That is until 60 years later and she ends up murdered in her own home. Her great niece Annie finds herself drawn into the mystery and try’s to review Frances notes on her murder to figure out what happened to great aunt.

I had a really hard time getting into this book the premise was interesting as well as the mystery but the characters were so hard to care about that I really struggled to stay interested. The book felt kind of similar to other murder mystery and forgettable for me. With that being said I enjoyed the writing itself and would probably try another book from this author I think it was just a personal thing with the characters. I would like to thank NetGalley and the publishers for an honest review.

How to Solve Your Own Murder is a delight. Family secrets, an inheritance with a catch and small town drama pave the way to an engaging and gripping story. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Kristen Perrin will write a whole series of Annie Adams solving mysteries. I will be in line waiting for each one.

Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an E-ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

I really enjoyed the dual plotlines of this book. We toggle back and forth between England in 1965 and the present day. Frances is told by a fortune teller that she's eventually going to be murdered. She then spends the rest of her lift trying to figure out who that person may be.

The author creates a large list of characters that may have had a motive to kill Frances and then changes timelines to develop the characters. The book moved at a really nice pace. The small town descriptions and cast of characters reminded me of All Creatures Great and Small meets Midsommer Murders.

Our heroine, Annie Adams was a smart, modern woman with a knack for deduction.

This is a great start to a new series. I'm looking forward to the further adventures of Ms. Adams.

How to solve your own murder over was a good book I’d recommend to friends. Though it’s a book that needs your undivided attraction to catch every detail and understand who each character is and their part in the book/crime. Found myself having to pause and really take in and remember all the details so I could follow along and try to solve it as the book progressed. I loved when it would flash back to the dairy, would have been very interested in more of a diary entry, and wanted more of them by the end, I felt I got the most information when Annie was reading and disgusting what Frances wrote. Written like it will have more than one book in the series, hoping Annie gets together with the detective in the next and they have to solve another crime racing each other. Overall it was a great debut for Kristen Perrin, thank you to netgalley and the publishers for letting me read and give my honest review. Looking forward to seeing the second one. 4 star

This book was what I would imagine for an Agatha Christie style novel. I think there are plenty of readers that will truly enjoy this story! I enjoyed it, but it didn’t completely hook me which had nothing to do with the book and everything to do with me, so I will not fault it for that. I truly hope it becomes a movie someday and I will definitely watch it!

thank you netgalley for this e-copy. i was really into it because of the murder mystery-type story because i like the knives out and agatha christie vibes of a mystery movie or book. i don't think i'd want to find out how or when i would die so far into the future because i would keep trying to change my outcomes but i do like the aspect of the family trying to solve her murder.

It took me so long to get through this book. But honestly it’s not the book, it’s me. Fun cozy mystery, but I did 75% of it on audio and I zoned out for 50% of it. But I liked the end, and I liked the main girl!

I enjoyed this quasi-cozy mystery. I don’t know why I’m hesitant to completely label it a cozy, because it checks all of the cozy boxes, but it seems to be a bit more up-market than the traditional cozy.

I enjoyed both main characters in this story and the surrounding community. It wasn’t too scary but the mystery itself was intriguing. There were some timeline issues that distracted me for a moment, but they weren’t deal-killers. I will look forward to reading future entries in this series.

Thank you to the publisher - I received a complimentary eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.