I loved this book! The pacing was beautiful, the writing was thoughtful, and the ending was left open. I loved that the POVs were switching throughout the book, and that we got to know Francis.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for access to an eARC in exchange for my honest review!!

what's it about? ⬇️

When a fortune teller gives a teenage Frances Adams a fortune predicting her own eventual betrayal and murder, Frances is floored by the revelation, and though her two best friends try to convince her to ignore the fortune, she can't help but constantly look for signs that different portions of the fortune have come to pass. And when those pieces slowly start to appear and fall into place throughout the years and other tragedies continue to change her life, Frances devolves into paranoia as she tries to solve her future murder before it can occur.

It is years later when her great niece Annie Adams receives the news that she has been added into Frances's will and is invited to come and meet the great aunt she's never seen before. And unfortunately, just when Annie and others are preparing to meet with Frances at her house, they find her in her library, dead. Murdered, if Annie has anything to say about it.

Now Annie, along with Frances's nephew Saxon and his wife are charged with solving the murder on an insane timeline, and racing with the local police at that. Can Annie solve the murder of the great aunt she never got the chance to know, and even more importantly, can she avoid being the next body found at Castle Knoll?

my thoughts? ⬇️

I adored this book. It was mysterious, it was stressful, it kept me fascinated the whole time I was reading, and the short inputs of diary entries from Frances herself added so much extra depth to the story and to all of the characters and their motivations, both in the past and in the present. The determination shown by both Frances and Annie and the way both of these clever women looked at the world around them and were able to see things differently than other people was so fun to read, and Annie's ability to think on her feet was so fun to read in real time, like a proper old classic mystery novel. Also, the romantic subplot was so sweet and I'm so excited to see what mysteries Annie and the gang end up wrapped up in in the next installment.

based on you other likes? ⬇️

If you enjoyed the media listed below, I think you might really enjoy this book.

🔍 Knives Out - a family embroiled in drama after a murder and a reading of a will.
🔍 Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery - a sequel to the above, another classic whodunnit.
🔍 Murder on the Orient Express - the film is what I have seen, and is another great whodunnit mystery.
🔍 Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie - for the same reasons as above, obviously.
🔍 Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn - older women proving they are still incredibly strong and tough and can take care of themselves. also a big murder mystery.
🔍 The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley - a sister trying to solve the disappearance of her brother.
🔍 Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney - a family-centric murder mystery with a massive twist.

trigger warnings ⬇️

murder, death, violence, blood, gun violence, needles, drug use, grief, toxic friendship, toxic relationship, pregnancy, infidelity, infertility issues, emotional abuse, gaslighting, medical content, medical trauma, alcohol use, bullying, classism, stalking, car accident, panic attacks, homophobia, outing, dementia, sexual content, adult/minor relationship.

This book was a lot of fun once I got into it. It took me a bit, but that should not take anything away from the fun sleuthing that I had trying to solve this mystery. It gave some serious Agatha Christie vibes throughout. When Annie learns that she has been added into the will of her distant Aunt Frances, she doesn't know what to expect, other than trying to retain the house that she grew up in that was owned by her aunt. With the help of the local detective, she not only is faced with solving her aunt's death, but the very cold case of her aunt's missing friend. Thank you, NetGalley for the eARC. 4 stars.

A cozy, murder-mystery. The title obviously caught my interest right away. The story started a little slow for me, but it quickly picked up and I had to finish! The setting, the characters, all of it. I really enjoyed it.

A solid murder mystery and an interesting premise. The characters were all very colorful and I enjoyed following Annie on her journey. The story was wrapped up a little too quickly and easily for my taste, but it's a solid cozy mystery novel.

I don’t read many mystery novels so this was a little bit outside of my comfort genres, but this was cozy and great for the autumn season!

A cozy mystery with tension and intrigue that made it a delight to read during fall, but it was not memorable enough for five stars. Would definitely still recommend!

This was a really interesting mystery. I liked how cozy it felt without sacrificing the actual mystery. I ended up primarily listening to this on audio, and the audiobook was really nice. Everything got a little muddied for me towards the end, but I did like the end. It all felt wrapped up but still complete.

Thank you to Netgalley and Dutton for the advanced copy!

Quirky characters galore! It's a race to the inheritance and first win to solve the murder wins! This was a fun audio book to listen to that has all the fun makings of a game of Clue!

This delightful, murdery cozy mystery demands to be read!
Readers, I must share How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin and demand you read it this fall season (if you were somehow sleeping on it like I was). Teenager Frances Adams is at a fair when a fortune-teller shares a prediction that will change her life: one day, you will be murdered. As Frances struggles to solve her own murder, she begins to push her friends and family away until her own great niece Annie only knows her as her reclusive great aunt.
When Frances summons Annie to her country estate, it is far too late to establish any familiar relationship: Frances has been murdered. After decades of gathering everyone’s secrets, who did Frances push into murder?

This novel has just enough tension to keep the pages turning but also feels like a warm hug and I am so excited to be returning to Castle Knoll in book 2!

How to Solve Your Own Murder is a unique take on the classic murder mystery. It has all the great elements of the genre, including plenty of potential culprits, a lavish manor in which several suspects are trapped, and a tenacious main character who finds herself in all sorts of tangles. Overall, I thought this was worth reading, but I probably wouldn't recommend it to a friend or read it again. For that reason, I gave it a three-star rating.

I enjoyed this mystery so much! It has a great plot and pace. Highly recommend to mystery lovers. The author has a great plot.

I could not have enjoyed this book more! Five stars, I found the characters entertaining and fun to follow and really enjoyed the mystery without forcing romance as many "adult" books do. I can't wait to read more by this author.

3.5 stars rounded down. Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for the ARC (which I am very delayed in reading). Overall, I enjoyed this book. I liked the alternating timeline, the uniqueness of the plot itself, and the setting in Castle Knoll, a small English town. I did not find this book predictable, but I thought the big reveals and twists fell a bit flat. There was something missing from the story, or possibly the characters themselves. It was not my favorite mystery, but it was good. How to Solve Your Own Murder would be a solid choice if you want a light, cozy fall read set in a quaint English village.

This book was delightful! Fun, suspenseful and loveable. Not a hard boiled who done it but not quite a cozy either it lies somewhere in between and that middle ground is a fun place to be. I look forward to Perrin's next offering immensely!

This was a cozy murder mystery x2!
It took me a minute to get into the story with the jumping back and forth but soon I was hooked.
We are in a race to find a (possible) killer and the prize is our inheritance! As a bonus we are trying to also figure out what happened to a girl that disappeared decades ago!

I picked up the audio version of this one to get me through my commute. I am glad I did because the narrator was wonderful!

Goodreads link:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5858484077

3.5

honestly i wasnt sure what to expect when picking this up but honestly, I'm glad i did. although i liked to think it's a good story i had a little bit of trouble keeping up with the pacing because it felt like everything was moving at a snail's pace and i ended up missing a lot of important information because at the time it didn't look significant (which i know is a writing strategy but i kinda didn't like it)

at times i found the character likable but most of the book i was annoyed at how we were being talked in circles and for about 10 chapters it felt like we were making no progress at all and then we suddenly jumped forward and i was wondering how the dots connected.

anyways, good book but not my best read, not sure if i will continue the series.

I want to start by thanking NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for providing me with an ARC of "How to Solve Your Own Murder" by Kristen Perrin. This book is a gripping and unique take on the mystery genre, blending suspense and wit seamlessly. The protagonist's journey to uncover the truth about their own death is both thrilling and thought-provoking. Perrin's writing keeps you hooked from start to finish, making it hard to put down. Overall, I give it four stars for its originality and engaging storyline.

I really judged this book by its cover before I started reading it, and I was a bit hesitant at first, but it turned out to be a phenomenal read!! So glad I gave it a solid chance!!!

this is a, "it's not you, it's me" situation. cozy mysteries are not my vibe! I was bored for a good bit of this. I also found there to be way too many characters.