I really enjoyed this book! I loved the cozy little small town setting, and the interesting cast of characters. The chapters set in the past were well done, and I enjoyed seeing the characters both as teenagers and in the present day. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I'm sad to say I didn't enjoy this book as much as I had hoped to. The beginning really drew me in and I automatically liked the character Annie and the mystery surrounding all the deaths. But then I quickly grew tired of her, she became very annoying to me with some of the things she said and her actions. I much preferred reading the chapters that were from Frances' diary than reading from Annie's point of view. The story itself was fine but nothing was really shocking or crazy to me. The beginning of the story really gripped my attention but then the middle points on Annie's chapters started to drag. The ending felt really rushed to me and I know it was supposed to be tense and exciting but I didn't really care for it. The book felt a little longer than it really needed to be, except for Frances' chapters which I really enjoyed and wish there were more of. Sadly this is a series that I won't be continuing with.

I really enjoyed this book. Imagine a rich Great-Aunt whom you’ve never met, dies and leaves you her entire fortune. Only stipulation is you have to solve her murder, and only in 7 days. This was a time-hopping, fun who-dun-it mystery. I look forward to more mysteries by Kristen Perrin.

Currently a Fallon Book Club finalist;This one is getting a lot of buzz right now!

Imagine that your eccentric great aunt whom you have never met has just been murdered and has left behind her entire fortune to YOU…with one stipulation, you must be the first to solve her murder and you only have seven days!

“Your future contains dry bones.”

Ever since Frances Adams had her fortune read at a county fair as a teenager she has been anticipating and looking for signs of impending doom, more specifically, her murder! Etched into her memory are warnings she takes to heart in every aspect of her life: “Your slow demise begins when you hold the queen in the palm of one hand.” or “Beware the bird, for it will betray you.” It turns out this book is true of betrayals: an affair, a baby out of wedlock, and the mysterious disappearance of the girls in Frances’ inner circle.

60 years later, it is Frances’ great niece, Annie Adams, who returns to Castle Knoll to try to make one of the final lines of the fortune come true. “Daughters are the key to justice, find the right one and keep her close.” As Annie gets more and more entwined in the mystery, she starts receiving some threats of her own. Will her great-aunt’s fate now be passed on to her or will she be able to help catch a killer before it is too late?

I really did enjoy this story. It was a unique spin on the classic who-dun-it mystery. There were a lot of suspects, so at times it was hard to keep them all straight. I really enjoyed how Annie learned about her aunt’s life by reading her old journals, making the book seem like two stories in one.

At the start of this mystery, Londoner Annie is summoned to a small town in the country to hear about the updated will of her great aunt Frances, who she has never met. Frances is known as the town eccentric, as she has been obsessed since her teenage years with a fortune teller’s prediction that she will be murdered - and was only convinced of this all the more when her friend Emily disappeared when they were 16. When Annie arrives in town, before she has a chance to meet Frances, Frances is found murdered - and her new will says where her estate will go depends on who solves her murder first. Interspersed with the present day narrative is Frances’ journal from when she was 17 or so, which Annie discovers in the course of her investigation, as she tries to figure out both what happened to Frances and what happened to Emily all those years ago.

My favorite childhood book, The Westing Game, also involves a will granting the inheritance to whoever solves the murder, plus I love mysteries set in small British towns, so clearly this one was made for me! I will say that based on the title and description, I thought this would a bit more of a cozy/funny one, while it’s actually pretty serious. But not to worry, it was still very enjoyable - great mystery that totally kept me guessing yet with clues that make sense once the various mysteries are revealed. And it sure is a great title!

The premise for this book was so good, but overall this book struggled to keep me interested. At a certain point it just felt very repetitive. There were no real twists or any exciting events even though I think that’s what the author was going for at the end. I really didn’t mind reading this book, but it didn’t keep me on the edge of my seat either. This was a strong 3.5 🌟 for me, but I’m going to round up just because it was a cute idea.

Thank you to the publisher, the author and NetGalley for my free copy in exchange for my honest review.

Victory - Kristen Perrin has written a murder mystery so intriguing and witty - it is a stay-up all-night affair because you think you know, but you don't and then you just want to find more clues. Annie is summoned to her aunt's estate, but by the time she arrives, her aunt has died. Murdered! And there's the matter of the will - Annie must discover who killed her aunt to keep the house, and the inheritance, and to set herself back on the right course. There's a lot of intrigue and behind-the-scenes deals as other members of the family are out to find the killer as well. This is fast-paced and fun, but deadly serious too. SO GOOD!

Cozy murder and tangled plotlines? Yes please, I need more of this genre and written in this POV style. Thank you to Dutton and NetGalley for the ARC.

"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.”

Annie Adams has never met Great Aunt Frances, but has been called to a meeting at her country estate in the quaint village of Castle Knoll. But before the meeting can take place, Aunt Frances has been found dead. Her death falls under suspicious circumstances as the scheduled meeting was to discuss her very recently changed will. Plus there's the fortune. The fortune above was told to a seventeen year old Frances, and she spent the rest of her life obsessed with her future murder. In order for Annie to inherit, she must be the first solve the crime but finds that uncovering the secrets of the people of Castle Knoll will be both difficult and dangerous.
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Thoughts: I loved this book! As an Agatha Christie fan I'm usually a little iffy when comparisons are made to her books but this one was truly Christie-esque. Annie was almost like a young Mrs. Marple. The mystery was solid and had me guessing until the end. What I really enjoyed was the unique dual timeline. In addition to Annie's present-day POV, we get the past timeline of Frances starting in 1965 via her journal entries. The entries are presented in real time as Annie reads them during her investigation. Overall this was a super fun read and I believe it's the start of a new series so I'll be patiently waiting for book #2 🔎

Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton Books for providing me an eARC in exchange for my honest thoughts ✨

Perrin constructs a cozy mystery filled with intrigue and plenty of suspects to keep readers guessing. Frances is told a fortune at a young age predicting her murder. She works her whole life to discover who will kill her. In comes Annie, her great-niece, summoned to the estate, but upon arrival discovers Frances is already dead. Through her great aunt's journals she continues to search for clues to who may have killed Frances. Tied to this mystery is another: the disappearance of Frances' friend Emily. The two mysteries intertwine.

The story moves between Annie's narrative and the journal entries. Readers are also moved back and forth between time lines. Perrin leaves plenty of clues, a whole slew of suspects and motives. For readers who prefer a more linear and straight forward mystery, this might be a challenge. Overall, it's a fun read. Perrin has a wonderful voice and does a great job constructing the mystery.

France’s Adams is given a fortune in her teens that predicts her murder. She spends the rest of her life trying to prevent the fortune from coming true, until it does 60 years later. In a weird turn of events, just before her death, Frances names her great-niece, Annie, in her will. It is now up to Annie to solve Frances’s murder and claim her inheritance. This book is a fun, time-hopping, twisty murder mystery that will keep you turning the pages. I look forward to more mysteries by Kristen Perrin.

My 1st 5 stars for 2024, finally!
This is one of those books I'll think about often. It was SO good. I loved the main character, she was incredibly likable from the start. I never once suspected what was going to happen or who the murderer was.
I loved the dual pov of going back in time to France's time and the present time.
I was so happy to get this ARC - thank you Penguin Random House for it in exchange for my review! Couldn't put this one down!

I really enjoyed this book. It was definitely a slow burn and could have moved faster, but I enjoyed how it all came together in the end! I love a good murder mystery! Thanks NetGalley for the ARC!

HOW TO SOLVE YOUR OWN MURDER by Kristen Perrin is the top pick on the LibraryReads list for March and author Perrin's adult fiction debut offers a diverting mystery set in an English country village. The events toggle between two time periods: mid 1960s and present day. In the past, teenager Francis and friends Emily and Rose receive a disturbing fortune about a death – it takes 60 years for the prophecy to be realized and Frances' great niece, Annie Adams, sets out to solve the puzzle and inherit the estate. Both story lines are suspenseful with multiple complex characters and troubling occurrences. Despite the many suspects, though, there were abundant clues and the murderer was telegraphed fairly early. HOW TO SOLVE YOUR OWN MURDER also received a starred review from Booklist and indications are that cozy mystery fans will have more of Annie's adventures to look forward to in the future.

I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook! I loved the unique premise - having your granddaughter inherit and live in your castle whilst solving your murder - perfect. Super fun and refreshing.

I love a good cozy mystery and the characters and the plot of this story fit the bill perfectly. I really enjoyed the ride and had no idea who committed the murders until the reveal at the end.

My only issue was that the writing was kind of hard to follow at points. This was amplified by the fact that there were like 100 characters lol. But if you love cozy mysteries, definitely check this one out.

In 1965, Frances Adams has her fortune read at a country fair. With news of her impending murder she spends the rest of her life trying to stay one step ahead of her murderer. Everyone in her village is a suspect and she has files to prove it. When she decides to rewrite her will nearly sixty years later, she invites her great niece, Annie, to meet with her, but the unthinkable happens and Frances turns up dead before the meeting. Annie is now in a race with others to solve the murder in order to determine the outcome of Frances’s estate, but with only a week to succeed will she be able to save Castle Knoll or will she “inherit her aunts fate instead of her fortune”? This was a very fun and clever mystery and Perrin leaves us with hints for more cases to come from the diaries Frances has left behind. Thank you to Penguin and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

Kristen Perrin is a new author for me, and hopefully we will hear more from her. Very interesting premise that takes us thru decades of family strife.. Best friends are at a faire and decide to have their fortune told. Francis comes out of the tent with fear that goes down to her soul. She will be murdered in the future! She lives her life with this black cloud over her. Suspicious of everyone and everything she does end up married and wealthy. But the future comes to everyone including Francis. Annie is a normal average girl who finds out she is named in her great aunts will. She is to go to her mansion to visit her for the first time in her life. She heard about this eccentric aunt and the stories so she isn’t sure why she has been named in the will but reluctantly goes because her family could use the money. She meets at the lawyers office and is taken to her Great Aunts home where Francis is found dead behind her desk. For once in her life Annie takes charge and decides she will find out who has kept the fortunes promise. Us readers are taken step by step along for the ride.
Ms. Perrin has away with her story, keeping you hopping along with just enough information to keep you guessing to the end. Intoxicating story that keeps the reader on edge.

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

I enjoyed this book. I thought it was a fun murder mystery and unraveling another disappearance from 60 years ago. My only criticism is that I wish it was a tiny bit more fun or funny. But I did like it!! I highly recommend to anyone who loves a murder mystery book.

Thank you NetGalley & PENGUIN GROUP Dutton for an arc of this book. Ow available!!!!

Frances spends her entire life consumed by a fortune she was told at age 16. With flashbacks via her diary, the reader gets insight into Frances’ younger years. When Frances is murdered, it’s up to her great-niece to figure out who did it.

The concept is intriguing, and it reads like a cozy mystery. It is sort of closed-room feel because of its setting in a small town, and the diary pages are a fun change up to the detective work in present time. However, the story reads like a YA. I kept thinking the main character was 15, not mid twenties. The overall story and outcome is good, but the story seems a little naive in execution and slow in repeating clues and giving explanations. At times it felt more tell than show due to the explanations.