How to Solve Your Own Murder is one of the most unique takes on a classic murder mystery that I have had the privilege of reading. It seamlessly blends two separate points of view that slowly release clues as to why Frances spends her life trying to solve her own prophesied murder and her great niece continuing her work after her death.

The characters are intelligently written and interesting and the plot moved quickly enough that the pages kept turning. I'm usually pretty good at solving mysteries early on, but this one had a surprise twist that I even had not expected, but fit in perfectly with the writing. I was pleasantly surprised to find this was the first in a series and look forward to future installments.

Recommended for fans of unconventional mysteries or those who love a good inheritance
trope.

Thank you to NetGalley, Dutton, and Kristen Perrin for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book gave me Agatha Christie vibes, which I enjoyed. Very much a classic mystery. I struggled to connect with characters at times, but all in all it was am enjoyable read. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to review this ARC

Thank you NetGalley and Dutton for providing this ebook for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

"How to Solve Your Own Murder" intrigued me with its premise and the initial set up of the mystery, and needing to know what really happened kept me reading.

However, I had a difficult time keeping track of the characters, and even after all the answers were revealed, I struggled to grasp the motivations behind the characters' actions.

While I often enjoy dual-timeline books, in this instance some of the dates in the earlier timeline were confusing or possibly incorrect, and it seemed like the impact of decades passing between the two timelines was not adequately considered in the character development.

Im going to be honest, I can see where this book would be a huge favorite for some people. The idea is so clever.

Frances has been saying since she was a teenager and received bad news from a fortune teller that she was going to die. She basically spends her entire life waiting for that to happen.

Frances’ Great Niece, Annie, is summoned to their small village in order to go over Frances’ update to her Will. While the group is waiting on Frances to show up, they discover that she is dead.

Frances tells the members gathered, through her Will, that they will compete to figure out who murdered her and why.

This book just had too many characters and too much happening for me. I enjoyed it and I know that it will appeal to a large audience. It just was not my favorite. It’s a good read but I had to trudge through it in parts.

Thank you to Penguin Randomhouse and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thanks to NetGalley, the Publisher and Author for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

How To Solve Your Own Murder is a fun mystery with an intriguing plot. I usually like dual timeline books and I enjoyed how this one was done with journal entries. I tended to prefer the old journal entries to the present narrative. I actually didn't guess who killed either person, as it is a tightly plotted, satisfying, classically puzzle-y mystery.

How to Solve Your Own Murder is a good fit for readers who enjoy cozy mysteries with a dual timeline, following characters, uncovering family secrets and solving cold cases to bring justice to victims.

How To Solve Your Own Murder was a fun mystery with an intriguing plot. I usually don't like dual timeline books but I liked how this one was done with journal entries. I found myself being more and more drawn towards Francis' POV and wanting to know more about her life. I actually didn't guess who killed either person (Emily or Francis), and I was happy about that. I do see that this says it's book #1, so I hope we get more from Annie and Castle Knoll in the future.

A fun romp with a solid mystery behind it - enjoyable central character surrounded by various people who might conceivably have "done it" - Annie's great-aunt Frances always believed the fortune-teller's promise, that eventually she would be murdered. This comes true within the first pages and Annie becomes the amateur sleutch, fending off suspicious relatives, friends from Frances' past and assorted workers around the estate. Everyone seems to have a motive, some lying in the past, some very much in the present. Like Annie, you never quite know who's an ally and who's untrustworthy. Kept my attention. Well-written, well-paced and a good palate cleanser after one too many spooky thrillers. Will appeal to fans of cozy mysteries with intrepid young female detectives saving the day.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin

Annie is a young aspiring writer who falls into a real life murder mystery that she must solve in a race against time in order to save her childhood home and other familial estates owned by her great-aunt Frances from being sold off. Her eccentric great-aunt was told in her youth by a fortune teller that she would be murdered and it had become her life's obsession to solve it before it comes true. Annie has gone to meet Frances due to a change in her will, but before the will can be discussed by all involved, it is discovered Frances has been murdered. When the will is read, Frances states that whoever solves her murder, between another relative and Annie, will inherit her whole fortune but if neither one can solve it or someone else does before the week is up, the Estate will be sold off. Everyone is a suspect.

I really enjoyed this whodunit mystery novel. The story was told from Annie's view in the present and Frances's view from the past written in her found diary. Annie is a very likable character and I was rooting for her to put the pieces together to solve great-aunt Frances's murder. The writer describes each character and the reasons they could be a suspect which keeps you guessing throughout the story. I would love to see the adventures of Annie continue and if there are more mysteries for her to solve.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for the ebook.

For fans of Knives Out and The Thursday Murder Club, an enormously fun mystery about a woman who spends her entire life trying to prevent her foretold murder only to be proven right sixty years later, when she is found dead in her sprawling country estate... Now it's up to her great-niece to catch the killer.

It’s 1965 and teenage Frances Adams is at an English country fair with her two best friends. But Frances’s night takes a hairpin turn when a fortune-teller makes a bone-chilling prediction: One day, Frances will be murdered. Frances spends a lifetime trying to solve a crime that hasn’t happened yet, compiling dirt on every person who crosses her path in an effort to prevent her own demise. For decades, no one takes Frances seriously, until nearly sixty years later, when Frances is found murdered, like she always said she would be.

In the present day, Annie Adams has been summoned to a meeting at the sprawling country estate of her wealthy and reclusive great-aunt Frances. But by the time Annie arrives in the quaint English village of Castle Knoll, Frances is already dead. Annie is determined to catch the killer, but thanks to Frances’s lifelong habit of digging up secrets and lies, it seems every endearing and eccentric villager might just have a motive for her murder. Can Annie safely unravel the dark mystery at the heart of Castle Knoll, or will dredging up the past throw her into the path of a killer?

As Annie gets closer to the truth, and closer to the danger, she starts to fear she might inherit her aunt’s fate instead of her fortune. (GoodReads synopsis)

I actually loved this novel. I related to Annie Adams as soon as I started because I, too, love mysteries and am writing a novel. I do wish, because Frances’ story involved her friends, that Annie’s best friend had been more involved.

The pace was decent. I liked that Frances was still a major part of the story, and not just as a victim. I didn’t quite understand how Annie figured out the solution, but that made the novel better for me. I wanted to take points off because I hate when the protagonist puts themselves in unnecessary danger, but I also understood why Annie did so. I hope this is not a standalone and that Kristen Perrin writes a sequel. I want to know what happens with so many characters but especially Detective Crane and Annie.

Overall, I rate this novel 5 out of 5 stars.

Wow! I absolutely loved this book! Of the 36 books I’ve read in 2024, this is one of my favorites.

Annie Adams is summoned to the small English village of Castle Knoll to hear about the changes to her great aunt Frances’ will, but by the time she arrives, her great aunt has been murdered. Flashback to 1965, and Frances has just received an ominous fortune at the country fair declaring that her life will end in murder. Frances dedicates her life to solving her to-be murder before it happens. When Frances’ fortune becomes true, Annie is determined to pick up where Frances left off to solve her mysterious death.

I loved the dual POV, alternating between present-day Annie Adams and 1960’s Frances.

The plot is fast-paced, detailed, and intricate, so I didn’t have the mystery solved early on. There are many times you’ll think you know who to suspect and who to trust, but shortly after, you won’t be so sure.

The book has the perfect number of characters. You get to know them well enough without too many to keep track of.

I loved that the whole experience is a substantial growing point in Annie’s life and that she learns so much about her family and who she is at her core.

While reading, I kept thinking that if Bridgerton and The Inheritance Games had a baby, this would be it. 😆

A teenage girl gets a fortune about her future murder. After spending her life trying to solve her own murder, she is found dead by the great niece she never met. Was it murder? And if so, who murdered her?

The chapters that come from diary Frances wrote in her teens are fascinating. I’m instantly a huge fan of Frances and am enveloped by a certain magic to her story.

The present day bits I had to wrap my head around. The characters were complex, and often more unlikeable. Anne, Frances’ great niece, thinks on her feet, puts pieces together quickly (and effortlessly), and is very bold… a lot like Frances was.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Loved the story! The ending was missing a certain je ne sais quo, but gave me all the happy feels.

Thanks so much to Net Galley and Penguin Random House for the privilege of reading this fabulous book by Kristen Perrin

Really enjoyed a wonderful cozy mystery following in Agatha Christie’s footsteps .Characters that engaged my attention enjoyed from beginning to end.#netgalley #duttonbooks.

Interesting “classic” mystery. Especially loved the ‘60s timeline—atmosphere was spot on. My attention wandered a bit, but it was worth the effort to finish. Recommended!

Thanks to Dutton for this fun mystery! When Francis is young she visits a fortune teller who predicts she'll be murdered. She spends her life trying to prevent her murder only to be proven right sixty years later when she is found dead in her sprawling country estate. Will her great-niece solve the crime?

This was fun and the comparisons to Knives Out were spot on. I liked going back in time and seeing how the past influenced the present. This was a fun cozy mystery and I'm looking forward to reading more of the series!

I know I'm late, sorry, I wanted to say I see why this is getting popular on TikTok. It was great. Thank you very much for the ARC!

Love Midsomer Murders? Have I got a book for you....

A cozy village with everybody knowing everyone else's business sets the scene for mysteries that span decades. We start with a fortune teller who spookily foretells impending doom for teenage Frances. We then fast forward to Frances' great niece, Annie, who is brought to the aforementioned cozy village to get to know her great aunt and have a meeting regarding her will. Frances is obviously a character, she has been planning to solve her murder for 60 years. Unfortunately for Annie, her first sight of her great aunt is that of her dead body.
Our clever Frances has set up her will in a way that forces her relatives to solve her murder. Whoever solves it first stands to inherit everything, which is quite a lot. If they can’t solve her murder within a week, or if the police solve it before one of them, everything will be sold off to a local boy's property development firm.
I really enjoyed how the novel shifted from the perspective of Annie, a want-to-be mystery writer, and Frances' own diary entries from her teenage years that recount the time leading up to the disappearance of Emily, one of Frances’ best friends. Ms. Perrin really does a great job of rounding out Frances' character and making her someone you care about. While this book is set in the present day, this book really reminds me of Agatha Christie (especially Miss Marple) a small village setting, plenty of motives, family drama, and of course everyone is keeping secrets. I really enjoyed this book it kept me guessing. I really enjoyed the cast of characters and kinda hope to see them again. When I first learned this was to be a series I was uncertain, but I look forward to visiting Castle Knoll again.


Thanks to Penguin Group Dutton and NetGalley, who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for giving me a digital ARC of this fabulous mystery by Kristen Perrin - 5 stars!

In 1965, Frances is at a county fair with her two best friends, Emily and Rose, when a fortune teller tells her that she will be murdered. From then on, she's obsessed with preventing her murder as well as suspicious of those around her. In present day, Frances' great niece, Annie, is summoned by Frances' lawyer to Castle Knolls where Frances has a grand estate to discuss her inheritance. Annie is the one to find Frances dead, the long-ago prophecy come true - she has been murdered. And the changes in the will say that the one who solves Frances' murder is the one to inherit everything.

Told in dual timelines from the 1960s to present, we learn Frances' story, Emily's disappearance, how Frances came to live at Castle Knolls. Annie, an aspiring mystery writer, is determined to solve the mystery and figure out how killed her great aunt. There's a big cast of interesting characters, lots of clues, and you're a better person than I if you are able to figure out who did it! But it was such a fun ride - I was totally invested in both timelines - perfectly written and executed! Bravo!

At no point in this book did I know what was going on. I was trying so hard to figure out the mystery but could not do it. When the reveal happened and the details were explained it was easy to see the trail left throughout the story. I enjoyed that I wasn't able to figure it out. I loved that this book was dual timeline. I kept wanting it to go back to Frances' diary. Annie was a fantastic narrator to follow. She followed the clues and pieced them together in a really interesting way. I am really looking forward to the next book and it seems like it was set up nicely at the end of this one. I really liked this book

How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin #twentyfifthbookof2024 #arc

CW: death, murder

Frances is sure she will be murdered. More than sixty years later, she is proven right, and it’s up to her great niece Annie to solve the mystery.

The investigation into Frances’ death now reveals the disappearance of one of her close friends sixty years ago, and in order to earn her inheritance, Annie has to solve both mysteries.

I wouldn’t exactly call this a cozy mystery, but it’s not super high stakes. I learned it’s the first book in a planned series (I somehow keep reading series-launching books!) and I can see how the people about town could sustain a few more mysteries. I won’t continue it but it will be right up some readers’ alley.

I enjoyed the dual timelines and liked Frances as a main character. I thought Annie wasn’t very developed, but I liked her mystery-solving. Some of the townsfolk needed a little more fleshing out as well. A lot of people will enjoy the small town setting, and the cover is charming.

Thank you to @netgalley and @duttonbooks for the advance copy. (Available now, pub date was 3/26/24)

#castleknollfiles #howtosolveyourownmurder

I’d rate this 3.75 stars! It was cozy but not in a cheesy way. I liked the pacing. I didn’t really connect to any of the characters, but I like the plot and it was sprinkled with enough clues to Keep you interested