60 years is a long time to wait to be killed, but that's what happens to Frances after a fortune teller tell her she will be murdered. While Frances doesn't solve her own murder, she does leave clues in her journal. If her relatives can’t solve her murder within a week, or if the police solve it before one of them, they will loose their inheritance.

The story is told in present day by Annie, her great-niece, and in the past from Frances' journals. This reads like an old school mystery and at times I felt the author was channeling Agatha Christie. With engaging characters and unique story I found it a good mystery that left me surprised when Annie (not me) figured out who the murder was.

I received this advance review copy from NetGalley & the publisher for my honest review.

I grabbed this book because of the title and because it said its for fans of Knives Out and I’m always looking for a good mystery.

I enjoyed getting two murder mysteries in one story. Getting to know Frances through her journal was also very cool. I had a bit of trouble keeping the different characters straight and what time period they belonged in since a lot of them were in both or they were related.

Overall I enjoyed the story and I’ll read what comes next in the series.

1 Sentence Summary: In 1965, teenage Frances Adams goes to a fortune teller who predicts that she will one day be murdered; Frances spends the rest of her life trying to solve her own murder before it happens despite nobody taking her seriously, until decades later when she is found dead and it’s up to her great-niece Annie to uncover what happened.

My Thoughts: This was an epic murder mystery! Lots of twists and turns and an ending I was not expecting at all!

I really loved the English countryside mansion setting; it had lots of creepy atmospheric vibes. I also loved how we alternated between present day with Annie solving her great-aunt’s murder and flashbacks to Frances’s past via entries from her journal.

All the characters and relationships were so complicated and interesting (and toxic lol). Especially Frances’s friend group, like, wow they were messed up. In such a fascinating way, though. However, Annie and her love interest were very cute together (and to be honest, I wasn’t expecting them to get together, so I’m not going to say who it is).

Overall this was a twisty, well written mystery that kept me hooked the whole time!!

Recommend to: murder mystery fans.

(Warnings: swearing; death)

As a teenager, Frances receives a prophecy that she will one day be murdered.  Although no one else takes this seriously, Frances does, and spends her life distrustful of everyone.  Years later, her great-niece Annie arrives at her estate to find Frances murdered and becomes determined to find her killer.

This story has a smooth transition between the past and present timelines.  The past focuses on France's story and also includes some journal entries of her investigation into her murder.  The present features Annie and her quest to find answers.  Each chapter toggles between these two storylines and helps slowly unfold clues.  What also makes this interesting is the "Clue" or Agatha Christie-like atmosphere of the storytelling.  There are numerous characters that all seem to have motive in one way or another and all have their complicated histories with Frances. 

Frances herself is a fun character. She hears a prophecy from a fortune teller at a county fair and believes it completely.  As she gets older and parts of the prophecy become true (to her interpretation) she becomes more suspicious of everyone.  She has a murder board on her wall (for a murder that hasn't even happened yet) and lives an all around abnormal lifestyle.  Annie is likable and clever and I enjoyed the twists and turns this book took me on.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Enjoyable from start to finish. I will say that I expected it to be like MY MURDER but it was very different-- that was on me for not reading the book description. Excited to read more from this author

A teenage girl receives a cryptic teadimg from a fortune teller that she will be murdered and decades later, the fortune because true - who is the murderer and why? Great idea but it just didn’t click with me. Lots of characters that were hard to connect with and keep track of, and the storyline was a bit too slow to hold my interest. Many folks will probably enjoy this book, it just wasn’t for me. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book!

This mystery is absolutely the best mystery I've read this year. I loved it!! This is or should be in the running for book of the year. I loved it it was written perfectly and I loved every word of it.
I just reviewed How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin. #HowtoSolveYourOwnMurder #NetGalley
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This was very reminiscent of Agatha Cristi. This was a great cozy mystery. Great cast of characters too. Great work!

Split between present day and 1965, How to Solve Your Own Murder follows Annie Adams as she tries to solve both the murder of her great aunt Frances and the disappearance of Frances's friend Emily. Summoned to her great aunt's country home for a meeting about her estate, Frances is found dead and her will reveals a challenge to her great niece and her step nephew: solve her murder in the next seven days, or everything gets sold off and donated. Though Annie has never even met her aunt, she is drawn in, especially when she learns that Frances had been obsessed with solving her own murder, which had been foretold sixty years before. As Annie learns more about her aunt, she also learns about a second mystery - that of the disappearance of Aunt Frances's friend Emily in 1965 - and works to solve both before time runs out on the will and her own life.

This is a twisty mystery that will keep most readers guessing for quite a while. Everyone in the village seems to have a reason to have hated Frances and many of those players also could have been responsible for Emily's disappearance as well. The alternating between present day and Frances's 1966 journal helps to reveal information similar to how Annie is discovering it herself. A cozy-ish mystery with a satisfying reveal, made up of interesting characters and fun plot twists.

Thank you to Penguin Group, Dutton and NetGalley for the opportunity to read How to Solve Your Own Murder early in exchange for a review.

This was an incredibly enjoyable read, and the perfect prevention mechanism to starve off my impending book slump. I found myself itching to pry my eyes open for just ONE more chapter every night to figure out what was going to happen next. That anticipation is the exact feeling I seek out a mystery/thriller for.



In ‘How to Solve Your Own Murder’ we follow a young Annie Adams who was recently declared sole beneficiary to her Great Aunt Frances’s will. After being called to the mansion estate amongst a small-countryside town to discuss further, it’s revealed that Annie will actually be competing for the inheritance in a race to solve her Great Aunt’s murder. Upon learning how superstitious Frances was, and uncovering her 1960s diary containing a whole separate mystery - Annie figures out that it will take the weaving of the past’s loose threads to shed light on the current chaotic tapestry. 



I really loved the dual perspective the book gave - both Annie’s current investigation and Great Aunt France’s diary. Through each diary entry we gained more insight on the involvement and relationships between the people Annie was currently meeting, adding a whole extra layer of intrigue to each interaction. We were forced to combine the perspectives of both of our narrators, and thus was shown how people change and grow throughout the years. It became a story of redemption, of justice, of grief, family, and of remembrance. The way we as readers grew to understand Frances in-time with Annie made Annie herself a very sympathetic protagonist, encouraging me to not just root for her success but also genuinely feel her sadness towards the Aunt she never met. 



I wouldn’t say it’s as involved as a Christie nor as laughable as Knives Out - but it was still a solidly fun read. I would totally recommend this as a cozy murder mystery - light and easy, but with just the perfect mix of suspense and substance. 



Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC e-copy!

What would you do if you knew you were going to be murdered? Perrin presents this unsettling conundrum in her cozy debut mystery. Here, Frances Adams is told by a fortuneteller that she will lose her life at the hands of another. Yet no one believes Frances and her talk of her ominous fate until it actually happens decades later.

Having no doubt, however, Frances spent the rest of her life gathering evidence of the upcoming slaying, maintaining files on anyone even slightly suspicious. In her final act of life, the now affluent Englishwoman invited relatives to her quaint Castle Knoll home, stating in her will that whoever solves the crime first will inherit her estate. But the kicker is, they only have a week. Thus begins a whirlwind of an amateur investigation, layered with spellbinding suspense and captivating twists. Perrin alternates Frances’ timeline with that of her great-niece, Annie, a relative invited to help crack the case.

I had such a great time reading this! What started as more of a cozy mystery turned exciting and competitive with a wild kind of ending!

A few thoughts I had:
- Annie was a great fmc - she had her own reservations, concerns, and anxieties, but she also used every single piece of her brain to solve the murder.
- I love the competition element of the mystery solving. Pitting everyone against each other to solve the murder first made the story move along faster with more complicated dynamics between characters. Who to trust?? No one??
- Everyone has secrets, and I loved discovering how messed up the town was.
- The ambulance scene at the end was exciting and really amped up the action leading up to the resolution.

Overall, I loved reading this. It was similar to a lot of typical murder mysteries, but it had a few unique elements that had me hooked until the end.

This was such a fun cozy mystery!

Cozy mysteries have been a little hit or miss for me recently so I was very happy that this one had me captive till the end! I loved Annie's character (usually the mc is kinda annoying to me). Her quick wit and love of mysteries makes her a fun protagonist. I really enjoyed the mystery as well! I wasn't able to guess who the culprit was but at the reveal, I audibly groaned because I was so close to figuring it out!!! Other fun things to look forward to in this book:

-miss marple vibes
-shocking twists
-british small town filled with a unique set of characters
-dual pov: present and past diary entries
-hint of romance

This was such a great start of a series and I can't wait what mystery Annie will solve next. And also hoping the next book has a bit more romance 😉

I can only imagine the confusion of a great aunt you've never met calling on you in her small village in the countryside. She spent her whole life with a curse over her head and it ended with her murder. I would consider this book similar to the movie Knives Out with Agatha Christie-esque vibes. I found it quite intriguing and a fun read.

This novel bounces between the first-person perspectives of Annie Adams, who is trying to solve her Great Aunt Frances’ recent murder, and of Great Aunt Frances via her 1960s journal as she tries to solve her own impending murder as well. To my surprise, I find myself enjoying Great Aunt Frances’ perspective more than that of present-day Annie. Frances is confronted with deceitful friendships, and she struggles to process her feelings, show compassion, and find her inner confidence.

The first few chapters are not boring but do not captivate until further in (past 20%), perhaps because it is more clear by this point how the journal flashbacks give us insight into the case. It is hard to put down the story after this.

Personally, I suspected the culprit early on but not in a way that was frustratingly obvious. What I appreciate about this book is that the reader truly does feel they are piecing together the mystery alongside the main characters. The truth is not revealed in some serendipitous manner where all the sleuthing does not matter in the end, which is a common pitfall in many murder mysteries.

The book feels complete as is, but I would be thrilled if this author continued with a sequel!

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Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Dutton who provided this ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked the pacing of this novel. I was never bored or waiting for the next thing to happen. It was a bit formulaic and not the most original premise, but I like a good comfort read. I really liked the ending and I can't wait to read the next in the series. I feel like I could read multiple books in the series without it feeling old.

This mystery was very unique and fun! When a fortune-teller foretells her murder, Frances spends the rest of her long life trying to solve her own murder. Sixty years later, her grandniece races to solve her murder to win her fortune. The dual timeline was so interesting, and I loved figuring out how the multiple mysteries fit together! This is only the first book in the series, and I can't wait to see what she writes next!

Thank you to Netgalley and Dutton for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
I found "How To Solve Your Own Murder" by Kristen Perrin
to be an addictive, interesting, clever & well written murder mystery that pulled me in right away & didn't let me go until its final reveal.
I enjoyed the author's writing style by using the present & the past timelines to solve the murders.
I would love to read another book by
Ms. Perrin.

Set in the UK and told from both Annie's POV and Frances's diary entries, this whodunnit had a charming, classic mystery feel. This was a complex puzzle, with a large cast of suspicious characters, a few red herrings, and a surprise or two along the way. Many characters appear in both timelines, and their relationships and possible motives are revealed gradually. Hence, the reader needs to concentrate in order to sleuth alongside Annie and try to unravel the many threads. The number of characters was not easy to track at first. It took me about a third of the book before I felt I had a grasp on everyone. However, I was pleased to have been surprised at the reveal! I also enjoyed Annie's character, Frances's flashbacks, the slightly creepy manor house setting, the unique premise, and the book's overall atmosphere. Although this has a cozy feel, I think it lands somewhere between cozy and classic mystery. It reminded me a bit of a Midsomer Murders episode or a British crime series on PBS. I recommend this to those who love a British mystery and enjoy examining lots of clues and solving puzzles. It is a promising start to a new series, and I would be interested to see where the author takes things from here. And I love the cover!

Thank you to Penguin Group Dutton for the gifted eARC. I enjoyed it!

I would love to thank NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me an early digital copy of this book.

How To Solve Your Own Murder centers around a group of friends out one day, when they were young and came across a fortune teller. One of the girl's fortune pretty much said that she would be murdered.

She spent her entire life trying to figure out who and how she was going to be murdered. Eventually, she dies and her "friends and family" have to finish what she started.