Unfortunately this book just wasn’t for me. Perrin’s novel is set in the English country side and revolves around Annie who has just been named benefactor of her Great Aunt Frances. When she goes for a meeting she discovers her great aunt is dead after having believed all her life she would be murdered. I couldn’t connect to the characters or the storyline but I can see how others would enjoy this cozy mystery!

First I need to say that this title is catchy. I would definitely pick this book up if I saw it in a bookstore. Secondly, this was the perfect cozy mystery. If you love Agatha Christie, you need to pick this one up.

Frances Adams spends her entire life trying to prevent her own murder, which was predicted by a fortune she received. Her body is found in her estate the same day she was to announce changes to her will. Annie Adams, an author and great niece to Frances, was summoned to the estate to hear of the will changes and was in a state of shock at the discovery of France’s body, whom she had never met.

During the reading of the Will, it is learned that whoever can solve Frances’ murder will be the sole beneficiary of the entire, massive, estate. Annie is at an immediate disadvantage since she did not personally know Frances, but her luck turns when she discovers Frances’ diary written the summer she received her I’ll fortune. In the face of death threats, Annie continues to put herself at risk to bring justice to not one, but two murder victims.

Who can be trusted? Who has the most to gain with the murder of Frances?

I was elated to see this marked as “Castle Knoll Files #1” on Goodreads because I need more! So many characters were likable, and I feel there is much more story to tell. This one I truly could not put down.

This was such a fun book! I loved the murder mystery and it kept me guessing the whole time. It had a little 0f everything - mystery, humor and intrigue. The comparisons to Knives Out are spot on. I look forward to reading more from this author and in this series. Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review! 

Frances Adams is told as a teenager in 1965 that she would be murdered one day. She then spends the rest of her life trying to prevent it and figuring out who would kill her. Decades later, Annie Adams is summoned to Castle Knoll to meet her Great-Aunt Frances. Instead of finally meeting her reclusive relative, she finds Frances dead. When Frances’ will is read, Annie learns that to inherit everything Frances left behind she must compete against the nephew of Frances’ late husband to uncover the murderer. If neither is successful in solving the crime within the time frame, the estate will be sold to a developer. Annie is at a disadvantage since she is an outsider, but she stands a chance since Frances spent her entire life finding and documenting the secrets of all the residents of Castle Knoll.

I loved the quaint setting of Castle Knoll. I also loved Frances’ journal entries and seeing the past unfold. The main problem with alternate viewpoints/timelines is that one is usually going to be better than the other. And for this book, the journal entries ended up being more intriguing than following Annie.

Thank you to the author and publisher for providing me with a digital ARC of this title via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

This was a title and author that I had never heard of before, but was intrigued by the title and the summary. I wasn't sure what to expect, and kept being surprised by the book. It was a lot of fun to read and fun to play along trying to solve the murders. Enjoyable, quick read. I would happily read more in the series.

⭐️: 4/5

At a country fair in 1965, teenage Frances Adams has her fortune told, predicting that she will be murdered someday. She spends her life from that point on trying to solve a crime that hasn’t happened yet, the crime of her own murder. Decades later, Annie Adams is summoned to a meeting with her great aunt Frances, but by the time she arrives, Francis is dead. Now determined to catch her great aunt’s killer, Annie starts to unravel the dark secrets of the small village of Castle Knoll.

Before a few months ago, I was admittedly pretty fuzzy on what exactly a “cozy mystery” was. I had heard the term in conjunction with like, Agatha Christie, but had never knowingly read anything that would fall into the category, since my thriller/suspense book tastes generally lean more toward the darker, police/detective procedural, muscle thriller direction. So when I got this ARC and applied my newfound knowledge and realized this was a cozy thriller, I was intrigued, since it’s just…different from what I normally read. The most interesting thing I find about cozy mysteries right now is that it’s harder for me to predict where the plot is going, since red herrings are built into the plot, and I’m not as used to the flow of them and the common pitfalls and plot twist “tropes” if you will. I really enjoyed the structure of this one, with the flashback diary entries that allowed the past to be revealed just as it was relevant in the present. There were admittedly a lot of names to keep straight though, and keeping track of how everyone was related to one another and what their jobs were, etc. was no small task. Definitely a fun read that I recommend!

Thank you to @netgalley and @duttonbooks for this free eARC!!

A real multitude of mysteries in one package—a murder now, the solution of which is a timed inheritance contest, is linked to a historical missing persons case, which is related to a big family secret, all of which is wrapped around the murder victim who spent seemingly her whole life trusting no one and nosing around her neighbors and discovering their secrets (all of which, both her life and death, were a bit too tragic). There's a lot to follow, some parts are more engaging than others, and gosh is it difficult to care very much about all these rich people.

I would consider this a cozy mystery type novel. The title had me intrigued from the beginning. It was a quick read for me, but good. A good way to pass a rainy day.

I wanted to love this--the description sounded great, but ultimately it was much too slow-moving and didn't capture my attention. The main character didn't have anything in particular to endear her to me and the plot took way too long for anything to happen.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ ½
Genre: Mystery Thriller

This is a story told in a dual timeline. The past is set in 1965 and follows Frances Adams and her two best friends. One night, the three girls visit a fortune teller, who predicts that Frences will be murdered. This prediction will make Frances miserable and cause her to waste her life figuring out how to prevent that from happening instead of living normally.

The present timeline follows the character Annie Adams, who is Frances’ great-niece. She is invited to her great aunt's estate, along with other characters, to discuss Frances' will and the modifications that she made to it. Upon her arrival there, she will be shocked at what she will find there.

This is a cozy murder mystery with intriguing main characters. Both timelines are narrated in the first-person style. The premise of a woman trying to prevent her own death really sounded interesting to me. It is the main attraction of this mystery novel.

The twists are not going to shock you or anything like that, but they are suitable for the story. However, I think the dual timeframe disrupted the flow of the story. No matter what, you will find yourself invested in one story more than the other, which makes the one that you are not much invested in more like an annoyance.

The other thing you need to keep in mind is that there are many characters, and that requires you to be more focused. Certain characters are exclusive to a single time period, while others are present in both time periods. I think the author did a good job of creating different motives for the different characters. This was an entertaining read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book.

This story is from Annie’s perspective from reading her great-aunt’s journals from the mid-1960’s after she was murdered. Annie has to solve the murder before the police do, or the whole estate is sold off with no money to be left for family. Frances, Annie’s great-aunt, learned from a fortune teller when she was a teenager that she was going to die. She just didn’t know when (wouldn’t that be awful). I honestly was not sure if Annie would be successful or not. The only thing I found lacking was the comparison to Knives Out! I expected a fair amount of cheeky comedy weaved through, but it wasn’t like that at all.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for providing me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Oh this was a fun read! It was like Clue and Knives Out, and I enjoyed it immensely.

1- I can’t totally see where this has the ability to be a good series. There’s enough quirkiness in the characters and Castle Knolls to be great launch points for future books.

2- Readers will want to underestimate Annie Adam’s because she comes across as so quiet and overwhelmed at first glance. But, she is amazing! I only wish we could have gotten scenes of her and her aunt together.

3- the two timelines worked well! Francis was so hard to like at times, but she was ultimately right in the end (unfortunately). Plus, she had her own murder board!

I’d recommend this book to any mystery fan who also appreciates humor mixed in.

"It's all rubbish anyway, you know? No one can see the future." This story is about Frances, who has spent nearly sixty years expecting her own murder, as predicted by a fortune teller. Frances summoned her great niece, Annie to her solicitor's office. Before the will was read, Frances is found dead.

Annie now must try and solve the murder, but not everyone wants the murder solved. This is a fun and fast paced mystery, it keeps the reader guessing. The final pages will leave you breathless.

Intelligent, Captivating and Enjoyable! 3.5 stars!

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy! This book will be released 3/26/24.

A solid, dual-timeline mystery with lots of red herrings (the kind where loads of people are doing something bad, but is it THE REALLY BAD THING?) and characters I want to learn more about. I can absolutely see this becoming a series - one that I will for sure want to read.

Fan-freakin’-tastic!
I don’t think I have ever had so much fun reading a book. This is a great ‘who done it’ story and I absolutely loved all the characters. Even those that weren’t so easy to like. I felt like I was right there with Annie putting together all the clues to try to figure out who murdered Great Aunt Frances. This was the type of book that I wanted to finish to find out the conclusion, yet didn’t want it to end. If you enjoyed Knives Out, you will definitely want to get your hands on this one!
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

This was a wonderful murder mystery! I enjoyed her writing style. It felt like Clue come to life! Thank you to the publisher, NetGalley, and the author for the ARC.

I liked this book even more than I thought I would. I could not put it down.

The plot was intricately woven and heavy but written in a way that made it easy to follow and enjoyable to read. I couldn’t quite figure out where the end was going but I didn’t mind too much as I was engaged throughout discovering as much about Great Aunt Frances’ past as her murder.

Each character was both likable and detestable for certain actions and it was never quite clear cut whether you should like or trust them or not. It was the perfect demonstration of Great Aunt Frances’ own paranoia and the world she and Annie inhabit.

Satisfying ending that didn’t feel obvious or spoonfed but made sense all along in retrospect.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced review copy in exchange for my honest review!

I had no clue what to expect from this book, so I am pleased to say how much I loved it!

How to Solve Your Own Murder starts with a unique and intriguing premise — a teenage girl receives a cryptic fortune telling of bones and betrayal, which she assumes will lead to her ultimate death. Frances makes it to a great old age but is ultimately killed, and her great niece Annie takes up the task of solving the murder with the added incentive of earning an inheritance from Frances.

The timeline alternates between Frances’s diary entries and Annie’s present thoughts. In some books, this alternation is confusing, but it worked wonderfully here. The book’s pace also flowed well and never seemed to lag to me.

I loved Annie’s character as a smart, determined heroine. There were also several other lovable and memorable characters throughout. Many characters connect between both timelines, but I found it simple to keep everyone straight.

Up until the very end, I was unable to untangle who had committed the crime. I found How to Solve Your Own Murder difficult to put down and was glad to see it will become a series! I highly recommend it for lovers of mystery!

Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton for my advance reader copy!

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this unedited ARC.

Take out your notebook because you are going to want to be recording some damning details in this one!

This is the perfect example of a cozy murder mystery! (One of my favorite genres that I think the book world is very sadly lacking in). This is a twist that you can definitely see coming IF you pay attention. In my opinion, those are the very best because who wants to read an entire murder mystery that they were never going to crack because of the very unknowable detail that the author revealed at the end??? Not me! You also need your notebook to keep track of all of the characters and how they are related because wow– was I confused at times!

How to Solve Your Own Murder is about 26 year old Annie. Annie is a want to be murder mystery author, who’s entire life turns into a murder mystery. She gets a message that she is now one of the beneficiaries in her great aunt’s will, whom she has never met before. Through meeting the locals at Castle Knoll, Annie learns that her Great Aunt Frances was known to be a bit kooky, all because she believed wholeheartedly in a fortune that she got when she was 17.

“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.”

Well, the fortune was correct, and she turns up dead 60 years later. It is up to Annie and some people she has yet to learn if she can trust, to solve her aunt’s murder so justice can be served at last.

This book is ⅘ stars because as I said– it was very exciting around 40% of the way through. From that point on, I didn’t want to put it down and I finished reading it in one day. The loss of a star comes from the first 39%... The story did not hook me like I wanted it to. It took me days of reading just a couple of pages at a time so I could make progress.

I really, really, really liked it and I am so happy there will be a second Castle Knoll Files! I enjoyed the duel timeline where we were able to see life through Frances' eyes when she was 17, and I like the hopeful promise of a blooming love story in future books. If you want a book that feels like curling up on the coach on a cloudy day, this is the perfect pick!

How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin is the 1st book in her new Castle Knoll Files series. The story starts off in 1965 when 3 teenage friends visit a fortune teller at the Castle Knoll Country Fair, when Francis is given a bad prediction that she will be murdered. Francis spent most of her life fixated on that message, always trying to avoid her death. The story revolves around two POV’s 1965 with a teenage Frances and present time (60 years later), with the perspective of Annie, Frances’s great niece. Frances is now making a will, and summons her niece, Annie, as well as other family/friends. Annie, who writes mystery stories, heads to Castle Knoll, to discuss changes to her aunt’s will, and meets Frances’ lawyer, Walter Gordon, his son, Oliver, and Saxton and his wife, Elva. Others working within the lands and mansion are also in attendance. When they arrive at the mansion to meet with Francis to review the will, she is found dead. Was the prophecy true? Was she murdered?

During the reading of the actual will, everyone learns that both her and Saxton will have to compete to uncover the truth about her murder with the person who resolves it, receiving the entire estate. If neither solves the crime, the house will be sold and broken down. Detective Crane notifies everyone that further examination proves that Francis was indeed murdered.

Annie is determined to find the killer and with an old diary belonging to Frances, she learns more about the past. Francis, Rose and Emily were best friends back in the 60’s. The past POV has a lot of information about their friendship, and the mysterious disappearance of Emily. The diary gives Annie an immediate connection the past, and how it effects the present. We switch seamlessly between Annie's perspective in the present and Frances' diary entries from the past, creating intrigue and suspense. Someone in the past knows the secrets, which will put Annie possibly threaten by a dangerous killer.

What follows is a captivating and intriguing small-town mystery, with a number of suspects, including the one who disappeared 60 years ago. I really liked most of the characters, with Annie being the lead. To say too much more, will ruin it for you. You need to read this book from start to finish.

How to Solve Your Own Murder turns into a wild gripping ride that will have you unable to put the book down. The plot was extremely well done, with a number of surprising twists. This was a very exciting masterpiece of a thriller. How to Solve Your Own Murder was very well written by Kristen Perrin.