This one was really fun! I absolutely loved the dual timelines and POVs. It made the story come together beautifully. I grew to love Aunt Francis so much through her diary entries.

The murder mystery was good. I honestly didn’t see it coming. I love being surprised and this one definitely surprised me.

It was a little slow and took me a minute to get into, but it was a really enjoyable read! If you enjoy murder mysteries, give this a read!

Annabelle Adams is sure that it is a mistake. That letter that she has received should be addressed to her mother Laura. The letter asks that Annabelle, Anne to her friends, attend a meeting with her Great Aunt Frances to discuss Frances's will. Laura is Frances's niece, Annabelle is a great niece. Why not Laura?
Thus begins the introduction to the very strange life of reclusive Aunt Francis.
Back in 1965, Frances and her two best friends, Emily and Rose, go to the local county fair. On a lark, they each have their fortunes told by the Fortune Teller at the fair. The fortunes for Rose and Emily were standard "I see many children in your future" kind of could mean anything statements.
For Frances, the fortune was real, detailed, sinister and harrowing. Her belief in that fortune would dramatically alter her life.
She was told: Your future contains dry bones. Your demise begins right when you hold the queen in the palm of one hand. Beware of the bird for it will betray you and from that there is no coming back. But daughters are the key - find the right one and keep her close. All Signs Point Toward Your Murder.
Frances believes the fortune. There is no reasoning with her. The threatening note that Emily receives and the sudden disappearance of close friend Emily are very unsettling and add to her fear. From this day forward she has two goals: find out who will kill her abd how can she avoid her own murder. For over 60 years, Frances has been actively persuing those goals. She investigates everything and everyone. She becomes a rich recluse with the "dirt" on all the residents of Castle Knoll.
Now Frances wants to meet with Anne to discuss Anne's inheritance from her will. Anne agrees to go, afterall she and her mother are broke, Anne hasn't got a job and her attempt at a novel was rejected.
Arriving at the lawyers office Anne is dismayed to learn that Auntie Frances has not shown up. She also learns that she is not the only heir abd there are conditions.
The attorney asks all to meet him at Frances's home. They can go over the planned items there,
Surprise, open the door Frances's house. Go to the library. Find Frances dead on the floor. She's been murdered. The fortune has come true.
Now police have to get to work and solve her murder, Natural response. But Frances in her will has a stipulation. She wants her death solved for sure. Therefore in order for Alice or Saxon Granesdown to inherit her entire estate, one of them has to solve her murder within one week after the event. If neither of them do, the entire estate would be sold off.
The hunt for clues begins and there are millions. In the library are dozens of file cabinets filled with information about everyone in town as well as reports about various events and actions Frances had reported or noted.
Who killed Frances? Would Anne be able to solve the murder? Would Anne, a failed mystery writer take the tones of resources Frances had accured and use it to become a successful author? Or would the Fortune Teller have the last laugh?
Read Kristin Perrin's book. It is interesting, intriguing and intelligent.
#HowtoSolveYourOwnMurder #NetGalley #Review

How to Solve Your Own Murder is set in a small-town British and is a murder mystery with a clever twist. A woman received an eerie fortune as a teenager and has spent her life trying to stop her own murder. I did find it a little slow but I think that is because I'm not sure cozy mysteries is my favorite genre. It also got a little confusing at the end. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

When Francis was a teenager she like most teens had their fortune told. However, her fortune predicted her murder. So she lived her life cautiously but ultimately she was murdered. Francis left breadcrumbs leading to who she suspected in her life would have a motive or the means to murder her. Annie must follow her Aunt Francis's clues to help determine what happened to her aunt. This is a slow-burn novel and it reminded me a lot of the game of clue; everyone is a suspect and should be looked at closely.  While Annie is following the clues and looking at all the friends and family, she finds Francis's diary and while reading the diary there are time jumps between the now and the teenager Francis and how the events happen. This is a compelling read that is full of mystery and fun! While I saw the ending coming I have also always been a sucker for cozy mysteries and I am excited to see the next installment of the story! I want to thank Netgalley and Penguin Group for the opportunity to read and review this book!

It is England, there is a fair and a murder predicted for the future.
It is cozy and I really liked the characters.
Recommended for fans of Agatha Raisin.

This book's blurb grabbed my attention with the interesting premise of how a fortune teller's prediction of your future murder can shape your life. I really enjoyed the first half of this book, getting to know the main character Frances and the current day MC Annie. The second half of the book sped up towards the conclusion and discovery of the murderer, there were so many characters that were suddenly given back stories and I had trouble keeping up with it all. Overall it was a great story that I couldn't put down. I'll be interested to read the next book in the series to see what happens to Annie next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for providing me with the digital reviewer copy of this exceptional book in exchange for my honest review.

What a fun mystery! Interesting premise, but a bit sad to think that Frances spent her entire life expecting to be murdered - and after 60 years, it came true!
I've been on a mystery reading spree and this did not disappoint. Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this one!

Unfortunately, I only made it about halfway through this book. I kept putting it down and not wanting to pick it back up, always reaching for something else. I think the mystery did not quite make for a compelling enough read for me.

How to Solve Your Own Murder was a fun dual-timeline cozy mystery set in a small town. I enjoyed jumping back and forth between the present and the journal entries, however I wasn’t as drawn into the mystery as I would have liked to be. Ultimately I enjoyed my time reading it, but it’s not a book I’ll return to or think of often.

How to Solve Your Own Murder started out as an engaging and clever story, that didn’t ramp up as I anticipated it would. I feel like it was a good enough read that just didn’t quite measure up to the comparisons. That said, check it out for yourself to see what you think.

**I appreciated the opportunity to read and review the electronic ARC. Thanks NetGalley and the publisher.

Okay I was hooked from simply the title of this book. I thought this was a great concept and honestly very well executed too! I am a murder mystery buff so I knew from page one I was going to enjoy this book. Can't wait to see what else this author puts out!

Frances lived her life expecting to be murdered. When it finally happens, her great-niece is determined to figure out who did it. But the way Frances lived her life, suspicious and keeping notes on everyone, there are a number of possibilities. Can Annie find the killer before she meets the same fate? A fun mystery. Looking forward to the next!

“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...”

I loved this cozy mystery and found it very atmospheric. The mystery is clever and the investigation follows logic and skills of deduction from start to finish. I was hooked the full way through, especially having the diary entries from Frances to read.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Unfortunately this mystery was a little too cozy for me. I put it down and never picked it back up. I tried the audiobook version on Spotify once it was released and that didn’t work for me either. I typically like a dual time line but this just wasn’t for me. I have seen plenty of other great reviews for this book!

An incredible book with wonderful characters and a beautiful setting. It will keep you guessing until the end.

Solid mystery read! Candidly, I was really enjoying the quaint sort of style and setting, and then the ending threw off the vibes for me a bit. But liked the overall themes of betrayal and obsession, and the structuring of the dual timeline was fun.

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

How to Solve Your Own Murder is the first book in a wry and very well constructed new series by Kristen Perrin. Released 26th March 2024 by Penguin Random House on their Dutton imprint, it's 368 pages and available in hardcover, large print paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links.

This is a fun homage/send up of the classic British murder mystery with a deceased (murdered) great-aunt, a crazy will, a huge inheritance up for grabs, dastardly grasping relatives, conspiracy theories galore, a convoluted plot, and a satisfyingly exciting denouement and resolution.

It's not primarily a humorous plot, but there are quite a few wry moments with departed great-aunt Frances' murder board and files which she collected over a 60 year period, having been convinced as a teenager that she was going to be murdered at some point (and she was).

It's not derivative, but fans of Knives Out, Clue, and the Thursday Murder Club will likely enjoy this one. There's a second book due out in March 2025 from the same publisher.

Four stars. It would be a good choice for public library acquisition, home use, or gift giving.

The unabridged audiobook format has a run time of 10 hours 51 minutes and is expertly read by Alexandra Dowling. She has a classically trained RP English accent and does a good job with the disparate and varied accents over a range of ages and both men and women. Sound and production quality are high throughout the read.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes

this was such a cool mysterious mystery type thriller. I dont want to spoil but really did enjoy it. I look forward to more from Kristen Perrin

Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton for this advance copy of How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin.
This was a fun unique spin on the classic whodunit. I would recommend this to anyone who loves Agatha Christie, Knives Out and Clue. The pacing was great and I could see this translating well to a movie or miniseries. This is also a beautiful cover, and is sure to catch attention at the bookstore.

When Frances was a teenager, she received a fortune that one day she would be murdered. She lived her life trying to solve her own murder. Then, 60 years later, the inevitable happened and her great-niece, Annie, was the right daughter to solve the murder. See, what an interesting premise!

As the story progressed you learn about Annie and Frances and how, although never meeting, France was convinced that Annie would solve the murder. The story takes you through Frances' journal and present day, so there is a bit of jumping around.

I didn't give it more stars because I just felt like there was soooo much going on. While trying to solve Frances' murder, there was also the disappearance of Emily to figure out and an introduction of multiple characters. Trying to keep everything in check was sometimes a bit confusing.

All in all, the book was full of twists and turns and I ultimately enjoyed it.

A special thank you to Penguin Group Dutton and NetGalley for providing me with the digital reviewer copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.