This was a fun good old fashioned mystery and honestly that was such a breath of fresh air. So often the thriller/mystery category promises a mystery and I'm left thinking "ok...but...where was the mystery?" This book had not one but two mysteries and both were really intriguing!

I'm an absolute sucker for a murder in a English country manor nestled in a quaint village with secrets so this setting was right up my street. The character work was good, although there were a lot of characters involved with multi-generational ties so those were a little hard to keep track of. I loved the inclusion of France's diary to drive the second timeline. Often when I'm reading two timelines I always find myself vastly preferring one over the other but I thought both worked really well together. While I did solve the mysteries pretty early on I still thought the story was well crafted enough that I didn't mind. There's nothing worse than solving the mystery early on in the book, hating the solution and hoping you are wrong, but then of course you aren't wrong. I found the conclusion on this one satisfying.

It looks like this may be a series but I was pretty happy with this as a standalone so I'm not sure I will continue on. I don't know if I'm invested enough in the characters of Castle Knoll to need to read more but I was happy to have read this one and highly recommend if you are looking for a classic feeling mystery in your reading life!

* Thanks to NetGalley and Dutton for the ARC!

Great Aunt Frances was a paranoid wreck ever since she got her fortune read at 16 years old saying that her demise would be her getting murdered. Since then, she’s put in the work to solve a crime that has yet to be committed.

When Annie is summoned to Castle Knoll for the reading of her Great Aunt Frances’s will, she becomes looped into a huge murder mystery with Great Aunt Frances in the center of it all. Without having met her, she discovers her aunt’s diaries that reveal everything that allows her to piece everything together.

This book started off strong, in my opinion. I was highly interested to get to know each character to try and sum up who exactly did it. However, I felt like as the story progressed, I began to lose interest.

Not only were there too many characters for me to keep up with, but I wondered how relevant they were to the plot. The detective and his line of family had me disinterested, along with Miyuki and Beth. There was just too much going on, but I see what the author did to have it really truly be a mystery up until the very end.

I feel like the story could’ve also been at least 50 pages shorter. I just feel like there were subplots that didn’t really need to exist.

Overall, I think it was still a fun story. I really liked getting to know Frances through all of the research, I feel like these parts were well written. I enjoyed reading about the past and how it linked to current day. It just added a different dynamic to the story that kept me interested.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

.𝚎𝚌𝚌𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚌.𝚕𝚊𝚢𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍.𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚢𝚊𝚕.𝚜𝚞𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚎𝚏𝚞𝚕.

❝ 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. ❞

Sixty years after a chilling prophecy at a carnival, Frances Adams is found dead in her sprawling mansion. Enter Annie, her niece, summoned to untangle the web of secrets shrouding the murder. With a hefty inheritance on the line, Annie must crack the case, navigating a labyrinth of family drama, juicy scandals, and enough red herrings to fill a tackle box. "How to Solve Your Own Murder" is a dual-timeline, delectable Agatha Christie-inspired treat, sure to keep you guessing until the very last twist.

I really enjoyed the characters in Perrin's latest novel, particularly Frances. Her eclectic nature resonated with me, and I felt a strong connection to the intricate layers of her personality. Throughout the story, we meet a diverse array of characters, each authentically themselves in a way that blurs the line between fiction and reality. Perrin weaves together the dual-timeline so seamlessly that it enriches the story with added depth that would have been hard to draw from Annie's account alone.

𝚆𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚏𝚎𝚕𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝙿𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚞𝚒𝚗 𝙳𝚞𝚝𝚝𝚘𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙽𝚎𝚝𝙶𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚢 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚟𝚒𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚊𝚗 𝚊𝚍𝚟𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚌𝚘𝚙𝚢.

4.25 🌟

Such a fun mystery!

I enjoyed this book so much! I loved the dual time-line and reading Frances' diary to piece together what happened during the teenage years. While I wouldn't describe this as a complete cozy mystery, it did capture me from almost the first page.

Thanks, Netgalley for the ARC of this book!

What a fun read this was! Ok, as much fun as solving a murder can be!
It's 1965 and teenage Frances has just had her fortune told. It isn't good; One day she'll be murdered! Frances spends the next 60 years trying to figure out who will betray her. And when she finally does succumb to the prediction made so long ago, it's up to her great niece to find her killer. She'll have to wade thru all the evidence that her great aunt has collected throughout the years which is no easy task.
I loved the writing, loved the characters (although I did have at first a hard time keeping them all straight!!) and loved the mystery. Had me guessing til the very end!

Mystery and friends with history! I thoroughly enjoyed the twists and turns this book took. The context itself was appealing in that entertaining way - whimsical with the books title, of "solving your own murder." Frances is my favorite, as she sets the tone through her diary entries from the late 60's. Based on a terrible fortune Frances receives from a carnival fortune teller, she navigates her whole life picking a part the pieces of her future murder. The mystery of the book kicks in within the first few chapters that leaves you wanting more and more. Then enters Annie, inspiring thriller novelist, but not quite, appointed in her Great Aunt Frances will, is summoned to a meeting, only it's not what Annie is expecting, not at all.

While I loved the story line, I did have a hard time connecting with Annie, the main character. She's an aspiring thriller mystery novelist, but the way she showed up in the book suggested otherwise. At times, she seemed weak which gave me pause to her credibility. It took most of the book for me to respect her and trust that she was smarter than she laid out to be early on. The ending. What a twist!

I'm giving this book 3.5 stars, as I do think there are areas the author needs to clean up.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me early access to this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this early ARC! Let’s solve the mystery: was this book good?

Okay, that joke was lame, but this book was super fun! Could it have been better? Yeah. Totally. But I still enjoyed reading it, nonetheless. So, we will jump right in. Frances is dead, and great niece Annie is going to uncover who did it. Period. Well, it’s not exactly that simple, because Frances has made a little game out of it. Whoever of her named beneficiaries solves her murder first will inherit everything. Loser goes home empty handed. Seems reasonable, right? Oh, and Frances knew she was going to be murdered this whole time, and she spent 60 years obsessed with finding out who would do it. It was just a matter of time.

The Good: I liked the flip-flop timeline, from 1965 to present day, as this style of writing always makes me read faster out of greed to know what is coming next. I also liked both our main characters, Annie and Frances, and enjoyed watching them both uncover mysteries and secrets about those around them. Great plot. Fun twists. Good times.

The Bad: The details of who did what and why would often get a little confusing, and I really had to focus on what was happening to keep things straight. Some of the characters’ shady behaviors still did not quite add up, though. And how Annie apparently solved the mystery with (in my opinion) so few clues is flabbergasting. I felt I needed more information than what was given to really follow Annie’s train of thought. I also found it unreasonable that she was able to do this all in less than a week's time, having never even met her great aunt, nor the people around that knew Frances all their lives.

The Ugly: Could our lovely author have used different descriptions of Frances than Great Aunt Frances every other line? We know how Annie is related to her, why can’t we just say “my great aunt,” “my relative,” “my mum’s aunt,” etc. just to switch it up a little?! Personally, it was overkill.

Overall, really good read. I was sucked in completely.

In the summer of 1965, a fortune was told that changed the life of Frances Adams forever. Now, decades later, Great Aunt Frances is dead, and Annie Adams, who has never met her great aunt, is her heir. But, Great Aunt Frances can't just let Annie inherit her estate. No, Annie has to earn her inheritance by solving Great Aunt Frances's murder before the Castle Knoll police or Great Uncle Rutherford's nephew, Saxon, and to top it all off, Great Aunt Frances is only giving them one week to solve her murder.

With the help of Great Aunt Frances's journal from 1966, Annie begins to learn about teenage Frances, and her two best friends, Rose and Emily, who disappeared at the age of 17. Interspersed, Annie learns about the people of Castle Knoll, both then and now. The further Annie gets into the mystery of Great Aunt Frances's murder, the more Annie finds connection to her great aunt and her obsession with a sixty-year-old fortune. Will this connection lead Annie to an answer, or will it lead her to a Frances-esque obsession?

I greatly enjoyed How to Solve Your Own Murder. I read it in four days. I loved how Perrin intertwined Frances's story with Annie's story. The only thing I wanted more of was information about Annie's mother, Laura, but hopefully, that's coming since this is the first novel in the <i>Castle Knoll Files</i> series. I cannot wait for the next installment. Perrin's style quickly made me want to live in and get to know the citizens of Castle Knoll.

Oh my goodness did I love this book! Normally I am pretty good at figuring out a mystery before it finally unfolds for the reader, but this book kept me guessing until the very end! I loved the amount of backstory that went into Great Aunt Frances mixed in with the “who done it” murder mystery. Huge fan and so thankful I was able to read this as an arc! Highly recommend!

I would like to thank NetGalley and Dutton for providing me with an advance e-galley of this book in exchange for an honest review. Look for it in your local and online bookstores and libraries on March 26, 2024.

“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 to your murder.”
In 1965, at age 17, Frances Adams receives this prediction about her future from a psychic and it sticks with her throughout the rest of her life. She lives her life paranoid about everyone around her and trying to figure out who will eventually murder her. Cut to present day where we meet Annie Adams, an aspiring mystery author and the great niece of Frances. Annie receives a letter in the mail asking her to come meet her great-aunt Frances for the first time as she has been named in her will. When she arrives however, Frances has been murdered. At the reading of her will, it is revealed that there will be a competition between Annie and others close to Frances to solve the murder. Whoever solves the murder will become the sole benefactor of the will. Annie sets off on a thrilling venture to solve Frances’ murder and gets lost in her great-aunt’s old diary that will lead her to the killer.
This book was wonderful. I truly enjoyed every minute of reading it and I would love to read more by this author. The pacing was great, the characters were lovable, and the story was fascinating. I have not read a book like this in such a long time. It was fun in a way that did not diminish the fact that a murder had taken place. It deals with the loss of someone that Annie truly didn’t know and wished she had gotten the chance to. I also really loved the way that the diary chapters were included in the book as a bit of an alternating timeline. Annie was a compelling character that I really loved and the rest of the cast of characters were intriguing and I loved getting to know their stories. I truly do not have a bad thing to say about this book. 4.5/5
Thank you to Penguin Group, Dutton and NetGalley for providing access to this ARC in return for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

I loved this book! It started off a bit slow for me and took a while for me to be super invested but once it did I couldn’t put it down.

I’m usually not a big fan of mysteries/thrillers because I always figure out who did it too soon…I absolutely did not figure this one out until I was reading who did it!

This is about a woman named Annie who’s been named in her great aunts will. The stipulation is she has to solve her great aunts murder within a week to be able to get her inheritance.

This story goes back and forth between the 1960’s and present day. We follow Frances and her friends in the past and Annie is in the present day trying to solve the murder.

4/5 stars and I would highly recommend!

What a fast paced, unique who dunit. It is interesting thinking through the components of solving one's own murder. The multiple viewpoints also add depth to the story and give the reader the opportunity to contemplate multiple ending directions. It was a true thriller with classic story structures, loving the vibe and overall structure.

Rounded up from 3.75. This murder mystery was nice and easy going. A little Agatha Christie vibes.

This story all starts with Frances’ fortune at 16 years old that is read that details her ultimate death.

Frances spends her life avoiding certain things and trying to solve her own murder. She’s collecting all the dirt and details of those around her.

Present day, Annie Adams is requested to meet with her Great Aunt Frances to discuss her new terms of her will. However when she arrives, her great aunt is found dead.

It’s up to Annie to solve her great aunts murder or she will lose so much more. Every path Annie goes down she finds more mysteries starting to unravel.

Quick read! I really did enjoy it.

This book releases March 26th.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Dutton and Penguin Random House for the opportunity to review this ebook early!

This was a fun romp!

I loved the main character, and I love how it worked as a standalone while providing hints that we might revisit Annie and the gang.

The book was maybe a touch too long, but it was a really fast and engaging read overall.

Will definitely pick up Kristen Perrin's next mysteries!

3-3.5 stars

Starting off with the positives I loved the small town, dual timelines, and premise of trying to solve your own murder.

Ultimately this book just wasn't for me, personally I thought the cast was a little too large (especially when you have to keep up with 2-3 generations) and that Knives out isn't the comparison to market the book with.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for sending me this ARC!

In 1965, teenager Francis Adams learned how she would die by a fair-ground fortune teller. Her friends laughed it off as a joke, but Francis became obsessed with the dire prophecy. Her obsession will end up spanning most of her life, causing her to distrust those around her, desperate to solve her murder before it happens. Decades go by with no one believing her until her body is found.

Annie Adams isn't sure why she has been summoned to the estate of her estranged great-aunt, but she's eager to meet Francis for the first time. When Annie arrives in the small village of Castle Knoll, she's shocked to discover her aunt has been murdered. As an aspiring mystery author, Annie is determined to uncover what happened, even more so when she finds out her family's inheritance is tied to whoever solves Francis's murder first. Thanks to Francis's years of snooping, Annie has tons of evidence that could point to many people in town, but will she narrow down the suspects before she becomes the next victim?

I had zero expectations going into this, but I loved it. The premise of a young mystery writer having to solve a murder case gave off such Murder, She Wrote-vibes, and I was here for it. Annie had the tenacity and cleverness of Jessica Fletcher, so I loved following her. I liked how she had moments of panic throughout the investigation because it made her feel more real. I also enjoyed how this was told in alternating timelines, so we got glimpses of Francis's life as a teen. It set the groundwork for the present-day storyline, and they blended so well together. I had no idea how the story would play out, so I was pleasantly surprised by how everything wrapped up. I'm happy to know that this is the start of a series because I can't wait to see what comes next.

I was absolutely captivated by this book from beginning to end! Frances’s prophecy consumed her life and me as well. I didn’t want to put it down.

The characters here were amazing: it’s easy with large casts to loose track or have them all blur together in the background but not here. Everyone is interesting. Annie is an interesting main character in that she is confident in herself while also meeting everyone for the first time.

I enjoyed the glimpses back into Frances’ past, and I really enjoyed the whodunnit. I only guessed part of it but still loved it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kristin Perrin, and Dutton Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book! I usually do not read murder mysteries but the way this one was written really reeled me in. I liked the past and present tense, I was actually more excited to go back in time and read those passages. Overall a great murder mystery with characters you latch onto.

Agatha Christie with a stopwatch and a deadline. This twisty mystery kept me on my toes. Two murders, decades apart and a week to solve it. The fate of an English Estate is on the line.