Annie has been invited to meet with her great Aunt Frances in regards to her will. She has never met her eccentric aunt before and is curious about the meeting. You see, Great Aunt Frances has been obsessed with a prediction made about her back in high school. A prediction about her death. Her whole life has revolved around figuring out who might kill her. Until now. Now it's Annie's job to solve the crime. This story is told in alternating chapters from the past when Aunt Frances was a young lady and present day events when Annie, a mystery writer herself, is trying to figure out who murdered Aunt Frances. Annie has to race against the clock to beat her competition from solving the murder first. Saxon, her great aunt's step nephew and the police themselves. In order to save the village of Castle Knoll, and her families inheritance, she has to use her knowledge as a mystery writer to figure out just what happened in the past and today.

I was initially really excited about the premise of this book, and if you like The Thursday Murder Club, you might also enjoy this twisty-turny-suspect everyone at some point-English small village mystery.

Annie is enormously likeable as a detective, and I would absolutely read a second book where she investigates another mystery in the village. I only wish she could investigate with Great Aunt Frances, whose death kicks off the novel but who would have made an interesting character in her old age as well as she does in her diary entries.

I quite enjoyed the back-and-forth between the past and the present, and the pace at which things were revealed. The ending was one I didn't see coming, and the investigation getting there was well-paced and fun.

Overall, it was a quick read that moved along and revealed some surprises along the way!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

How to Solve Your Own Murder is one of the best murder mysteries I’ve ever read.
It’s compulsively readable with twists and turns that keep you guessing until the very end.
Perrin’s writing flows effortlessly. She grabs your full attention from page one and sweeps you into the small town of Castle Knoll, where everyone has their own secrets.
At the center of this story are the words a fortune teller told to Frances when she was 17 years old at the local county fair. “All signs point to your murder”
Told in dual timelines we follow 17 year old Frances in the 1960s and 25 year old Annie, Frances great niece, in current time.
When Annie is summoned to Castle Knoll by Great Aunt Frances, the eccentric aunt she’s never met, she is suddenly thrust into a murder mystery where everyone is a suspect and old secrets will be brought to light.
Frances has lived her life obsessing over the prediction that she will be murdered. She spends her life digging up dirt on all the members of Castle Knoll in hopes that she will one day solve her own future murder.
As Annie and Frances set to meet, Annie instead finds that Frances’ fortune was true. She has been murdered and Annie needs to find out who killed her and why, because, as Annie will find out there’s another mystery entangled in this one. What happened the summer that Frances’ best friend went missing? And what does a cold case from the 1960s have to do with this murder?
I adored Annie and Frances and how they both stopped at nothing to find answers and get justice.
This book is a must read!

Thank you so much to NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review

Thank you to the publisher for a free Netgalley.

Well this was fun. The premise was right up my alley and any mystery that takes place in a small town in England works for me. I enjoyed our main character and the side characters were well written.

Perrin includes Aunt Frances' diary throughout the book that allow Annie, and the reader, piece together the mystery. It was really well done.

Definitely recommend for mystery lovers.

This was a fun mystery.it kept you guessing to the end and didn't go with the obvious answers. it was page turning

And I wanted to know the answers at of the end every chapter! The actual answer to the mystery kind of threw me and I felt a little confused.it felt a little forced just to throw us readers off, overall I enjoyed myself and I enjoyed trying the to solve puzzle along with everyone in the story!

This was a cool little mystery! I had been hearing how good this book was and I’m so glad I got to read it. It took me a minute to get into it, but overall I enjoyed the plot and the characters a lot.

It took me a little bit to get into the book, but I ended up loving it. I found it a little bit hard to keep track of all the characters towards the beginning. But as the book progressed, I got drawn into plot. The book had good pacing. The flashbacks with the diary entries were really well placed. I ended up finishing the book in a day and was surprised by the ending.

What a mystery! How to Solve Your Own Murder is incredibly clever, with excellent twists. I did not predict the killer (of Emily or Frances) at all! I really enjoyed getting to know the cast of characters from the small town of Castle Knoll. Everyone had their motivations, clearly, and I loved Annie’s persistence and dedication to solving the crimes through the eyes of Frances. I also thoroughly enjoyed the flashbacks through the pages of France’s diary.
I am not typically a mystery reader but I truly enjoyed this one!

It took me forever to get through the first few chapters. I have no idea why. Just couldn't get into the writing style for some reason. I put it down for about a month and then picked it up again and read the rest of the book in a day. I very much preferred the parts with Annie as the narrator. I did not figure out most of the mystery until the end, partly because they kept adding potential suspects. Overall, a little scattered, but not bad.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for a review, but all opinions are my own.

3.5 stars.

This is usually the kind of read that I really enjoy, unfortunately this one didn't quite do it for me. The story was fast paced and the plot was a fun idea. I think my issues are with the characters, there are a lot of them and most felt very undeveloped and I found myself having a hard time keeping track. As a result I had a hard time connecting and found myself pretty neutral to all of them. While this one didn't work all that well for me, it will for others.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book.

This was a delightful whodunit and a solid debut novel. I definitely couldn't put it down.

Cozy mystery fans will love this story. It's fun and sharp, and it has a large cast of characters, all of whom could hold a grudge against the town rich lady and have the motive for murder.

I found the story enjoyable and easy to follow despite the many characters. The protagonist is likeable and you'll find yourself rooting for her. There's a touch of potential romance which adds to the story.

I did think the journal was written in a way that was too literary to be believable as a journal, so you have to suspend that belief there. And some of the clues were a bit farfetched and seemed planted to make the story work. But I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I'm looking toward to more novels from this author, and I can imagine her mysteries becoming more sophisticated as she gains more experience as a mystery writer.

As a teenager Frances receives a fortune telling of her death. Many years later her possible heirs are tasked with finding her murder.

I'm not a huge fan of hardcore mysteries, they're too dramatic for my leisurely reading. This mystery is cozy enough that I was drawn in, and thrilling enough that it kept my interest.

The characters are a mix of young and old. The journal flashbacks give you a look at their younger lives, and then you see those characters in real time seeing how their lives turned out. The younger characters are decedents of the OGs. It's a wonderful mix of eclectic, suspicious characters that will keep you guessing.

I really loved this book and am excited to see what comes next in this Castle Knoll's series! Thank you to Penguin House, Dutton for this ARC provided through NetGalley!

Oh I hope this is the start of a new series! I loved this book and its quirky characters. I can’t stop thinking about Castle Knoll and Annie’s future. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

This isn’t your everyday cozy mystery! This book was an easy read with a few twists and turns. I loved the setting descriptions. The characters were realistic and not perfect but still likable . I enjoyed this book!

This was the first cozy(ish) mystery book that I've ever read, and given how burnt out I've been with traditional mystery thrillers lately, I was surprised at how much I liked it! The book alternates between Frances' POV in 1965, where a she receives a fortune that she will be murdered, and Annie's POV in the present, where she has to solve the murder of her Great Aunt Frances. The plot twists were all really well done, and since Goodreads has this labeled as #1 in a series, I'll definitely be continuing!

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

Great mystery that had me guessing until the big reveal. I wish I had taken notes on characters and their connections early in the book, there were so many to keep track of!
I thought the dual timeline was well done and I enjoyed the flashbacks, sometimes more than the present day.
I probably could have done with less around the middle of the book, but overall it went pretty fast.
Releasing in just a few days, I'm excited to discuss with other readers.

How to Solve Your Own Murder is a delightful, cozy, murder-mystery with an amateur sleuth I would love to see again. As Annie Adams becomes the sole benefactor to her great-aunt's estate, she is summoned to visit Aunt Francis for the first time in the village of Castle Knoll. When she arrives for the meeting at Francis's home, she finds the great aunt, she has never met, murdered. This would have been no surprise to Francis, as her murder was foretold at the age of seventeen by fortune teller at a county fair. This story moves back and forth in time as Annie works the case, delving into Francis's past and sifting through the details at present. The supporting cast makes its mark as people whom you would love to meet. And with that, a great read and hopefully just the beginning of Annie Adams solving mysteries that need to be solved.

4.5 stars

Annie must determine who her great aunt Frances’ killer is in order to save the estate as well as her and her mother’s home. She has to work quickly and carefully as it seems the killer may be out to get her as well.

This book is Agatha Christie mixed with Nancy Drew in the best way! I was pulled in from the start. I loved the back and forth between Frances’ journal entries and Annie’s actions in the present. It made the reader feel as though they were solving the mystery alongside Annie, piecing the clues together.

I really enjoyed the 1960s setting and descriptions as well. Those were my favorite portions of the book. I was able to imagine the characters easily as they were well written and distinct.

Overall, I really loved this book and will definitely be looking forward to reading more from Kristen Perrin!

Content Warnings: murder, infidelity, drug use

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC!

If fiction has taught me one thing about small English villages, it’s that they’re filled with liars, thieves, and killers.

Castle Knoll is no exception.

How to Solve Your Own Murder follows the lives of Annabelle Adams and her great-aunt, Frances Gravesdown. In the 1960’s, Frances was told by a fortune teller that she would one day be murdered. For nearly sixty years, she built her life around that idea, expecting death to lurk around every corner. She believed in this fortune religiously, to the ridicule of all, until the day that it finally came true.

The morning that Frances is supposed to meet with her solicitor and the heirs to her vast fortune, she is found dead in her own home. What appears to be natural is soon determined to be exactly what she always expected: murder.

But this is only the first surprise in store for Annabelle, Frances’ estranged great-niece. The second surprise comes the next day: only the person who solves Frances’ murder will inherit her wealth. If seven days pass and neither Annabelle nor Frances’ nephew Saxon solve the mystery, then the Gravesdown estate will be sold to land developers and her money will go to the crown.

So begins aspiring author Annie’s investigation into her great-aunt’s murder. With no shortage of suspects or motives, and mysterious ties to a decades-old cold case, the mystery of Frances Gravesdown’s death is an intriguing one.

Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy this as much as I wanted to. While the mystery aspect was interesting and I wanted to know who killed Frances and what happened in the past, I just could not connect with any of the characters. I found Annie to be bland as a narrator, and the dialogue felt forced and unrealistic. The only characters that I really found myself interested in were Jenny and Oliver.

That said, I would probably read more of Kristen Perrin’s books. I know Goodreads lists the Castle Knoll Files as a series, and I would return to that world if another book came out. Perrin’s writing is lighthearted and reminiscent of the golden age mysteries I so enjoy.

If you’re looking for a quick contemporary mystery that reminds you faintly of Agatha Christie, check this one out.

This was such an exciting and different "whodunnit!" The premise and writing was very clever and I really enjoyed all the characters. I highly recommend this book! Thank you, NetGalley