How To Solve Your Own Murder is a clever take on a whodunnit mystery. The back and forth between 1965 and present-day weave together a story of friendship, lies, and murder. Annie learns about her eccentric and reclusive great-aunt Frances through her diary and clues left behind to solve her own murder. Annie is introduced to the various residents of Castle Knoll and considers what roles they may have played in the demise of her great-aunt. It seems that many people have a motive, and I was pleasantly surprised at the twists leading up to the ending! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, and I am hopeful that Perrin indulges readers with a possible sequel (or two)? Thanks to NetGalley and Dutton Publishing for allowing me to be an advanced reader to this fast-paced page-turner!

How to Solve Your Own Murder, is a very captivating title and I do not know what I was expecting this book to be but it was a different take on the murder mysteries I usually read.

It all started with a fortune reading "Your future contains dry bones. Your slow demise begins 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."

Frances lives her life trying to prevent her own murder, after hearing this fortune at the age of seventeen. When she dies her great niece, Anne, is tasked to try to find out who murder her great aunt Frances.

I really liked the diary entries, I felt like they gave the readers insight into the dynamics of Frances life as a teenager and her relationship with her friends. Also, it kind of gave us the feel that we were also solving the murder along with Annie. The book overall was a fun read and very interesting to go along with Annie as she tries to solve old mysteries and how they tie to this new one.

I will definitely be reading the next books from this saga, as I cannot wait to see where the story takes us and what other secrets did Frances uncover in her life and wrote about in her diaries.

Rating: 3.5 stars, as Goodreads does not do half stars I rounded it to 4 stars.

I want to thank Penguin Group Dutton and Netgalley for this arc, the above review is my true thoughts in regards to the book.

Annie is summoned to her Great Aunt Frances' home when she is surprisingly added to her will. Shockingly, she is found dead, and when her will is read, the race is on to solve the case of who murdered her. Frances led a life fixated on a fortune that predicted her murder and this novel ties in the past and present very well. The nonlinear timeline weaves her life together, and clues start to cement the truth in place.

This was a much different type of mystery within a mystery that I very much enjoyed! I was trying (and was partially successful) in solving the mysteries. Fantastic read!

This was my first book by this author and I was really impressed. How to Solve Your Own Murder is kind of a misnomer because it doesn't involve the murdered person solving their own murder directly, but the murdered person does set up their will in a way that results in their murder being solved.
I was drawn in to the story and rooting for the main character from the beginning, which always bodes well for an advance read. I don't like to repeat the synopsis of the book because you've likely already read that. However, I can say that this was a thoroughly enjoyable read from beginning to end and I will pre-order any future murder mystery books published by this author.

How to Solve Your Own Murder is the story of Frances Adams and how a fortune told at a country fair in 1965 changes the course of her life.

When we meet Frances, she and her friends, Emily and Rose, are queens of the school with a bright future ahead of them. After she receives a fortune predicting her murder, her life her and relationships begin to unravel. Just as she begins to think things cannot get worse, one of the girls disappear.

In the current day, we are introduced to Annie Adams, Frances’ estranged great niece raised by her Bohemian mother in Frances’ Chelsea house. Annie’s mother has been Frances’ sole heir until Annie receives a summons to meet with her and learn of her new will. Before Annie can meet with Frances, the elderly woman is murdered. Hijinx ensue as Annie races to solve Frances’ murder both helped and hindered by a colorful cast of locals.

What a fun little cozy murder! I wanted something that would make me think, but not take itself too seriously. This book was exactly that!

Thank you to Dutton and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

How to Solve Your Own Murder is a delightful novel, with both mystery/suspense as well as a little humor. With a dual timeline, the novel addresses both a murder in the present day as well as a murder in the 1960s. How these two deaths are related is, of course, the whodunit aspect of the book. Our main character, Annie, has been named as a beneficiary in her great aunt’s death. However, in order to inherit a substantial estate she must first solve the mystery of great aunt Florence’s death. In doing so, A is also able to solve the cold case of Emily Sparrow.

Readers will definitely enjoy the book if they like having multiple suspects, truly not knowing who the real “killer” is until the very end. The ending wasn’t rushed and i found Annie to be a very like able character.

Overall, I give this book 3.5 stars rounded up
for GoodReads. Thank you NetGalley and Dutton books for the ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I admit it: the title grabbed me, but the story kept me engaged. Although the title could indicate a time travel book, instead, it is a cleverly plotted whodunit.

Frances, Rose, and Emily are best friends. In 1965, they were at a fair in the English hamlet of Castle Knoll when Frances has her fortune told--one that predicts she will be murdered. She spends the rest of her life trying to find out what happened to Emily, who disappeared soon after the fair and trying to prevent her own murder. Unfortunately, she fails at both.

Flash forward to the present day. Annie Adams, Frances's great-niece, is summoned to Castle Knoll because Frances has changed her will and named Annie the prime beneficiary, which is odd because they have never met. Upon arrival, Annie and others designated in Frances's will find Frances murdered at her country estate. In a letter from beyond the grave, Frances pits the three most interested parties to her vast estate against each other: whoever solves her murder gets it all.

This book was a page-turner for me. It is an imaginative, well-written story with twists and interesting characters, especially Annie and Frances. The subplot of Emily's disappearance moved the story along, and the past, as recounted in Frances's journal, made me wonder how the disappearance and murder were connected. It is apparent that the author is not finished with Annie and company, and I look forward to the next book in this new series. 4/5 stars.

Thank you, NetGalley and Dutton, for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. The publication date is March 26, 2024.

This (I think) is an issue of "not the book, just not my vibe." I had a hard time getting into this and felt like a slog to get through. I agree with other reviewers saying that the Knives Out comparison was a little far fetched and it was difficult to keep track of everyone. I think the title is a bit misleading with what the book actually is.

Also, I had a difficult time PHYSICALLY reading this as my eARC had very small paragraph indentations, making it difficult to phrase out what was what (so maybe that'll be fixed before it's published?)

Thanks to the publisher/NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

This was my first book by this author and I really enjoyed it. It took a bit of time to understand all the characters in the two time periods, but once the book got going, it was hard to put down.

At 17, after hearing a fortune that she will be murdered Frances Adam’s life becomes intent on trying to prevent the fortune from coming true. After she is found murdered, her will gives a few people, including her great-niece Annie, a week to solve the murder and gain her fortune, or her land will be sold and all money donated to the crown.

Told in alternating time periods, this book was so good! Each time I thought I had an idea as to who might be responsible, another twist would pop up and throw me off. I was very satisfied with the ending and I didn’t see it coming! Definitely a must-read.

"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's no coming back. But daughters are the key to justice, find the right one and keep her close. All signs point toward your murder."

From fortune to fate, secrets will be uncovered - the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The jumps between reading Frances's diary from her late teens to Annie as a young woman trying to solve her great aunt's murder created the wonderful roadmap for story telling. With intriguing characters, just the right amount of twists, and the charming backdrop of Castle Knoll, the author crafts a mystery for us grown-up lovers of Nancy Drew.

Thank you to NetGalley, the Author and Penguin Group Dutton for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of How to Solve Your Own Murder!

This is going to be a lot of peoples' cup of tea, it just wasn't mine. It's definitely an 'it's not you, it's me' issue - I think I picked up this book at the wrong time and my heart wasn't in it.

The premise is very captivating - the book opens with the ominous fortune that Frances received as a teenager, detailing her impending murder. Decades of unsolved mysteries accumulate into one catalyst event: the death of Frances.

The pacing of the story threw me off a bit. I'm tempted to say it was a slow paced murder mystery, but there were times when a lot was revealed all at once. I still think it has cozy mystery vibes, and this will be a really great autumn read.

Overall, I think a lot of people will like this one. I was a bit disconnected from it, but would still give a solid 3 stars!

How to Solve Your Own Murder was such a fun and entertaining whodunnit! I really enjoyed many aspects of this book!! The plot was unique and kept me really engaged! Thank you for allowing me access to this ARC!

Strong debut! Well written and interesting story line which kept me intrigued. The plot was well developed with a dual timeline structure. The characters were also complicated and well developed. This is not my typical genre, but I look forward to reading more works by this author.

4 stars!

This book is described as being for fans of Knives Out and if there's one Knives Out fan it's me, if there's no Knives Out fans I'm dead. I think a lot of books use Knives Out as a comp title because of its popularity, but in this case I feel like it was a pretty fair comparison. I thought this was so good and unlike some mystery/thriller books I've read recently, I was truly rooting for the main character Annie.

I was also very compelled by the journal entries from Frances, and every chapter I was like why are the journals ending on cliffhangers?? I need to go back!

Overall, I felt like this was a fun read. I did put it together a little bit before the main character and so I wanted her to figure it out a bit quicker, but I was very impressed by this debut and I will definitely be reading more from this author (and continuing this series? since goodreads has now told me it is a series?). Additionally by the cover and comparison to Thursday Murder Club, I thought we were going to spend more time in Frances' head as an elderly person and this was going to be more of a cozy mystery but I was most definitely wrong.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Three teenagers visit a fortune teller in a small English town in 1965. The fortune that Frances gets seems to predict her murder. She spends the rest of her life trying to understand and stop it from happening.

Decades pass, and Frances summons her great niece Annie, whom she has never met, to a meeting concerning recent changes made to her will. But when everyone arrives at Frances's estate, they discover her dead body.

The story alternates between passages of Frances's diary written in the 1960s and Annie trying to figure out what happened in modern times. Dual timelines don't always work for me but since these are diary entries, it was very easy to stay focused and keep things straight. The story moves quickly and there are characters both likeable and unlikeable. I enjoyed the fact that Annie was not a perfect heroine, and it wasn't easy to figure out exactly what had happened. I look forward to reading more from Kristen Perrin.

I received an eARC in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group for the opportunity.

A quaint murder mystery with dual timelines that manage, in a rare feat, to be equally entertaining.
Kristen Perrin's How to Solve Your Own Murder feels like a modern take on an Agatha Christie novel, set in a small town, with busybody characters who all seem to know each other and have potential motives for murdering the busybody-est of all, Frances. The American-Londoner does a solid job painting a thoroughly British milieu, from the drafty Gravesdown to the overall coziness of the tone. It's a bit more complex than your average closed-door mystery, but it really feels like the kind of book you curl up with, alongside a fireplace and a hot tea (or cocoa). Drawing a comparison to Knives Out doesn't do this book any favors, as it sets expectations for punchy pacing and humor that this doesn't meet-- and not so much out of a disparity in quality as a drastically different tone and aim altogether. This book is understated, with a more classic feel, rather than flashy and thrilling. While I'm not an avid reader of the genre, I would say it more closely resembles The Maid by Nita Prose (which is a high compliment, as I loved that book).
Although this doesn't necessarily have you on the edge of your seat, it does a good job keeping the mystery afoot until the very end-- and I really liked that there were two mysteries going on at once. The device of solving one murder to solve another is Perrin's most clever, and is what kept me sailing right along through the narrative. Not only did the author do a good job interweaving the stories, but she also handily navigated the issue that plagues so many of these dual-timelines-by-way-of-a-diary stories, which is that the material must somehow be drawn out for the present-day character, despite the fact that anyone in their right mind would likely consume it in a single sitting. Overall, I found this to be a charming read and would recommend it to lovers of the genre.

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Group for this ARC! This book is fabulous! The characters are intriguing and mysterious. The storyline is new. And plot twist had me guessing! Great book! Shared on my Goodreads and Social Media Accounts including X

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 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.

Remember this because if you're Frances Adams you're going to spend your whole adult life trying to figure out this riddle you received from a fortune teller at 17 years old in 1965. Fast forward 60 years and we meet Frances' great niece, Annie, who has been summoned to meet her estranged great aunt after she has deceided that Annie is the "chosen daughter." Only upon her arrival at the grandiose Gravesdown estate, the 60 year old fortune has come true- Aunt Frances was murdered in her own home. Now Annie must solve the mystery of Great Aunt Frances' murder Frances spent 60 years trying to prevent as well as an unsolved missing persons case from almost must as long ago that has deep roots in the Adams-Gravesdown Family

Overall, I found the book enjoyable but it did take some time for it to find its footing, hence why it took me about a month and half to finish reading it, but once it did, very enjoyable to read while still being relaxed and not too serious. I did feel that there was a lot of unnecessary characters that weren't super important in the end and could've been combined character just to make it easier for the reader to keep everyone straight. The final reveal was unexpected while still staying in the vein of "cozy-mystery." I am interested to see what else Kristen Perrin writes but I'm a bit worried that this type of "cozy-mystery" is becoming very saturated and frequently written so I hope this series doesn't get lost in the shuffle.

An enjoyable cozy mystery full of drama and suspense. A plot centered story around the murder of Great Aunt Frances who has been obsessed with her own predicted murder by a fortune teller when she was seventeen years old. This book had an abundance of characters which made it a bit hard to follow and never felt the characters were fully developed. I enjoyed the puzzle of the creepy fortune and the whole "who done it" mystery surrounding the murders. I just wanted more from the key characters such as the friendship between the girls back in the 1960's to better understand the motivations of certain characters. The story has an alternating time line between present day told through the POV of the main character, Annie, the great niece, an old diary of Great Aunt Frances. I just didn't feel like the alternating time lines worked and there was not enough crumbs spread out to figure out the murderer as well as too many red herrings to throw you off track with so many characters. Enjoyable read just not my favorite cozy mystery ever.

Frances was at the fair in 1965 when she’s given her fortune that she is going to be murdered. From that point on, she spends her life trying to figure out who is going to murder her. Frances’ great niece Annie is summoned to Gravesdown Hall by Frances’ attorney, Walt Gordon, for a discussion on Frances’ will. When she arrives, they find great aunt Frances has been murdered, her fortune has actually come true! Now, Annie is working against the clock to try and solve her murder so she can inherit Frances’ fortune which includes the house she and her mother live in.
I became so obsessed myself with figuring out who killed Frances, I just could not put this book down! I fell in love with Frances from reading her diary entries and just kept hoping Annie would figure it all out. I enjoyed going back and forth between the past and present, and seeing how the characters portrayed in the present evolved over time. Most of the characters were well developed, even though some of them weren’t very likable. And Gravesdown Hall was so well described, I felt like I was staying there for a bit, and I loved it!

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book.