I really enjoyed this mystery that takes us from the 1960s town of Castle Knoll to current day Chelsea. Annie is put in a unique position trying to solve 2 murders and learns a lot along the way. Loved the all characters and town settings. Wonderful who done it!

How to Solve Your Own Murder has a great premise and I felt the mysteries were strong. I enjoyed how it felt like Frances' murder just kept getting more and more sprawling as the book went on. Annie obviously really came to care about Frances and the life she lived. I liked a lot of the characters and understood the motivations of even the people who weren't the murderer, but still were not great people.

I had two issues with the book. One was that it was a little slow to get going. Once it hit the premise though, it felt much better paced. The other is an issue that happens a lot with mysteries that have significant events that happen in the past. Annie is able to get ahold of Frances' diary written about an event that's important to the mystery and Annie doesn't immediately read the entire thing without stopping. It's just kind of weird when Annie only has seven days to solve the mystery and she's racing with other people who might be able to solve it before her.

But overall, I had fun reading and thought the ending was really interesting.

No notes, loved reading this book. I had 70 pages left this morning and debated faking sick from work so I could finish it. Nothing read as too obvious or alternatively too outlandish. I loved getting the glimpses into the diary pages along with Annie and never felt like she was too far ahead of the reader. Would love to see Annie in a future book.

Releases: 3/26/2024

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Thank you to Penguin Group Dutton for the ARC!

Gave me similar feelings to The Maid by Nita Prose with more of a snark comedy to it but the same cozy mystery with low stakes for the anxious girlies out there. I figured there would be a romantic subplot brewing but was surprised it was with the detective. I was anticipating a rivals-to-lovers play with Oliver instead.

I liked Annies tone and quips throughout the story but it drove me CRAZY that she wasn't updating her mom, especially when a literal dead body was found from a box that came from her and her mother's house !!!!!

Anyways... I wasn't expecting the reveal to pan out how it did and the murderer being who they were but maybe on a second read it would make more sense. The ending funeral scene was very heartwarming and cute and nice! I do wish Elva and Saxon had gotten their comeuppance for being annoying and rude... but we can't all get what we want.

RATING: 4 out of 5 stars.

The mystery of all mysteries. This book pulled me in. The journal entries from the murder victim. The timeline.

Within the first few chapters, I was pulled in due to the family drama and history. The characters and the vibe of the game "Clue" was VERY interesting to me. In my head, I felt like I knew who did it but then a new clue would arise and I was second guessing again. Great read. Great characters.

I enjoyed the twists and turns in this engaging cozy mystery. The author tells the tale of a group of teens whose friendship starts to unravel as lies and deceit, along with a fortune teller’s warnings, start to tear the group apart. Those eligible to inherit a wealthy woman’s estate must figure out what happened over 50 years ago and successfully solve the case before the detective does...or worse yet, become the next victim.

Aunt Frances had her fortune read 60 years ago predicting her death and spent her life trying to prevent her fortune from coming true, but nothing could stop it. When her great niece Annie is one of several friends and relatives to discover her murdered body at what should have been the reveal of Annie as the recipient of her fortune, Frances's will is read.

In her will, Frances commissions her beneficiaries to solve her murder. Whoever solves it by the end of the week will receive her fortune. If they don't solve it, they receive nothing. Annie sets off on a mad dash to find out who killed Frances and uncovers not just one murder but a second murder, sixty years ago.

This murder mystery sucked me in from the first page. With its fast pace, fascinating characters, red herrings, and a spooky setting. It flashes back and forth between Annie's investigations in the present and Frances's diary 60 years ago, which Annie discovers might be the key to the entire mystery of Frances's death.

This murder mystery is amazing. It evokes every Agatha Christie mood, reminding me of the game of Clue with vicars and chauffeurs and creepy mansions. The setting is almost gothic and Perrin does an amazing job at painting the scene. The cast is so large that at times it's hard to keep track of, but this also leads to so many potential suspects, it's hard to figure out who really did it. I'm proud that I did figure it out towards the end, but it was definitely a tricky novel. I highly recommend this novel for murder mystery fans. It has some of the twist of a thriller but reminds me more of Clue, Agatha Christie, or even a twisty Stuart Turton novel.

Thank you NetGalley for the Arc!

4.75/5

I requested this book from Net Galley based on the first words in the description, "for fans of Knives Out and The Thursday Murder Club." I find this to be a good description of a fun and engaging mystery about family, inheritance, friendship, and trust. Sometimes the dialogue is a little cheesy and unnatural, but for the most part, it's another enjoyable cozy mystery.

A solid mystery! The summer of "65, Frances was about 16, she and two friends get their fortunes told at a summer fair. Frances gets the shock of her life when her fortune predicts that she will be murdered. Francis spends her whole life trying to solve the crime before it happens, digging up dirt on the villagers, and driving the local police and medical doctors crazy. But when Frances is murdered before her new will is revealed, everyone is forced to look at her paranoia in a new light.
The blurb said this book would appeal to fans of "Knives Out" and the Thursday Murder Club. Cozy, quaint British village? check. Amateur sleuth? check - actually, France's great niece, Annie, an aspiring, unemployed mystery writer comes to the will reading and stays to help solve the mystery. A back story with secrets? check. Multiple suspects? check. Family secrets? check. This mystery has it all- thank you to Netgalley for an advanced reader copy!

So first off, I am so grateful to even have the opportunity to read this book. Second omg! I new I would love this book because no matter how many times I read or watch a murder mystery trope I still feel impressed even if its cheesy or slightly corny. I was so into this book that I didn't even realize that my glasses were off until I rubbed my arch of my nose an that means something if I can read a book without my damn glasses😂

Holy begeezus! What a WILD RIDE! I’m still catching my breath! Really really loved this clever whodunnit. Super creative and kept me guessing until the very last page. And never saw any of it coming! The characters were very well developed and the writing was smart. You know you’ve read a good book when you are sad that it’s over. Definitely recommend this one!

I really loved this!! The plot was so Interesting and I loved trying to solve the mystery along with the main character. There were SO many characters that were all connected to Frances and it was so hard to keep track of them all, which got frustrating towards the end.

Absoutely adored this cozy murder mystery. I loved the flashbacks to the journey and truly felt as though I was side by side with both women as they solved this case. The murderer was not someone I was expecting and loved the twist!

Such a great set-up - Frances receives a fortune-teller fortune of impending death when she's 17 and spends nearly her entire life trying to figure out who's going to kill her, only to have her great-niece have to figure it out when her murder happens 60 years later. I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but it turned out to be such a cozy, fun one to read. I loved young Frances and her diary the most, but enjoyed Annie and watching her unravel the town and the mystery. There were a couple hints that this might become an ongoing series with Annie and Frances' many files and I look forward to seeing if that's the case and meeting them again. Thank you to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for the early access in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley & Penguin Group Dutton for providing me with a digital reviewer copy in exchange for an honest review!

3.5 stars- How to Solve Your Own Murder is a quick & easy to read murder mystery book following Annie Adams, who is summoned to her Great Aunt Francis Adams’ estate for a meeting. Her great aunt has had a sort of “prophecy” about her own murder and has been trying to solve it for 60 years, and is unfortunately correct that she would be murdered. It becomes up to Annie & clues collected from her late great aunt over the years to figure out who murdered Francis, & also to figure out another mystery of a disappearance that also happened 60 years ago.

What I liked about this book: the fast plot & easy reading style, it was super easy to follow along with and gave enough clues to keep me interested and trying to guess who did it. I also always enjoy a small town setting for a murder mystery plot because you get a bunch of characters who definitely would know each-others secrets because of their proximity. I also enjoyed the journal entries from the past in the narrative of Frances.

What I didn’t like about this book: I didn’t feel connected to Annie as a character, nor did the reveal satisfy me. It made sense, but I felt like other characters would’ve been more satisfying to be the murderer. I feel like a little bit of the plot was also jumbled and things were glossed over too quickly. I also felt like no one in this book was a likable character besides I guess Annie, but she was a little bland to me and naive.

Overall I would still recommend this book to a murder mystery lover & a lover of Knives Out because it definitely reminded me of that movie.

This book started strong but was hard to keep tracking after reading it. There was lots of characters and was confusing. May try the book when it comes put.

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review

A murder-mystery based on a cryptic plot. When Frances was 17, her fate was told to her by a fortune teller - that she would one day be murdered. Frances spends her entire life trying to solve her own murder. When her prophecy comes true, the burden falls on those set to inherit her wealth to unravel the mystery she couldn't solve.

Told from the alternating viewpoints of Frances's grandniece, Annie, and Frances as her teenage self, the story is full of clues and reads like a classic murder mystery. I was engaged from start to finish, and while I failed to predict the identity of the murderer, the ending left me thoroughly satisfied.

The characters are genuine and you can't help but become engrossed in the quaint village of Castle Knoll. This book will resonate with fans of mysteries like "Inheritance Games" and "Truly Devious," or enthusiasts of movies such as "Knives Out."

Thank you to Kristen Perrin, NetGalley, and Penguin Group Dutton for an advanced eBook in exchange for my honest review.

How to Solve Your Qwn Murder is a must read for mystery fans. Kristen Perrin’s protagonist, Annie Adams, is relatable, engaging, and smart. Annie must solve her Great Aunt Frances’ murder in order to receive her inheritance. In the process, Annie is drawn into a 60-year missing person’s case. Annie must match her wits with other potential heirs because the winner takes all! This entertaining read has an innovative storyline and twists and turns along the way. Get comfortable, readers. This is page-turner and you will not be able to put it down until the very end. A delightful read!

This was such a captivating book! I read it in about a day. If you love whodunit mysteries and dual timelines, you will love this book.

For me, it took almost a quarter of the book for me to get into it, but once I did I couldn't put it down. I love the dual timeline aspect where we get to know Frances as a teenager since we don't get to know her in the present day. There are many characters, but each has a unique story and personality, which makes it easy to remember who was who. I could not wait to continue reading and try to figure out who killed Frances as Annie investigated. There are many twists that you won't see coming!

I rated this 4.5/5 stars. I really enjoyed the book and the plot once it started to progress. I would definitely recommend this to any fellow reader. Thank you!

How to Solve Your Own Murder is a tightly written cozy mystery set in a sprawling English countryside estate. With dual timelines split between the 1960s and present day, floundering mystery novelist Annie ends up in an investigation of her own when her Great Aunt Frances dies and leaves her estate to whomever can solve her murder first. This is a great read for anyone looking for something quick and engrossing but not too heavy. While there were times I got a bit caught up in the details, the story moves fast and clicks together nicely at the end.