I loved this book! I will definitely recommend it. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I only got a few chapters into this, finding it too contrived and overly whimsical. There was also a distracting word misuse early on, confusing "benefactor" and "beneficiary." That might have been corrected in the final version, but it caused me to mistrust the author's understanding of the very kinds of issues she was trying to write about.

Arrrgh I really wanted to score this book higher but I just couldn’t. I loved the premise of a double murder mystery set in the past and current time. Like others have said though, I just couldn’t seem to connect with any of the characters. Nobody seemed to jump out of the page at me and make me care. I always seem to struggle with those type of stories. I really need to love or hate at least one character.
I do feel that if you don’t have that requirement you could love this story. For that reason I’m giving it a 3/5 as I know some people will enjoy it!

I received this digital ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

I was so excited to read this book because the premise sounded amazing. Unfortunately, it didn't quite live up to my expectations. This was billed as being "enormously fun" and was compared to Knives Out, but I found those descriptions to be inaccurate. I enjoyed the diary entries, but I was not very impressed with Annie's detective skills. She did not so smart things like steal clues and put them in her pocket, but then she'd forget and not remember until days later. I also expected her to interview the people that were alive when Emily was killed but she didn't really do that either. Mostly she just read the diary and thought about what might have happened, but she couldn't even be bothered to read it all in one sitting. Seems like that's the first thing you would do. It wasn't the most impressive investigation. Also, two minor things really annoyed me. Almost every time she referred to Frances she'd say "Great Aunt Frances" which seemed so unnecessary. Yes, she is your great aunt, but do you really have to say/think it every time? Just say Frances! Also, over 40 times someone said something "slowly." She said slowly, he added slowly, etc. It's probably just me, but I found that incredibly grating. It started to be like nails on chalkboard after a while. That being said, I did enjoy the plot overall and I was surprised by the reveals at the end. 3.5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for the ARC.

In 1965, Frances attended a fair where she decided to try out a fortune tellers booth. She learnt that night that she would be murdered. Frances has told everyone over the years what would happen to her, but no one took her seriously, until Frances was found murdered one day. This book has a bit of a clue vibe to it. Whoever is able to solve Frances murder will inherit her estate!
This was such a fun read! I feel like anyone could enjoy this who dunnit book, it was also really cozy.
Perfect book to cozy up and drink hot cocoa with.

I loved the premise of this book: an amateur sleuth trying to solve a crime. It was such a cute cozy mystery! The book reads really fast, and captured me straight from the beginning. I loved the English village setting, and the cast of characters. My favorite part of the story though was reading the diary entries left behind by Frances, which helped aid Annie to try and solve her death. I really thought I had figured everything out, but I definitely didn't, which is rare for me, because I read A Lot of thrillers and mysteries.

In 1965, the remainder of Frances’ life was predicted by a fortune teller. She spent the remainder of her 60 years trying to solve who would eventually be her murderer. In present day, Annie has just received an invitation to a meeting at her Great Aunt’s home only to find that she has indeed, been murdered.

Set in a small English village, this book is a cozy mystery that reminds us the many layers of the people we surround ourselves with. Kristen Perrin created an incredible cast of characters who are engaging and leave you scratching your head. I felt as if I were unwrapping a gift as I learned more and more about each character and continuously changed my prediction of “who-dun-it”.

Thank you to @NetGalley and @Dutton for the ARC of this book! It was a thrilling and cozy read that I hope you will all check out in March when it is released!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book that I had been dying to read.
The premise is very interesting while the execution is just so-so. I can understand why this is considered a cozy crime because it reads very YA and simplistic.

It isn’t until about 40% of the way through the book that anything even happens and the game/investigation starts. The dual timelines felt clunky.

The biggest problem I had with this story was the sheer number of characters and how they all blended together. There could have been some more interesting ways to introduce them and keep them individualistic - but that just didn’t happen.
Nearly halfway through I was still asking myself who a certain character was and how they were related to anything in the story.
Sadly the ending left me feeling the same sort of way.

Not sure why this is being compared to Agatha Christie or Knives Out - it’s nothing like either.

This one just wasn’t for me. Most of all, I really needed more clarity on the characters.

It's not paranoia if you're right at least once.

Frances Adams has spent decades living in fear of a fortune she received when she was 16. When her great niece Annie is summoned to the small town of Castle Knoll to meet her, Frances is already dead. With the help of Frances's old diaries, Annie has one week to solve her murder or risk losing everything. Annie must race against the clock to solve the murder, win the inheritance, and make it out alive. But the idyllic town is full of secrets, some of which are worth killing for.

How to Solve Your Own Murder had a very unique premise of solving a murder before it has been committed. I found Frances' diary entries to be captivating, and it was particularly interesting to compare the modern day characters to their teenage selves. While the modern day storyline was less compelling, I liked how it connected to the past. This was a very well-crafted mystery. I was able to solve part of the murder which I enjoyed because the author included actual evidence along the way, something that many mystery books neglect in favor of shocking and implausible twists.

This was an engaging read that I would recommend to mystery lovers, especially those who like to solve the case themselves. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

4/5 queens
♛♛♛♛

Loved this book. From beginning to end it was an absolute classic mystery with such a cool twist as the entire plot. The characters were interesting and I loved the POV we got from Frances’s journal.
Annie has to solve the murder of her Great Aunt to secure her right to her family’s estate and fortune. What happens next is a charming yet thrilling game if cat and mouse.
This read is 4.5 stars. Absolutely loved it and will be reading more from this author in the future.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

This was such a refreshing, positively surprising and fun read! I spent my whole weekend obsessing over this murder case, just as Great Aunt Frances did over the course of her own life. Appealing, exciting, and a quick read that was so accessible for this reader, who is not a huge fan of the murder mystery genre. This book proved my preconceived notions about the genre all wrong!

An ametuer murder mystery writer meets a potential inheritance and not one, but two unsolved mysteries. With a strong cast of mysterious characters and a puzzling fortune that is begging to be deciphered - you will be trying to solve the case and creating murder boards of your own before you know it! Prepare to get genuinely wrapped up in the quaint English village known as Castle Knoll and a story you will not want to put down.

As a teenager Frances Adams took to heart a fortune-teller prodicting circumstances about her future death. From the rest of her life, Frances trusted nobody but finally she's murdered in her home. Annie Adams is summonded to her great-aunt's home and becomes involved in solving the murder. The village is small and quaint with everyone having some connection to Frances. The story becomes cluttered with many red herrings making the large cast difficult to track. Plus, extended flashbacks to Frances' teenage years reveal more relationship drama, both romatically and destroyed friendships. The story is worth a read with some exciting twists along with characteristics of a British village mystery, but readers may give up on the various jumbled storylines.

I really enjoyed this book, the plot was super interesting, and the differences in perspective and timeline made it much more interesting. I did find some names a bit difficult to remember and/or follow throughout the book. The writing style kept the book flowing and I found myself not wanting to stop reading with all of the twists and turns. I’d love to read more from this author

Thank you so much to Netgalley for providing me with an advance copy ♥️
How to Solve Your Own Murder" by Kristen Perrin is a captivating mystery novel that delves into the complex and intriguing concept of solving one's own murder. The story follows the protagonist, who finds themselves in a unique predicament - they are dead, and it's up to them to figure out who killed them and why.
One of the strengths of this book is its original and imaginative plot. Perrin has crafted a story that seamlessly blends elements of mystery, suspense, and the supernatural, creating a thrilling and unpredictable ride for readers. The pacing is well-balanced, with a steady flow of clues, twists, and revelations that keep you engaged and curious.

How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrina is a delightful thoroughly engrossing murder mystery set in an English country village. In 1965, a teenage Frances, and her two best friends, attended the local country fair. Frances’s life is forever changed by a fortune teller’s prediction of her future murder. She takes the prediction seriously, but her concerns are dismissed. Frances spends the rest of life viewing the world with suspicion, collecting clues, uncovering secrets, with the intent of solving her murder.

Fast forward to the present, Frances’s great-niece Annie, an aspiring mystery writer, is summoned to a meeting with her very wealthy great-aunt. She travels to the small country village where Frances’s estate is located but before they can meet Frances is found murdered. So, the prediction does come true, and Frances was right all along. At the reading of the will, Annie, along with the other heir, Saxon, is given one week to solve Frances’s murder. The first one to solve the murder inherits the estate and all its resources. If neither are successful, the entire estate will be given to developers. Annie feels a strong connection to her great-aunt and is determined to solve her murder and give her justice.

Overall, this was a fun, suspenseful read. The mystery focused on Annie’s solving her great aunt’s murder within a time frame specified by the will before the other prospective heir. The plot has a couple mysteries, and the question became how they were connected. The story goes back and forth between the past and the present. Frances’s diary gives voice to the past, allowing a view into her frame of mind and what was going on in her world. Annie’s narrative represents the present. Annie’s investigation is aided by her discovery of Frances’s diary, the reservoir of information Frances has collected over the years, her interactions with the many quirky characters and collaboration with the local detective to uncover the murderer. I enjoyed how Annie used the diary and the clues to solve the mystery surrounding Frances’s death.

I so loved reading this book, its quaint English country village setting and the wonderfully quirky characters. There were lots of clues and I loved trying to piece them together to solve the murders. I look forward to more books by Kristen Perrina.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for the advanced copy of this book.

This was my first book by Kristen Perrin. In fact, I had never even heard of her until seeing this book on NetGalley. I was intrigued by the title and the charming, ethereal cover art. Spoiler alert: This ended up in my top 10 reads of 2023!! This was a mystery wrapped inside a mystery and I loved the dual investigations!

At first I wasn't sure how I was going to like this as the story is told in a dual timeline format (that, for the most part I try to avoid), but it definitely worked in this book and I did not feel confused at any point.

In "How To Solve Your Own Murder", our character Annie, is hellbent on trying to solve the murder of her great aunt, Frances, while also trying to figure out what happened to her childhood friend, Emily, who disappeared shortly after her, Frances and their friend, Rose, go to see a fortune teller at a fair where Frances is the unfortunate recipient of bad news-she is going to be murdered one day! Not great. After receiving this devastating news, Frances goes on a life-long mission trying to solve her own murder *before* it happens, while also looking for Emily. Talk about multi-tasking!

This is one of the most unique premises I have ever read in any mystery book and probably in *any* genre. I absolutely LOVED the characters, their stories, and I was extremely impressed by how Perrin managed to skillfully weave the past into the present day. This REALLY helped me connect with Frances which was a huge deal because I usually find myself feeling distant/disconnected from characters when reading books that are told in dual timelines.

I read this book in ONE sitting, and at one point in the book I was *ABSOLUTELY CONVINCED* that I had figured it out, but NOPE! I was soooooo wrong. The last time I enjoyed being this wrong was when I read Agatha Christie's "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd", and that's about as best of a compliment I think any author could receive.

This was an EASY 5 stars. This was an an absolut blast. I will absolutely be buying this for my home library when it comes out (i LOVE this cover so PLEASE PLEASE do not change it!) and I will be recommending it to my mystery-loving reader friends.

Thank you so much for allowing me to read such a fantastic and fun book. I already want to do a re-read and see what I might have missed on first read!

Set mainly in a rural English village, this story takes you on a journey through two timelines, both filled with suspense and intrigue. In the present you see Annie investigating her Great Aunt Frances’s murder and you get a glimpse into Frances’s teen years in the 1960s through her diary entries. The story had me hooked from the very beginning and had a clever ending. Highly recommend!

5⭐️

In 1965, Frances Adams had her fortune read at the county fair that predicted that her death will be from murder and it has haunted her ever since. She seemed to believe the fortune to be true once one of her best friends went missing as a teen, fulfilling part of the prophecy. She has spent her entire life trying to predict who would be her murderer. She kept filing cabinets full of files on local towns people and their motives and has been known to call the police and hospitals about the most mundane things believing it is an attempt on her life. No one takes her serious until Frances is found murdered at 60 years later.

Annie Adams had never met her great aunt Frances and was surprised when she was summoned to the village of Castle Knoll for a meeting with Frances and other people features in her will. But by the time Annie and the rest of the people invited arrive to the meeting, Frances is dead. Using the clues that Frances has collected for years, Annie is determined to find her great aunt's murderer and uncovers a cold case at the same time.

I'm going to preference this with the fact that I love dramatic mysteries like Clue, Knives Out and Murder, She Wrote, so this book was right up my alley. I love that pretty much the whole village is a suspect and if they aren't a suspect they have information regarding to the case. I also love when the main character is left threats to scare them away from investigating and this had all of that. I really liked Annie as a main character and that since she had never met Frances, she was removed enough from the situation to behave rationally.

I especially liked the inclusion of Frances journal from her childhood, labeled as "The Castle Knoll Files." I think inserting these journal entries between each chapter really gives you a lot of background information as well as some intense red herrings of sinister behavior that had innocent explanations. I spent the book trying to figure out the case with Annie and hadn't quite figured it out when the killer was revealed, which was nice.

Thank you Netgalley and Dutton for providing this ARC to me!

This is a delightful English mystery perfect for fans of The Thursday Murder Club. We will be buying for our libraries.

How to Solve Your Own Murder resparked my love for mysteries and Nancy Drew-Esque novels.

France’s is given a terrible fortune at a fair when she is seventeen. She will be murdered someday. After the disappearance of her best friend, she develops the obsession to solve her own murder… before it happens.

Annie Adam’s is summoned to her Great Aunt France’s estate, an aunt she’s never met. Unfortunately the beauty of the estate is immediately marred by the discover of the body of Great Aunt Frances.

Now Annie is tasked with using the pieces of her aunt investigations to solve the murder…or lose the estate for good.


This novel was a quick and fun read that is perfect for the fall. I would recommend this novel for people who loved Nancy Drew like myself. I’ve honestly stayed away from the murder mystery genre for a while because of how repetitive it gets. But Kirstin Perrin’s writing rekindled a love for mystery. With her wonderful prose and well developed characters, I couldn’t put this novel down.


Thank you to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this novel. It will be released 26 March 2024.