Loved this fun book! It gave me Agatha Christie vibes with a cozy mystery type of energy.

Told in two time periods and perspectives - modern day Annie and 1960s Great Aunt Frances, both with such unique voices but similar personalities. They both like to get to the bottom of mysteries.

Aunt Frances wanted to know who killed her best friend in 1966 - and kept tabs on everyone as possible suspects, all whilst holding on to her superstitions about a fortune she received at a carnival when she was 17 that foretold her murder.

Annie received a missive to attend a meeting with the mysterious Great Aunt Frances and her counsel to discuss the changing of her will - only to discover her dead. Her fortune come true.

She finds herself immersed in an eccentric small town where everybody knows everyone, they’re all hiding something and she has no idea who to trust. Will she uncover the truth about her enigmatic great aunt or be doomed to the same fate?

Loved this thriller!! I was captivated the entire time and I couldn’t wait to see how the story played out.

This isn't quite a cozy mystery, but close. It's probably what you would get if you combined Knives Out and Pretty Little Liars. It was a crazy mystery with a lot of characters and tons of lies and drama. I'm not as much a fan of the Pretty Little Liars aspect, but I enjoyed this mystery!

Here's how the publishers described the book: "For fans of Knives Out and The Thursday Murder Club , an enormously fun mystery about a woman who spends her entire life trying to prevent her foretold murder only to be proven right sixty years later, when she is found dead in her sprawling country estate... Now it's up to her great-niece to catch the killer."

The story is alternately told from the great-niece's point of view and from the journal of the murder victim. I love books that alternate POV and timelines like this and it was well done here.

The mystery itself was very tangled with so many characters and different secrets, which was great but also a bit confusing. I probably would have followed things better with my own murder board! (Someday I'll make one of those, in a totally non-serial killer or creepy way).

Overall, I enjoyed the read and would recommend to those who love tangled whodunits.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free digital copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Not at all what I expected, but still interesting and enjoyable. I kind of needed my own "murder wall" to keep track of all the characters and how they were connected to the story.

How to Solve Your Own Murder is a great title, though not really accurate to the plot of the book if you ask me. I started out really enjoying this book, but did find the last quarter of it drag.

Annie has suddenly been called to meet her Great Aunt Frances whom she’s never met. Before they can meet, Frances is found dead. Or murdered? As a condition of Frances will Annie and another character, Saxon, must compete to solve the murder. (Can you see my hang up with the title? France’s does not in fact solve her own murder.)

But she does try to find out what happened to her friend Emily who disappeared many years ago. The story moves between the present and Annie’s sleuthing and France’s journal from her teen years. I think one of my issues was that Annie was such a cipher and unknown quantity. She says she wants to be a mystery author but there isn’t a lot to back that up or give her much of a personality. Meanwhile, Frances is vivid in her journal and I was much more interested in her.

The ultimate mystery was good but it felt like a bit of a slog for me by the end.

this was a very fun mystery! Lots of Agatha Christie vibes and I enjoyed the alternating chapters between the modern day and the journal. I will recommend this to my followers next year!

Any book that’s a cozy mystery taking place in an English Manor is definitely going to be my vibe.

This book was chalk full of exceptionally well rounded characters as well as a story that held your attention with its mystery and suspense. The dual timeline fell together seamlessly and there was a twist I kind of sort had an inkling about but didn’t see fully coming

Enjoyable cozy-esque murder mystery.

I enjoyed the dual narrative of past (through the diary) and present. Frances was such an interesting character, I enjoyed reading the flashbacks often more than the "current time" with Anne. The idea of someone being so obsessed with the idea of getting murdered from a fortune teller is a very fun idew. I read the entire book in one sitting, so the pacing kept me interested and I did not want to put it down.

Thank you to Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

A fun book for fans of Knives out. A fun small town mystery that immediately had me hooked. A quick read with fun characters.

I really liked the concept for this book, but the execution fell flat to me. The writing felt stilted and the characters felt one-dimensional. I wasn’t intrigued while reading, I was mostly just bored.

*3.5 stars rounded up*

Thank you to Penguin Group Dutton for the ARC. How to Solve Your Own Murder is a dual-timeline murder mystery with an Agatha Christie feel, as noted by other reviewers. The setting itself is cozy, whilst an undercurrent of danger runs throughout the narrative. I will say I wasn't too intrigued by the 1960s flashbacks until later on in the book, but they did become very intertwined with the present day after a certain point. Overall, a solid read, though some of the characters left something to be desired.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-arc of the book. I could not put this book down. It had a lot of cozy vibes.

I picked this book up last weekend after receiving the arc and starting today, I have officially dnf'ed my first book. This book was written well and pretty interesting in the first few pages. But about halfway through the book, I just felt disinterested. The plot idea was very interesting, but I feel like the actual product and the direction it was heading wasn't my cup of tea :( but I would recommend this book for huge fans of murder mysteries and things up that alley.

This was a great novel. You get not one but two murders which is always awesome, had me on the edge of my seat most of the time. It considered a cozy mystery but there are some things that wouldn't be considered "cozy" but it's not too crazy. I'm new to cozy mysteries but I really like the atmospheric feeling of it. The character are awesome. It also has a Agatha Christie feel to it which is awesome!

Thank you for this arc!

OH MY WORD!! I loved this book! I live for this book! Literally incredible! I was so slow to start this and I literally regret not reading this masterpiece earlier, Would recommend to anyone and everyone. Just incredible, that is all. Plot incredible, characters incredible! There were times where I was so internally conflicted about what I thought the outcome would me! Just amazing, a must read!

100000 ⭐️s / ⭐️

Thank you to Kristen Perrin, NetGalley, and Penguin Group Dutton for an advanced reader copy of this incredible book!

This is a perfect whodunnit! The dual point of view going between the 60s and current day makes the mystery unfold in a way that is hard to put down. I think this is going to be one of the mysteries of the year a la The Maid.

Thank you for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this incredible book! I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. While I wouldn’t go so far as to call it a “cozy mystery”, I would say it gives you the same level of comfort as an Agatha Christie book. You know you’re in safe hands because nothing too outrageous is going to happen and the ending will be satisfying and clever. Not to mention that the almost gothic setting of the old mansion and quaintness of small town life gives a “settle in with a cup of tea and get ready to be enthralled” kind of vibe.

With dual timeline books, there is always the risk of the reader caring about one story more than the other. I can say this was not the case with this story. Both the present day and 1960s storylines were equally interesting and entertaining. I found myself excited each time the story switched between the two and never frustrated about “having” to read the other timeline.

I enjoyed going into this book somewhat blind and not knowing the twist of the inheritance game. I thought the mystery was done well and the evidence had me suspecting everyone and their mother (except for Joe and Rose!). The ending was a brilliant conclusion and the the evidence all made sense in hindsight.

Things that prevented this from being a five star book were few and far between, but there were two characters stuck out to me as not completely fleshed out. I thought Ford was really alluring and great as a plot point, but I couldn’t really get a feel for him. His characterization felt a little flat and I didn’t understand his motivations. I’m the opposite vein, I loved the character of Jenny and could really picture her personality, but I did forget she existed multiple times throughout the book. The addition of her character felt a little unnecessary and I think her usefulness to the plot could be given to a different, already established character.

Overall, I loved this book and would definitely recommend it to others. While I think it makes a good stand alone, I’d be excited to hear what the plot of the next book is and would most likely continue reading the series.

Annie is summoned to her great aunt Frances’s estate. It seems like Annie’s mother is out of the will and Annie is in. Before she can spend time with Frances, the thing that Frances has feared for most of her life comes true. She is murdered, and her will pits several people against each other. The one who solves the crime within a week will inherit her estate. It’s a lot of money, and Annie is determined to catch up with the other players, who actually knew Frances.
Told in the past (Frances) and in the present by Annie, I should’ve guessed the killer. But, alas, my radar was on someone else, and I totally looked right past the reason for the murderer to need to silence great aunt Frances. I was almost as upset as Annie that I didn’t get to know Frances in the now. She was some character and having her fortune told early in her life (and what the fortune teller said) really shaped her future.
This was a fun mystery and honestly, I give kudos to Annie for figuring out who was the murderer. I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing her in another book.

This book was a fun, comfortable read, and best of all, clever enough to keep me guessing pretty much the whole way through. Not quite "cozy" but highly recommended for a rainy day with a warm beverage.

The cover and title of this book are what originally drew me to it, and I am pleased to report that the story inside of it kept me turning the pages and fully entertained. The blurb references one of my recent favorite movies, Knives Out, and I would say that's a good comparison. It has sort of a cozy mystery vibe, and a fun plot full of puzzles and riddles for the characters to solve, while they all try to be the first to solve Frances' long ago predicted murder in order to win her estate. I didn't like all of the characters, and there were a lot of them, but it also made it fun trying to figure out who the actual culprit was since everyone seemed likely at one point or another. And best of all, I didn't figure it out ahead of time. I also loved the English village setting, the descriptions of which made it very real in my mind. This is my first novel by Kristen Perrin, but won't be my last.Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.