This is a small town mystery, and almost-but-not-quite cozy-- one of my favorite genres! I was so excited to receive an ARC of this, and I very much enjoyed reading it. I would say you might need to read this with some willing suspension of disbelief-- even if Frances was supposed to be this observant person, am I really supposed to believe she remembered so many conversations verbatim? But I think a lot can be forgiven if other aspects are compelling, and this book did just that. I love an intrepid amateur detective, I love a little ~hint of romance~, and I LOVE a mystery that ties up all those lose ends! So satisfying. If there's a sequel, I will definitely be reading it!

I could NOT put this book down!!! I was carrying it from room to room, reading while eating and doing things around the house. I HAD to know what happened to Great Aunt Frances! I loved every minute of it, and now I'm kind of sad that it's done. I really liked switching from the points of view of Frances and Annie. I felt like reading Frances' chapters gave a special perspective into Annie's investigation. I was intrigued by the fortune that started it all and that was interwoven throughout the entire book. The twists and turns kept me guessing the entire time! I also love the beautiful imagery the author uses. Castle Knoll comes alive in the reader's mind from the beginning along with all of its eccentric inhabitants.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Penguin Group Dutton for allowing me to read this fabulous ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are 100% my own.

This was a fun, cozy mystery! The author did a good job of keeping the reader on their toes and not being too predictable. The story flips from the past to present multiple times and was a little hard to keep straight at some parts, but overall it was an enjoyable read.

This already many helpful reviews, and I don't have anything new to add, so I'll just recommend it to mystery fans.

Thanks very much for the free copy for review!!

At the 1965 Castle Knoll fair, teenager Frances Adams' friends drag her in to see the fortune teller. It is she who foretells of Frances' death at the hands of another with a cryptic set of clues. So the stage is set for the rest of Frances' life. From this day on, she is determined to discover who will be her eventual killer.

In current day, Annie Adams, Frances' great niece, is summoned to Castle Knoll to meet with her great aunt's lawyer in regards to the eventual dispensation of her will upon Frances' eventual death. The death, however, comes before the meeting can transpire.

The terms of the will sate that the person who finds her killer first will inherit her fortune. The game is now afoot. Annie does not know who she can trust - the dedicated gardener, the disgruntled nephew, the handsome detective?

The story goes between the two time periods with clues being discerned along the way. McGuffins are sure to divert your attention along the way, but that is all part of the fun,

Fans of Agatha Christy and Nita Prose's The Maid will find this an engrossing read.

My thanks to NetGalley and Dutton Publishing for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

4 stars for pulling me out of a mini reading slump!

This murder mystery had a fun, unique plot with a dual-timeline story. I LOVE murder mysteries with two murders that have to be solved from different timelines. It made this fun and easy to read. Plotwise, Frances has received a fortune that tells her she will be murdered one day... which results in her keeping track of EVERYTHING. And then her great niece Annie is tasked to solve her murder when, you know... the fortune comes true.

Writing was okay but nothing amazing and since there were a TON of characters/suspects, I did have a little bit of a hard time keeping track. Also total unimportant sidenote but I found the small marijuana sideplot goofy like it's just weed not HEROIN.

Anyway, I had fun and I liked how things were tied up!

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Kristen Perrin (author) and Penguin Group Dutton (publisher) for the ARC.

I was pretty excited about this book although i think calling it a cozy mystery is a stretch, however it is a great mystery. Usually I'm not a fan of switching back and forth between time periods but in this book it worked really well and actually there were times I was wishing for it to hurry to switch back because I was so interested in the secondary story. It's a double mystery and I figured out one of the murders but not the other. Looking forward to more books from this author.

There are two mysteries intertwined in How the Solve your own Murder, on in the past and one in the present. They both tie to Francis Adams, the murder victim in the present, and her friends and acquaintances throughout the years.

I found the characters in the past more interesting than the current ones, possibly because the author was trying to keep the present ones too mysterious so they’d be suspicious. Francis knows her friends, or at least thinks she does, so there’s a familiarity that leads to more openness between the viewpoint character and everyone else.

Overall it was an enjoyable, light read.

Annie travels to her great aunt France’s estate who has been obsessively trying to prevent her murder from a fortune she was told in her teenage years. Annie ends up having to solve her aunts murder to inherit the estate.
I love that this book was dual timeline and two mysteries are unraveling at the same time. It’s based in a small town where everybody’s seemingly knows everybody except new comer, Annie.
It pacing was good and it was a quick, easy read.

I was not the biggest fan of how many characters and plot lines there were in this book, but the dual timelines was interesting. I did not fully see the ending coming, but it wasn’t some big twist. Overall, I liked the book, but it felt like it dragged in some spots and could’ve done more with less.

I truly enjoyed this book so much! Told from the perspective of two characters (past and present), the story unfolds flawlessly and keeps you guessing the whole time. I couldn’t put it down because I was dying to see what was going to be discovered next. I highly recommend grabbing this book as soon as it comes out in March 2024. Perfect cozy mystery!

THANK YOU to the author, Netgalley and Penguin Group Dutton for this ARC in return for my honest review :)

I was grateful the publisher reached out to me to review this book - had they not, I probably would have missed this. I really recommend this book for its pace, a great mystery that keeps the reader engaged, and twisty read for the darker months ahead. I enjoyed all of the characters and really did not have a hard time keeping their personalities separate, and the setting was just superb!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I very much enjoyed this cozy, old-fashioned murder mystery. Annie Adams was a fun FMC and I enjoyed her deductions and interactions with the rest of the cast, particularly her best friend and the detective.

A cozy murder mystery set in the English countryside, following two cases set in the past and present. Fans of Knives Out and Agatha Christie have a new murder to solve!

Annie Adams receives a letter from her Great Aunt Frances asking to meet at her country estate. She soon learns of the prophecy that Frances lived by, predicting her own murder. Upon arriving, Annie finds the dead body of Frances, and all the evidence she obsessively kept detailing her own murder and a missing old friend. Annie must now unravel the mystery of her great aunt’s death, and potentially solve a cold case from the past.

I loved the premise, and the mix of two mysteries told through two narratives really added depth and atmosphere. Although the story was intriguing, I did find the cast of characters way too big. I couldn’t keep up with the relations and motives of each of them, and it made it hard to solve the case along with Annie. The ending was satisfying, but the many characters left some threads that were never tied. That being said, it was still a page-turner that is sure to keep you on your toes.

Thank you to Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Dutton for this ARC.

This was a fun, interesting, quirky read that I enjoyed. At times the plot felt slow, but the characters were so lively written, I didn't mind so much. I look forward to reading more from this writer.

What a wild ride! This book makes the most of its delightful premise as Annie works to solve a murder decades in the making. The story took many twists and turns as the author revealed both the past and the present bit by bit, and the host of self-interested side characters each worked to make things harder for the others. And of course the murder victim, Aunt Frances herself, was nutty in the best way possible. It's a rarity when the dead person turns out to be the most interesting character in the book. The blurb compares this to Knives Out and I would definitely recommend one to fans of the other.

While the book had an incredible plot (and I could not believe this was the author's adult debut, it was so well-done), the characters mostly fell flat for me. They didn't feel like real people, instead seeming more like characters scripted to fulfill a function in the story. I am someone who can like a book for its plot, but will only love a book if it has great characters, hence me giving this four rather than five stars. That said, I look forward to recommending this to many of the mystery fans in my life who will rejoice at reading something so fresh. The twists in this weren't predictable, but neither were they far-fetched.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Penguin for this eARC!

This was a captivating murder mystery and very fun. I loved the characters and their complexities, the journal entries and flashbacks.

The pacing at times was a little off and descriptions could get lengthy or repetitive, but I admit that it kept me guessing to the very end and I kept coming back for another chapter!

I wish I could see this on screen, it gave Knives Out energy in the best way.

I was given a copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this book. The character development was great and it had that Agatha Christie murder mystery type feel to it! It felt like a live game of clue in my head and definitely had those cozy mystery vibes! Well done

3.5 ⭐️

This was a really clever murder mystery about a woman who has a fortune teller predict that she will be murdered one day. Sure enough, 60 years later, she ends up dead under suspicious circumstances and her great niece is part of a quirky cast of characters who are trying to solve the murder.

What I loved? The characters were fun and the story moved along at a good pace. I sped through this quickly!

What I didn’t love? The entire novel is a bit cheesy, almost like Clue. The end was also a bit underwhelming and felt rushed.

All in all, this was a fun mystery that was perfect for spooky season, especially if you want something that isn’t too dark or violent, but still has some drama and intrigue.

ARC provided by NetGalley

Oh my goodness, this was one of the best murder mysteries I've read in a long time. The characters were interesting. I even rather liked the main character, which doesn't happen often for me. I couldn't have guessed the ending, either.

If you enjoy a good mystery, please read this book! You won't regret it!