Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

How to Solve Your Own Murder is the first book in a wry and very well constructed new series by Kristen Perrin. Released 26th March 2024 by Penguin Random House on their Dutton imprint, it's 368 pages and available in hardcover, large print paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links.

This is a fun homage/send up of the classic British murder mystery with a deceased (murdered) great-aunt, a crazy will, a huge inheritance up for grabs, dastardly grasping relatives, conspiracy theories galore, a convoluted plot, and a satisfyingly exciting denouement and resolution.

It's not primarily a humorous plot, but there are quite a few wry moments with departed great-aunt Frances' murder board and files which she collected over a 60 year period, having been convinced as a teenager that she was going to be murdered at some point (and she was).

It's not derivative, but fans of Knives Out, Clue, and the Thursday Murder Club will likely enjoy this one. There's a second book due out in March 2025 from the same publisher.

Four stars. It would be a good choice for public library acquisition, home use, or gift giving.

The unabridged audiobook format has a run time of 10 hours 51 minutes and is expertly read by Alexandra Dowling. She has a classically trained RP English accent and does a good job with the disparate and varied accents over a range of ages and both men and women. Sound and production quality are high throughout the read.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes

this was such a cool mysterious mystery type thriller. I dont want to spoil but really did enjoy it. I look forward to more from Kristen Perrin

Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton for this advance copy of How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin.
This was a fun unique spin on the classic whodunit. I would recommend this to anyone who loves Agatha Christie, Knives Out and Clue. The pacing was great and I could see this translating well to a movie or miniseries. This is also a beautiful cover, and is sure to catch attention at the bookstore.

When Frances was a teenager, she received a fortune that one day she would be murdered. She lived her life trying to solve her own murder. Then, 60 years later, the inevitable happened and her great-niece, Annie, was the right daughter to solve the murder. See, what an interesting premise!

As the story progressed you learn about Annie and Frances and how, although never meeting, France was convinced that Annie would solve the murder. The story takes you through Frances' journal and present day, so there is a bit of jumping around.

I didn't give it more stars because I just felt like there was soooo much going on. While trying to solve Frances' murder, there was also the disappearance of Emily to figure out and an introduction of multiple characters. Trying to keep everything in check was sometimes a bit confusing.

All in all, the book was full of twists and turns and I ultimately enjoyed it.

A special thank you to Penguin Group Dutton and NetGalley for providing me with the digital reviewer copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely loved this book. I have not felt this excited about entering a new book neighborhood since the Flavia de Luce books. I can’t wait to see what else happens with these characters!

This was a DNF for me, I just couldn't get into the characters and storyline even though it sounded like a lot of fun!

A fantastic summer read that I think readers of all ages will thoroughly enjoy. I highly recommend this book, it will keep you wanting to know what happens next. Strong characters help move an intricate plot through beautiful settings. This book will keep you up late at night.

I enjoyed this novel by Kristen Perrin. The story follows Great Aunt Frances 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. Annie Adams, her estranged great-niece is added to the will as an inheritor but the murder becomes a game. Whoever is the first to solve the murder inherits the estate in its entirety.

I thought it was an excellent premise for a novel and kept me entertained and on my toes trying to find out for myself who had done it.

Thanks to @netgalley @penguinrandomhouse and @kristenperrinwrites for allowing me an advanced copy! You don’t need to wait though - it’s out and ready for reading!

This is was so fun and entertaining! I often find mysteries to be quite predictable and just enjoy them for the journey anyway, but I never knew where this story was going to go! It was a pleasure reading:)

3.5 out of 5 - So this book hooked me, it got me with the first chapter. The only thing is it got kinda slow and repetitive for me after that. I loved the switching between the aunt's story and the niece's story. It was easy to tell who was the center of the story at the time. I just felt that the niece's investigation chapters were a bit slow for me. I wanted the story to move a little faster. I really like all the characters, which in some thrillers is hard to do. I also totally called the killer as soon as they were introduced, which was kind of a bummer. I read this book while traveling and I would describe it as the perfect book to buy at an airport bookstore when you need something to read.

Thank you NetGalley, PENGUIN GROUP Dutton, and Kristen Perrin for my copy of this book. All opinions are honest and my own.

After a long hiatus due to a brain injury I have been able to catch back up on my readings! I really enjoyed this book. It felt really fast paced and reminded me of the Queen of mystery, Agatha Christie. I liked Annie a whole lot and Frances who was a little crazy haha. This book had some fun twists and had me reading late into the night which is saying a lot as I don’t do that often. Would recommend!

**How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin - A Captivating Whodunnit**

Kristen Perrin's "How to Solve Your Own Murder" delivers a gripping and intricate murder mystery that channels the spirit of Agatha Christie while offering a fresh twist with its modern-day setting and relatable protagonist, Annie Adams.

The story begins with a chilling prophecy that haunts Frances Adams from her teenage years in 1965, predicting her eventual murder. Fast forward sixty years, Frances, now an eccentric and wealthy figure, is found dead in her opulent estate, Castle Knoll. Enter Annie Adams, a budding mystery writer and Frances's estranged great-niece, who finds herself thrust into a web of family secrets, intricate puzzles, and deadly motives.

Perrin deftly weaves together two timelines, alternating between Annie's present-day investigation and Frances's past through journal entries, unraveling a tale of obsession, betrayal, and long-buried secrets. The narrative is richly layered with a diverse cast of characters, each harboring their own motivations and suspicions, adding depth to the unfolding mystery.

Annie emerges as a compelling protagonist, navigating the labyrinthine estate and its enigmatic puzzles while contending with personal doubts and familial tensions. Her determination to uncover the truth about Frances's death, despite facing numerous obstacles and dangerous adversaries, drives the narrative forward with palpable suspense.

The novel's pacing is relentless, propelling the reader through twists and turns that keep the stakes high and the intrigue palpable. Perrin's narrative style seamlessly blends suspense with moments of introspection, allowing the characters' complexities to shine through amidst the unfolding mystery.

While the revelation of the murderer may not entirely surprise seasoned mystery readers, the journey to uncovering the truth remains engaging and satisfying. Perrin maintains a delicate balance between suspense and character development, ensuring that each revelation adds depth to the overarching narrative.

In conclusion, "How to Solve Your Own Murder" is a captivating homage to classic whodunits, infused with modern sensibilities and a keen eye for detail. Perrin's ability to craft an atmospheric setting, coupled with her knack for creating compelling characters and intricate plot threads, makes this book a standout in the genre. Whether you're a fan of Christie's intricate puzzles or enjoy a contemporary twist on the cozy mystery, this novel promises to keep you guessing until the final page.

A special thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton in exchange for an honest review.

You know I love a #cozymystery and this one was a perfect, fun, genuinely interesting #quickread. I loved it! If you love British #whodunnits and some redemption to boot, this one is the perfect mix of light and dark.

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A teenager is read her fortune on an innocent night - a fortune that includes her own eventual murder. For the rest of her life, she is haunted by the warning, and spends every waking moment obsessively attempting to investigate her own future murder and perhaps, thereby, prevent it, certain the killer is someone in her midst.

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The teenager, who eventually becomes an exorbitantly woman via marriage, is proven unfortunately correct in her steadfast belief that her murder is inevitable, when she is, in fact, murdered in her old age. Still, even in death she is desperate to out her killer - so desperate that her enormous fortune is willed to one of a handful of selected people who are given a short amount of time to solve the mystery of who murdered her.

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As the contenders race to find answers, the woman’s great niece, whom she has never met, desperately searches for the truth behind the great aunt she never met, a long ago told fortune, and betrayal and lies going back decades.

Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for an ARC of this book.

This mystery book opens with a fortune teller telling Frances, one of three friends of seventeen., her fortune, There are cryptic sentences the last telling her she is going to be murdered. Frances believes the fortune, no one else does.
The book jumps to the present when Annie, great grand niece of Frances, is summoned to Castle Knoll to be told about a change in Frances' will leaving a huge fortune to Annie. Annie never gets to meet Frances as Frances is murdered the morning they were to meet.
The book continues with two POV. Annie who is trying to solve the murder and Frances in her diary, detailing the first six months after the fortune is told to her.
I enjoyed this book. It was a new twist on mystery stories. But as usual, no one is as they seem.

Very reminiscent of Benjamin Stevenson's "Everyone" series and I very much enjoyed it! It also reminded me of classic Agatha Christie, whose books I have loved since I was a child. Frances is told at sixteen that she will be murdered and she spends the next sixty years collecting dirt on every single person she meets to hopefully prevent the prediction from coming true. And then she ends up murdered and her great niece is hunting the killer using all of Frances's notes, trying the find a motive for the murder. But the closer she gets, the more dangerous it becomes until the killer is on her tail and she might meet the same fate as her aunt.

Frances Adams was told that she would be murdered by a fortune teller at a county fair in 1965. While her two best friends laughed off the prophecy, Frances became obsessed. From that moment forward, every aspect of her life focuses on solving the crime that hasn’t happened yet: her murder. Decades later, Annie Adams is summoned to her great-aunt Frances’ home, to discuss an alteration to Frances’ will. Of course, after years of suspecting her murder is right around the corner, Frances is found dead in her library, surrounded by the secrets she’s kept on all the other residents of the village. Can Annie solve the mystery before becoming another victim?

This has a fun premise, and a fast pace. I had trouble getting into it, but I’m willing to put at least some of that down to reading it while traveling through some busy airports. The story flips back and forth between Frances’ diary entries in 1965 and 1966 and Annie’s modern day investigation. Fans of amateur sleuth stories who like a little more edge than a traditional cozy should give this one a shot.

I received this book from the publisher for an honest review.

How to Solve Your Own Murder is about a woman who spends her entire life trying to prevent her foretold murder but ends up dead sixty years later only to be proven right. The plot twist is now it's up to her great-niece to solve her murder and also catch a killer. Can she solve it? This was a page turner from beginning to end and was well paced. I enjoyed the characters in this book and especially Annie. Overall this book is well crafted and a perfect whodunit that has plenty of suspects but also everyone has a secret. I highly enjoyed this book and would recommend this to any reader but epescially to those who love a good mystery. I can not wait to read the next installment of the Castle Knoll Files! Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton for this book in exchange of my review of How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin.

Really clever book. I’d definitely read more from this author. I enjoy books like this one and Everyone on This Train is a Suspect, etc.

An interesting mystery as you’re trying to find out who killed Annie’s great aunt, who knew she would be murdered since the 60's thanks to a fortune teller. I thought the premise was intriguing and this is why I had initially requested this book. This was a slower paced mystery read, and lately that just hasn't been my thing. The reveals revealed themselves nicely, and I did like the story well enough to give it three stars. A very good debut book from Kristen Perrin. I do not think that I will continue on with this series though.

Told from the past and present this story was fun to read. Annie hasn't ever known what to do, but having recently lost her job, she feels that this is the sign that she should start writing her book, only to get summoned to the large country estate of her great-aunt Frances. Frances has led a long and peculiar life having been told at 16 that she would end up murdered by someone she knows, and has followed the fortune-teller's warning with confidence. Annie arrives to her great-aunt's estate with France's lawyer and other family members, and discovers Great-Aunt Frances dead, from a murder. The lawyer reads the will the next day and Annie and her uncle Saxon are told they have one week to solve the murder, whoever solves it gets the estate. If they can't solve it in a week, or the police solve it first; the house is to be sold to a land-developer and turned into a mall. Annie dives deep into her great-aunt's history paging through all the notes and diaries which she has kept over time. Every few chapters we are plunged back into the 1960s to read about Frances as a young woman and what lead her to eventually owning the estate and why she has a murderboard in her library. The twists weren't unexpected, but they were done with elegance. This was a fun murder mystery, and I hope to see more from Perrin in the future.