Annie’sGreat Aunt Frances has died , in fact she was murdered .
Sixty years ago at a fair a fortune teller told Frances she would be murdered , since then this premonition has shaped her life leading her to fall out with friends and an increased sense of paranoia.
Annie is summoned to Frances’s sprawling country estate and vows to find the murderer,.
There is a mix of past diary entries with the present day and it works well and makes for an easy read .
An enjoyable read!
Thanks to NetGalley and Quercus books .

A cracking good read and if this is the standard to be expected of this author I would have no hesitation inreading again. Great Premise. Great Characters. Great Book.

When Frances Adams recieves an ominous fortune from a fairground fortune seller, her life is sent into a tailspin. Decades later the fortune appears to have come true, with Frances murdered in questionable circumstances. In order to inherit Frances' fortune, her great-niece, Annie Adams, must find Frances' killer. If she doesn't the estate will be sold off to developers. As she investigates and learns more about her great-aunt Frances, Annie unwittingly unearths another murder. But will she find the killers of both before it's too late?

This was a delightful, whodunnit that had me guessing until the end. There were so many twists and red herrings, that I genuinely couldn't pick the outcome. The characters were all fascinating - from the scheming Saxon to the hemp-growing Archie, and their stories all intertwine with each others.

And for a book full of murder, drugs, secrets and betrayal, this was a positively wholesome story of families, redemption, and what people will do for those they love.

I read this in a day - it was a fun, fast-paced read. Loved it.

~ Many thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review~

This was such a fun read! With a novel twist on the classic “Whodunit”, the murder victim Frances is an elderly woman who has been convinced since her teenage years that she will be murdered, so has kept files on those around her accordingly.

Having never met her Great-Aunt Frances, aspiring writer Annie feels compelled to solve the riddle of Frances’ murder – especially when she finds out that, should she find the culprit within a week, she will become the sole beneficiary of Frances’ immense estate.

What follows is a tale told across two timelines. We see Annie as she gets to know the villagers, their secrets, and their foibles, and we also get to know Frances from excerpts of the diary she kept as a teenager, as read by Annie. This has the bonus of getting the reader invested in Frances as a character, despite her demise so early in the book.

I loved the characters in this book, and the relationships that builds between them and Annie, as the “newcomer”. I did work out a lot of the twists early on, but that didn’t hamper my enjoyment of this cosy mystery.

My thanks to the author, NetGalley, and the publisher for the arc to review.

1965, Three teenage girls - Frances Adam’s and her friends, Emily and Rose - visit a fairground and Frances has her fortune told, which she finds disquieting but believes in it.: “Your future contains dry bones. Your slow demise begins right when you hold the queen in the palm of one hand. Beware the bird, for it will betray you. And from that, there’s no coming back. But daughters are the key to justice, find the right one and keep her close. All signs point toward your murder.”

We then cut to the present day and Annie Adams learns that she is to be a potential beneficiary of her great aunt Frances’ will, when she is summoned to her stately home for a meeting, but before this meeting can take place Frances dies, and her will requires Annie and another relative to investigate and compete to find her killer, the winner inheriting the estate, provided the police don’t get there first.

Interweaved with the ensuing events are excerpts from a journal (which Annie finds), written by her great aunt, which reveals much of her story following the fortune telling.

Annie believes that the routes of her demise lie in her great aunt’s youth, and so many of the youngsters around at that time are still living locally, many of them with reason to see her silenced.

This is an interesting spin on the ‘private detective’ investigation genre, and the story unfolds at a good pace with the reader, like Annie, trying to make sense of the evidence as it is revealed.

I read this book from a pre-publication copy kindly supplied by the publisher, but this is an honest review with no concession to their generosity.

This was a fun and fresh take on the cosy crime novel and I loved it.

17 year old Frances is told by a fortune teller that she will be murdered in the future… 60 years later her great niece Annie is tasked with solving Frances’ murder.

The story flits between modern day as Annie investigates and diary entries written by Frances when she was young. Soon Annie realises that Frances’ death may be related to the disappearance of her friend back in the 1960s and things start to unravel.

Both storylines are great and really gripping which is rare in a split timeline story, usually you find yourself rushing through one part to get to another but I genuinely really enjoyed both.

There was an Agatha Christie-esque vibe to the story with the big cast of supporting characters who all had their own motives and secrets which are revealed in time.

I loved spending time in the world of Castle Knoll and highly recommend to anyone who is a fan of the whodunnit, cosy crime genre.

How to Solve Your Own Murder starts with the premise of sixteen year old Frances hearing a fortune teller tell her she will be murdered. I was immediately hooked. We follow Annie, relative of Frances, who tries to solve Frances' murder before the others in order to inherite her fortune. At the same time, we can see some journal entries that sixteen year old Frances wrote and uncover the past and the present.

The title is a bit of a misnomer, because the way Frances sets up her will, it’s left up to her relatives to solve her murder. I really enjoyed the story and I liked a lot Annie and detective Crane!

An enjoyable village murder mystery. 4/5 stars.

This is a classic Midsommer murders/ Miss Marple-style murder mystery. Tiny, chocolate-box English village – check. Everyone in town knows everyone – check. Everyone has secrets they’d kill to keep – check. Dynamic young heroine, doing her best to crack the case, à la Nancy Drew – check. Handsome local detective who gets on rather well with our heroine creating the potential for future romantic entanglement – check.

As far as I know this is a standalone story, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it becomes the first book in an amateur detective series. The author does a lot of work in How to Solve Your Own Murder to establish the village setting and her main character’s sleuthing credentials. I think it would be a shame if, having put in so much effort, she didn’t get to return to them.

I like the way the present-day story is interspersed with extracts from Frances’ 1960s diary. It helped maintain the story’s momentum and, although the pacing did drag slightly a couple of times, overall it was good.

My only other criticism is that Annie faints a couple of times and the narrative skips forward to when she has recovered. I would have preferred not to miss the bits of the story when she was out for the count! Also the ending, with its sudden flurry of high drama, felt a bit rushed. This might also explain why I felt that there’s unfinished business here and another book or two will probably follow this one.

Overall: an entertaining classic murder mystery. If this is the start of a series, it’s a promising one: I’d certainly like to see more of Annie’s handsome detective friend.

This appears to be a debut novel for this author and what a delightful opener it was.
In the mid-1960's Frances gets her fortune told at a local fair. It predicts a betrayal and her murder. At the time she is with her two best friends Emily and Rose. They tease Frances about the fortune, but for her it becomes a life time obsession and in her English village of Castle Knoll she is considered mad and eccentric.
Annie Adams is in her twenties and wanting to become a mystery writer. She and her artist mother live in a house in London that belongs to Annie's Great Aunt Frances, who is still obessing about her own death. Frances summons Annie to Castle Knoll for a will reading, which is surprising as they have never met. Annie's mother Laura has tried to maintain some distance from her eccentric aunt.
On arriving in Castle Knoll, Annie is shocked to discover that the fortune has apparently come true and a series of events are triggered that have Annie wondering if she is the central character of one of her own mysteries.
Thank you Netgalley and Quercus Books for the opportunity to read this digital ARC.

Midsummer Murders meets The Inheritance Games.

Overall I had a good time with this book and I think the author did a really good job with setting, characters, and overall plotting. I did have an issue with the dual timeline aspect of the story but we will get to that in a moment. This book is set in a sleepy sort of village where everybody knows everyone else's business and shows a fun juxtaposition between our outsider protagonist who lives in central London and the more rural characters. Each of the characters that we see in the book felt fully-realised and their aspirations and motivations felt clear. The reveal of the murderer was not predictable and I am not sure if it was something that could have been guessed as the book seems to keep its clues close to the vest. This could have been something that was frustrating but it made sense in the context of the story as our character has come into the situation with no prior knowledge of anybody so the reader is learning the information at the same time as the main character which felt authentic and foreshadowing could have ruined the impact of the book as the reader is left wondering why the character didn't get there sooner.

Now, about the dual timeline... I understand the purpose of its presence in the book as it is an attempt to show the events from the past that factored into Frances' murder however I do not feel as though it was well-executed. I think my biggest issue was the fact that the chronology didn't seem to be well-handled. I believe the diary entries are meant to start a year after the summer that Frances received her fortune but I couldn't see a clear reason why that was the case and it ultimately just made the events feel all messed-up and confusing. I also just didn't find the past timeline to be compelling to read and I found myself eagerly anticipated the return to the present chapters. This all being said, I don't think this greatly reduced my enjoyment, I just felt as though some of the skill in craft was missing in these section.

I would definitely recommend this book for fans of cosy mysteries, especially if you are a fan of either of the comp titles at the beginning of this review.

Thanks to the publisher Quercus Books and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this murder mystery; it did follow along well-worn cliché lines - the reading of a will, an outsider in a small country village trying to solve her relation’s murder etc. but the book is none the worse for this and offers a page turning mystery in what would generally be called the cosy crime genre.

The story hinges on a young girl being told a fortune at a local county fair in 1965 which goes on to dominate the rest of her life.
"Your future contains dry bones. Your slow demise begins right when you hold the queen in the palm of one hand. Beware the bird, for it will betray you. And from that, there’s no coming back. But daughters are the key to justice, find the right one and keep her close. All signs point toward your murder."

The young girl, Frances Adams becomes obsessed with this fortune and spends her life trying to outwit her own murder which the fortune foretells. In order to try and protect herself she investigates and seeks out the secrets of everyone in the village, even so far as to building up a murder wall (as one would sees in modern crime/police thrillers in TV and film).

Upon her eventual death, which is soon found out to be as the result of the prophesied murder, the girl’s niece is called to attend the reading of Frances’ will. A challenge is then laid down where the murderer needs to be revealed by one of the beneficiaries of the will within the timeframe of a week or the estate is to be lost to developers.

The main plotline follows the niece as she tries to solve the mystery in the present day alongside extracts from Frances diary which she entitled “The Castle Knoll Files” which dates from 10th September, 1966 to the 10th October, 1966.

Whilst admittedly this book is full of clichés (from the old to the new) they are deployed knowingly in a pleasurable way which help to drive the plot forward. I would recommend this book to fans of Agatha Christie style murder mysteries. The author seemingly intends to write more novels set in the small community of Castle Knoll and I would be interested to see where the author takes these characters next.

A very enjoyable read.
Cleverly written and well paced the story is told in the present and in the past through journal entries. it keeps the reader engaged throughout as well as keeping them guessing despite providing plenty of clues.
Thankfully all is revealed at the end with no loose ends left.

I was intrigued by the premise of the book and this captivated me from the beginning: "HOW CAN A CHARACTER SOLVE THEIR OWN MURDER!?!?!". My imagination ran wild.

I do not think the title quite reflected what happened in the the story. It was still enjoyable to follow.

The characters reminded me of the ones written by Agatha Christie. Not very fleshed-out or strongly developed. Just enough to intrigue us and move the story along. There were some moments of confusion given the high number of characters, but that might have been the intention all along.

I liked the most how the story developed using Frances' diary to recount the past.

Frances receives bad news from a psychic as a young girl and is told she will be killed. Frances believes this to be true and sets about making a diary to lay down her thoughts on who it could possibly be if it does happen.

She decides to rewrite her will and calls all the people named in the Will to visit her so she can explain it but unfortunately someone kills her on the day they were due to meet. Annie her great niece and others have to solve the murder and the winner takes all her estate and her murderer punished.

Story is told partly from Annie’s point of view and other chapters are taken from Frances’ diary, which explains the complex friendships and families involved in the present time.

Not usually a fan of flashbacks in stories, just a personal taste but with this book it really worked.

Annie Adams has never met her wealthy great-aunt Frances but is invited to stay at her country estate in order to discuss recent changes to the older woman's will. Unfortunately, Annie arrives at the Castle Knoll estate to discover that Frances has been murdered and that the murder had been foretold many decades earlier.

Annie will need to find out whodunnit in order to inherit her great aunt's cash and to foil dastardly plots of those who wished Frances dead.

A fun romp with plenty of devious characters with secrets in their history.

I read an eARC of this book so thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley.

This is a clever mystery in which a character knows they are going to be murdered after having their fortune told in the 1960s so when they eventually are murdered, they’ve left copious clues and files on potential suspects with the hope that a family member can solve their murder.

We follow two timelines, Frances in the 1960s through her diary where we learn of her fortune, her friends and characters she encounters, and the disappearance of one of her close friends that scars her for life. In modern times we follow Frances’ estranged great niece who has been summoned to Frances’ stately home only to find her Great Aunt has been murdered and she must follow her instructions to solve the crime before the police do or she’ll lose her inheritance. She is competing against other family members who seem quite shady. She partakes in the investigation as she and her mother live in a house owned by Frances and they’ll lose their home if she doesn’t solve the case as her family members intend to evict them and sell the house.

This was entertaining and I liked the premise of the victim having left clues for someone to solve their murder. This worked quite well and meant our main character was able to find information that others couldn’t by learning her Great Aunt’s history. Others just resorted to brute force and it didn’t get them too far.

This is quite an unusual story as France’s seems determined from being a teenager that she will be murdered, completely believing a fairground fortune teller. The story is told in 2 time lines, when France’s is 17 and present day, I found this hard to follow at times. The country house and village setting is lovely and I found the descriptions delightful.

How To Solve Your Own Murder is a quirky, sweet read, that has the vibe of a Miss Marple mystery. A small chocolate box village, Castle Knoll, where everyone knows each other, and their secrets, is disturbed by the death of an eccentric elderly lady.

Lady Frances Gravesdown has been expecting her own murder since 1965, when a fortune teller, Madame Peony Lane, gave her a sobering prediction. This ominous verdict has cast a long shadow over Frances’ life, her every waking minute was consumed by her investigations into who would be responsible for her unnatural death.

The story is effectively told in dual timeline, thanks to The Castle Knoll Files. These are Frances’ detailed accounts of her life, and all that concerned her over the previous 60 years. They help bring to life to her younger days, and the complicated relationships that are only found in small towns and villages, where everyone’s histories are interlinked, and grudges can be held for decades, if not generations. Many of the colourful characters that we see in 1965, are still present in the village, bringing their motives into question, with regard to Frances’ demise.

I thoroughly enjoyed this cosy book, it has a Golden Age of mystery writing feel to it. It was a lovely light hearted mystery, without any gory details; making it suitable for all readers. I breezed through it in a few days, and I’m sure it will be a popular read on many a holiday this summer. 4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ from me.

I enjoyed this book by Kristen Perrin. We kick off in 1965 when 17 yr old Frances hears her fortune... discovering that she will one day be murdered. She'd probably laugh it off but there are elements of the fortune that have already made an appearance, including threatening letters.

We then move forward in time to the present, but don't actually meet Frances again as she dies just after the book starts. And now we meet Annie who's never met her great aunt Frances but she and her artist mother, live in a house owned by the now-older woman. There's some backstory to her mother's falling out with her family, nevertheless she's been led to believe she'll inherit Frances's fortune. Some day.

However, for reasons we later discover Frances decides to skip a generation and include Annie in her will instead, calling her to Dorset. It's only after she arrives [and finds her great aunt dead] she discovers Frances has pitched her against another relative... leaving her estate to whoever solves her murder, giving them a week to do so, or the fortune will be lost.

Annie believes Frances's murder is linked to the disappearance of one of her best friends (Emily) ... back in 1965, so sets out to uncover the events from decades earlier.

Perrin then takes us back to that time where we meet Frances and her best friends, Emily and Rose - Emily in particular pushing boundaries and frustrating Frances. I actually really enjoyed the events of this timeline as the girls' friendship is tested and as Frances falls in love. It's kinda nice knowing she's been happy given we learn she's spent her life obsessed with her pending murder.

I liked Annie (and as this is labelled #1 and she's a budding crime fiction author) I suspect we'll meet her again. I did find it a bit jarring however that she's never met her great aunt but feels very deserving of her inheritance nonetheless. I also felt a few other characters, including Frances's lawyer and his son weren't entirely consistent, though perhaps this was because we were meant to be suspicious of them.

This started a little slowly but was ultimately an enjoyable read. The 'old' mystery from 1965 was interesting but also sadly ironic given its eventual impact on the present (and indeed, Frances's entire life).

3.5 stars

As a teenager Frances is told by a fortune teller she will be murdered so she spends her life trying to figure out who and why. When she eventually is murdered her great niece attempts to find out who has done it with the help of diaries she has found.
An interesting story with two strands, the “then” and “now”. I found the characters interesting as was how the present day behaviour relates to the past.