Not a bad book, but I don't think it particularly stands out against other amateur sleuth books. It was entertaining, and I liked the way the narrator interpreted the book, but I think the characters could have been developed a bit more in depth, especially in the present time line.

This was such a fun book. I wasn’t sure what to expect when i started but i ended up completely hooked and raced through the audiobook listening late into the night. The narrator was really great atkeeping me engaged and differentiating between characters. The story was really interesting and I loved learning more about the secrets with the main character until we got all the parts and put it together.

At the age of seventeen Frances Adams visits a fortune teller and receives a chilling prediction, that she will be murdered. For the next sixty years, Frances lives in fear of her fortune coming true and tries to solve the cryptic clues the fortune teller gave. On the day she is going to meet her great-niece Annabelle for the first time she is murdered and it is up to Annabelle to piece together the clues Frances has collected to try and solve the murder.

How To Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin is an old-school murder mystery. Set in a mansion in a small village there is a cast of larger-than-life characters, many of whom have a motive for murder. Saxon Gravesdown, another of the possible beneficiaries, came across as a classic villain. The narration makes you feel as if you are in the middle of events.

Annabelle knows of her great-aunt's existence but has never met her. When Frances announces that Annabelle is to be a beneficiary in her will she has to finally meet her great-aunt. On the very day of the meeting Frances is murdered, bringing about a prediction that was made almost sixty years previously. Frances has left instructions with her solicitor, whoever solves her murder will inherit her vast fortune, but they only have a week to solve the murder.

As everyone tries to solve the murder the story periodically jumps back in time and we learn about Frances and her close friends Emily and Rose in their late teens. The trio share a strong friendship, however jealousy begins to creep in as romance appears on the horizon.

I enjoyed the way in which the past and the present were woven together. Subtle clues from the past are dropped to help you try and solve the mystery of Emily's disappearance and Frances' murder. There is also some misdirection thrown in for good measure. I certainly didn't solve the mystery before the killer was revealed.

I enjoyed this audiobook and would recommend it to fans of the genre, it gives out Agatha Christie vibes and the main character, Annie, is very likable. What's not to like about a fortune teller's prediction coming true many years later? And the fact that Annie, has never met her great aunt Frances and therefore, we go through the clues with her, and get to know the victim together as the mystery unfolds, makes the story more interesting. The time jumps between past and present are really good and make Frances feel more relatable, not just an old, quirky lady who was killed. A lot of well plotted twists and some highly unlikable characters, make for a fun read!
The narrator was very good and kept my attention (although I do struggle with audiobooks slightly).

A really enjoyable murder mystery with a fantastic cast of characters. The plot ticked along nicely and I had absolutely no idea who the murderer was. I loved that I was kept guessing throughout. Only docked a star as I struggled to differentiate characters at times but otherwise liked the narrator.

This story begins in 1965, where teenager Frances Adams receives a fortune at a local fair. She is given a number of cryptic clues and told that she will be murdered. Frances spends her whole life trying to make sense of it and solve the crime that hasn't yet been committed.
This tale is interspersed with the current day, where Frances' fortune comes true and she is murdered, and her great niece, Annie, is summoned to a meeting to discuss the Estate. Annie is thrown into a detective role where she learns all about her great aunt's life and those around her, finding that many may have reason to have killed her. Before long, Annie realises that her own life may be in danger too.

At it's heart, this book is an old-school murder mystery, which I absolutely love. I enjoyed the way that the past and present stories cleverly weaved together, giving the reader a little more information each time.

The characters were well written and I loved learning about Frances and her friends in their teenage years. I didn't guess any of the many twists along the way, which made it all the more enjoyable to read.

My thanks to NetGalley and the Publishers for sending me this ARC in return for an honest review.

A truly unputdownable mystery. I ate this up in one sitting, completely hooked on the investigation and all the characters tied up in it. I'm so glad I chose to listen to the audiobook as it was very well narrated by two distinctly engaging performers.

The setting is captivating; a bustling, tight knit village with a constant hum of low-stakes drama. Despite this classic setup, I didn't feel like I was being fed stereotypes at any point. Every character feels important, fully realised and relatable in some small way, no matter how shady or conniving they seemed. Annie is attempting to solve the murder in the present day, but every other chapter is an entry from Frances' teenage journals. This is fantastic narrative choice in propelling the investigation forward and endearing us (and Annie) to Frances, despite never getting the chance to meet her in the present day timeline.

It is listed as the first book in a series and I can't wait for the next instalment. There are loose ends that I'd love to see Annie tie up, and I also just want to spend more time in Castle Knoll with the locals because I miss it.

Thank you so so much to Quercus for the advance audio!

A well-constructed, solidly written murder mystery novel with sufficient twists and turns to keep you engaged, though the payout doesn’t deliver as one would’ve hoped. Entertaining enough to pass the time, but not one that will stay with you for long after you’re done. 3.5 out of 5. Thank you NetGalley for the advance audiobook.

Whilst I started reading this book with some confusion and frustration at the authors decision to base the story in Dorset using the very real village of Corfe Castle but bizarrely renaming it, I soon found myself drawn in to the suspenseful and engaging writing.
A great addition to the cosy crime genre. I really enjoyed how the story unfolded through the combination of diary entries and the evidence gathering of Annie. The characters were believable and likeable. The suspense was maintained well with the reader being left with a variety of suspects until the big reveal.
Overall a good read and mostly well written. Some descriptive sections were rather over done and the aforementioned mystery of renaming a well known Dorset village were the main criticisms.

I was excited about this one as the premise sounded promising and all the Agatha Christie vibes being mentioned but that was certainly not the case as fair as I could see, I got as far as 25% in and gave up. It really came across as Young Adult rather than a crime/thriller, especially the audio version where the narrator sounded quite juvenile at times. Perhaps written by someone quite young who hasn’t actually read much of the classic crime genre that they were clearly trying to evoke.

Have rated as 3 average as unfinished.

DNF @ 27%

With audiobooks, it depends on the narrator/s to whether I'll finish the book. Sometimes I'll like it initially but then get put off later on. It didn't help that NetGalley didn't offer a sampler to help with deciding if the narrator was likeable.

For this one, I found that both narrators sounded too similar for me to remember who was reading which perspective. I also found that they read really slow with a lot of pauses which did annoy me.

For the storyline, as interesting as the synopsis sounded, I didn't engage with it at all. I may try reading the physical version at a later date.

Love a good thriller and this one was interesting because of the premise, so it stood out from the others I’ve listened to this year. Really enjoyable and will read more from this author

How to Solve Your Own Murder is an enjoyable but largely unremarkable cosy crime novel set in a sleepy village with sixty years of secrets.

In many ways, this has all the elements of a great mystery. I always like a split narrative, and the dual timelines framed around a decades-old fortune work really well here. Perrin also plays with some of the classic tropes of the genre, with a set straight out of an Agatha Christie novel. But while there is a long list of likely suspects, there are very few interesting characters, and though I found the story pretty engaging, the pace is far too slow.

If you're a fan of cosy crime, How to Solve Your Own Murder will make a nice, gentle read - but I was a little disappointed it didn't offer more.

A woman (Frances) visits a fortune teller and is to,d of her own murder, that then takes place, sixty years later. The woman’s niece, Annie, then attempts to solve the mystery.

I listened to this whilst walking and really struggled to stay engaged. The book is written / told in alternate chapters that detail the young Frances and Annie’s sleuthing. It’s an OK listen that’s wrapped up nicely at the end. I just found it very slow.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to preview in exchange for this honest review.

Wow, I absolutely enjoyed this book by Kristen Perrin- it had me wanting to keep listening to find out how the murderer would be revealed. Some murder mystery books, you can have an idea of who the murderer could be but in this book, I was continuously dumbstruck it kept me continuously guessing- even then I couldn’t guess who it was.

How to Solve Your Own Murder follows the journey of Annie Adam, an amateur mystery writer who gets asked by her aunt Francis to solve her murder. When Aunt Francis was 17, she was told by a fortune teller that she would be murdered. Aunt Francis has spent her whole life working out who would murder her but she was murdered before she could reveal this to the world.

We get to hear from Aunt Francis diary and also solve the mystery disappearance of her friend Emily. I thought this book was cleverly written , there is so much happening but it all comes together really well at the end.

What fun characters to spend a book with! I loved steadily getting to know everyone (even the dastardly ones).

I listened to the audiobook of this novel and although the reading speed was a bit slow, it was such a fun listen.

A twist on the murder in a stately home, Golden Age mystery, the set up and characters are just what you’d hope for. There’s the curious ingenue as our heroine, the luscious detective, the elderly lawyer, the dastardly relatives and the suspicious vicar, all present and correct.

What lifts this tale above the familiar tropes is the dual timeline. Part set in the 1960’s - a clever way of allowing the deceased to ‘talk’ to us - and part in the present day, we see many of the ‘actors’ in this drama as both young and old, giving depth and interesting perspectives on their characters.

All in all, a compelling listen that kept me busy doing housework in my spare time, just for the chance of more listening time. NB, consider turning the speed up to 1.25 if the pauses become too much for you!

With thanks to NetGalley, the author, Kristen Perrin and the publisher, Quercus for an audiobook arc in exchange for an honest review.

An enjoyable listen. Dual timeline mystery that comes together nicely at the end. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy

Back in the mid sixties Frances Adams and her friends visit a fortune teller. When the fortune teller says that she will be murdered it affects the rest of her life.
In the present day, Annie Adams is asked to attend a meeting with Frances, her great aunt, at her solicitors in the village Castle Knoll. however when they arrive for the meeting, Frances is dead.
So follows solving the mystery, not only of the death of Frances, but also another person back in the sixties.
It could cost Annie her own life, but she is determined to solve both crimes.
An easy read with some good characters,

I love audiobooks but I struggled with this one. It might be the many characters or the dual timelines but I felt lost. I think I'll pick this back up again when I've either an ebook or physical copy