This is a very interesting story. Most of us would never imagine planning our own murder…of that is
what indeed takes place. The secrets are abundant and no one is without something they wish to
kept under wraps.
The clever characters and interesting backdrop kept me engaged in this story set in the English
country side.
My thanks to Penguin Group Dutton and NetGalley for a download copy of this book for review purposes.

First I'd like to thank Netgalley and the author for making the audiobook available. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and genuinely began to forget about the real world while reading it. The characters are relatable and real, and in some cases highly despicable. The ability to make a character riviled with honestly pretty minimal effort is remarkable. 

I liked the overall story and felt it was exactly as twisty as you'd want it to be. 

The narrator does a beautiful job and deserves some real credit to how enjoyable this book was.

I was really excited to get the opportunity to get an advanced copy of How To Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin. The promotional blurb of the book sounded fascinating and a ‘must read’.

In 1965 Frances Adams was told as a teenager that one day she will be murdered, which she blindly believes. She then spends her entire life collating evidence in archived notebooks in preparation for her inevitable murder. When she is found dead, a stipulation of her will is that whoever solves her murder will inherit her vast estate.

The story moves along from the point of view of Anna, Frances’s great-niece, as she investigates Frances’s death. It also has an historical thread as it chronicles Frances’s teenage years and disappearance of one of her friends.

The audiobook is expertly narrated by Alexandra Dowling and Jaye Jacobs, who both really brought the book to life.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I found the two threads of the story compelling and enjoyed all the twists and turns.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Quercus, for making this e-audio-ARC available to me in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I look forward to reading more books by Kristen Perrin in the future.

I adored this - a lovely quick read with good pacing, two intriguing mysteries, a cosy murder setting and characters that you can't wait to know better. Couldn't put it down

I wasn't expecting to enjoy it this much, as recently, it rarely happens that a crime story delivers what it promises in the description, but this one worked for me just fine. It combines two timelines, each one with its own crime, with classic small-town investigation and the cherry on top - competition for the inheritance. In the present, an eccentric old lady, whose biggest obsession was preparing for being murdered due to decades old fortune-telling, finally meets her fate, when she's indeed, surprise, surprise, killed. After her death, her closest relatives are invited to participate in a competition to inherit her vast fortune IF they solve her murder and among them is her great-niece, who might hold a key to the truth behind all the secrets. This key being, enter the second timeline, a diary of the murdered great aunt that reveals tensions among her peers group from 60 years prior. This combination of retro and present-day narrative proves to be successful and introduces a nice and steady pace to the story. I quite liked the main character, a bit trope-y at the beginning (she's a wannabe writer with no job), but turns out to be smart and aware of the dangers she puts herself into. The book wouldn't work for me this much if it didn't make the most of it side characters. The village is full of them and the author managed to incorporate all in the story, in both timelines, which makes the mystery rich and more complicated, but really fun. The ending landed for me just fine, which itself deserves 3 stars at least.
As for the audiobook, there were two narrators, one of which had a weird manner of making really long pauses between sentences, which was really confusing sometimes - I often thought that the next line was the begging of the next chapter because of that (and I was wrong).

Thank you to net gallery and the author and publisher for this arc copy of the audio book. I really enjoyed the narrator of this audio book as she made you feel like she was part of the book and you could feel all the characters emotions thought the way she read this book which I really enjoyed. The characters in this book were all told so well and described is so much detail which helped you learn about the characters a lot. I like the way the story went from the past to the future as that made the book a lot more engaging to the reader as you got to see the different parts of the story and how it all clicked together in the end. I really like the main character she was so well written and she brought the book to life more and I enjoyed watching her though out the book and how she become more confident though out the book. The ending of the book and the killer of the book I didn’t expect at all as I thought it was another character but when all the puzzle pieces were put together it made sense why the killer was who it was and why they did what they did and try to do towards the end of the book. I really enjoyed the ending were her mum kept the house she loved and she stayed in the village to get to know her family and wrrr her family roots came though. The only character I wasn’t 100% sure of was the police officer as he did creep me out though out the book and he just seemed a bit odd and over bearing in my opion. Also this book bought back my true love of reading again and bought me out of a reading slump. I will be reading more books by this author in the future for definite xxx

Thank you to netgalley and Kristen Penn for the free audio arc in exchange for an honest review.

The narrator really makes this a fun and enjoyable listen when the story is, at best, average. Alternating between Frances and Annie's stories, we see two sides of the same murder - what came (long) before and what came after.

Much of Annie's story is a little too midsummer murders with the main character constantly reminding us how she is an intelligent writer. Frances' story set in 1965, however, is much more fun with chaos and teen drama aplenty, relayed in the form of journals or. 'case files’.

The ending is a little too chaotically paced and skews the story but, for the most part its a fine story.

I loved this book from the beginning. It avoids Clichés, and Annie and Frances are perfect protagonists. Sometimes, I thought I knew where the story was going, but I was wrong, which is always a good sign! This book was a brilliant read.

I enjoyed listening to How To Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin.

A mystery set in a small town with a country estate, several suspects and someone wanting her murder solved after her death so preempting it in a way, is always a good recipe for a book. Oh and there was a fortune teller, a fortune which gets the wheels running. A double murder mystery separated in time!

It reminded me of Agatha Christie. So, there was nothing not to like.

Definitely worth a read.

Thank you for a copy, NetGalley & the publisher.

This book sits under the theme in my head of 'gentle crime'. This topic is saved for a slightly old-fashioned style of crime writing which is easy to read without too much explicit violence and description. A nice read for when you can't cope with anything too shocking, with a touch of the Agatha Christie about it. I would read another by the author

The mystery is simple but the story born from it is very interesting. The pacing is quite fast which I enjoyed as well. I loved the narration 9f the book

Interesting twist on the concept, the long-anticipated murder comes to fruition - so whodunnit?

3.5 stars.

Today, Annie Adams is attending a meeting at the request of the great aunt she's never met. Frances has money, but also a long-held paranoia that she'll be murdered, following a fortune-teller's prediction when she was 16.

And now it's finally come true and Annie never gets to meet Aunt Frances. She was right, but just couldn't prove it within her lifetime. Now she's tasked her great-niece and other potential beneficiaries with the job of finding her murderer and keeping their inheritance and her property as it is for all her tenants.

Aspiring writer Annie takes on the role of detective (with real ones also on the case), and both uncovering secrets and amassing her own potential allies and enemies.. not that she's sure who is who.

This started with potential, but I confess, the audio format I chose meant I found I'd lost concentration a few times and missed parts of scenes. I preferred the sections set with Annie, and found the past (as recounted in Frances' diaries) didn't hold my interest as much as they needed to.

Murder mystery isn't really my genre, I hoped the slightly different take on it might capture my mind more than it did, though I imagine many other readers will take delight in working out exactly how and by whom the unnatural death was perpetrated.

Easy enough as a listen, with clear distinctions between past and present voices.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample audio copy.

‘How to Solve Your Own Murder’ is a cross-generational mystery from debut author Kristen Perrin. Full of red herrings and a whole cast of likely suspects, this double murder mystery lays out a new clue in each chapter, with amateur sleuth, Annie Adams, deftly solving each one in turn using her great aunt’s 60-year-old diary as her faithful guide.

Through this diary, we become acquainted with Frances, who is just seventeen at the time of writing, and already obsessed with the fortune teller’s prophecy that will dominate the rest of her life. Frances is an interesting character and is unique in her eccentricity and paranoia. I enjoyed reading about her as a younger woman and her friendship with Rose and Emily. It is a bit of a shame that we have so few details of Frances’ life between 1965 and the present day, and I felt that a few more glimpses into her adult life would have created an even greater depth of character.

Convinced that she will be murdered, Frances kept a close eye, and detailed files of her suspiscions and collected evidence, on her family and neighbours. As Annie works her way through the diaries and files, she uncovers a series of clues about her great aunt’s murder, and discovers another mystery from Frances’ past. The diary’s revelations add a series of well-paced clues, although some of the chapter’s cliffhangers do feel a little forced.

I listened to the audiobook of this novel, which was voiced by Alexandra Dowling and Jaye Jacobs. The quality of the recording was excellent and the voices were both warm and friendly, adding to the ‘cozy’ feel to this murder mystery.

Overall, I enjoyed listening to this debut novel. I believe that ‘How to Solve Your Own Murder’’ will be a big hit in 2024. It’s an entertaining read, and I’d certainly read another book by Kristen Perrin. I look forward to seeing what she writes next.

With thanks to the publisher for early access to this novel. I had the audiobook of this novel and really enjoyed the narration. This was a fairly quick paced cosy mystery, with different points of view that took the reader from the 1960s to present day. A really lovely read would definitely recommend.

Told in dual narratives (young Frances and her present day great-niece Annie), this book tells its tale of mystery. Frances was given a prediction about her future, and spent her life trying to figure it out. In the present, Frances asks her relatives to solve her murder to win a sole inheritance.

The overall story was interesting, however I found this story dragged, particularly from around 30% onwards (I found myself checking my progress and groaning that the clock had barely moved when it felt like ages). There's quite a few characters, which initially felt like it would make things difficult to follow and whilst it was difficult to care about anyone, in reality, I think characters context was often re-explained when they turned up again. Throughout the book, we're also repeatedly told that time is running out! Annie needs to figure this out quickly! But there was no sense of urgency at all.

I felt on the whole, this was too slow and the mystery wasn't actually that captivating. The audiobook narration also seemed to suffer from the overall slow pace as well as odd pauses, like the narrator had forgotten their line or something. I feel my enjoyment would be increased if this was more concise and just got on with it. Even after it's revealed whodunnit, there's a few chapters afterwards and I was just so over it. I didn't care about the characters, and I feel it would be hard to care about anyone outside of the 2 narrating characters for anyone (even Annie's mum with a complex history felt 2D), even if I personally felt they were bland, and so the plot needed to carry the brunt of my interest. Thank you to netgalley for the arc.

I have to admit, this book wasn't my cup of tea, its name fooled me. And honestly, the only good thing I found in about 20 percent that I read was the name, which I couldn't find any of its relation to the story.

At first, I thought it was a historical mystery, which is not!

In 1965, Frances at the age of 16, was told by a fortune teller that she would be murdered. Sixty years later, she actually gets killed.

Yeah

It was a little odd for me too.

Frances's niece, Annie, comes up to solve her murder till can take her millions inherited to continue her failed writing career.

Okay, I am a little tired of this subject!

Sorry, this wasn't the biggest debut of my year, and a hilarious mystery with a killer hook, I hope you enjoy it more...

Thank you Quercus Audio via NetGalley for giving me a chance to listen to How To Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin, Narrated by Alexandra Dowling and Jaye Jacobs. I have given my honest review.

Annie goes for the first time to the small village of Castle Knoll at her great-aunt Francesca’s invitation. The young woman has never met her great-aunt, a wealthy lady who allowed her and her mother to live in one of her houses in the city for years.
Annie and a small group of people (her great-aunt’s entourage) are all waiting for Francesca but the old lady doesn’t show. She will be found dead soon after.
Annie then learns that Francesca was known for being extremely paranoid; she was convinced that someone was going to kill her and spent decades trying to figure out who could be able to do such a thing. Francesca was so sure that someone was after her that she specified in her will, that the person who shall find her killer would be her sole inheritor. Drawn to this unique case and strangely moved by the story of the old relative that she will never get to know, Annie is set to find her great-aunt’s killer. She will soon find Francesca’s journals, written in the early 60’s, and the story that it tells has its own murder mystery, one that Francesca tried to solve for years. Could the two murders be related ?

I really enjoyed this book. The dual timeline was well executed and the both stories (Francesca’s and Annie’s) were compelling. Francesca was a particularly well written character, and though the others weren’t as nuanced, they were perfectly fine. I totally recommend this book !

🎧 Audiobook narration : 4/5 good. A better distinction between Annie’s and Francesca’s voices would’ve been perfect.

Thank you NetGalley and Quercus Audio for giving me access to this audiobook for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

17 year old frances was told by a fortune teller that she would be murdered. after 60 years of fear, the fortune comes true. frances had been collecting evidence on who could be her future murderer, and leaves her family members a game to solve the murder in order to win her inheritance. we follow annie and saxon racing against each other to solve a murder that everyone in the village has a motive for. lots of secrets are uncovered as both get closer to finding the killer and it was so fun to read! this book was nothing like anything I've ever read before and I sooo enjoyed unraveling it.


thanks to netgalley for an arc of this book which will be published march 26th<3

I loved everything about this - the premise, the plot, the characters, and it was so wonderfully executed! An excellent mystery.

This is one of those books I could have read in one sitting had time permitted. The story alternates between Frances’s youth in the 60’s
to the aftermath of her death. Based on a tarot reading as a teenager, Frances believes that she will be murdered. Her life from that point revolves around the wording of that reading. Others either attempt to protect or mock her paranoia. However, the reading comes true and in a last attempt to prove her sanity Frances has set the potential beneficiaries of her will the challenge of uncovering her murderer. I won’t give anything away regarding the plot but with a great story, plenty of twists and turns and well developed characters I would highly recommend this book. I personally found her great niece Annie highly relatable; a book loving, murder mystery writing independent female. I’m hopeful there will be more mysteries for this character in the future.
With thanks to netgalley, the publisher Quercus and the author Kristen Perrin for an advanced reader copy of this book, in return for my honest, personal opinion.