While the story has its twists and surprises, there remains a level of predictability, especially for avid mystery readers. Aside from that and the slow start, I found the novel to be an entertaining cozy mystery.

2.75 stars

How to Seal Your Own Fate is book two in the Castle Knoll series by Kristen Perrin. We meet up with Annie again after helping to solve her great aunt's murder in book one. This time, Annie is approached by fortune teller Peony Lane with a cryptic message/fortune just hours before Peony is found dead on Annie's property.

Synopsis: Annie Adams is just settling into life in Castle Knoll when local fortune-teller Peony Lane shares a cryptic message only hours before being found dead inside the locked Gravesdown estate. Annie has no choice but to delve into the dark secrets of her new countryside home in order to find out just what Peony Lane was trying to warn her about, before her brand-new life comes crashing down around her. 1967: Teenage Frances Adams, Annie's great aunt, finds herself caught between two men. Ford Gravesdown is one of the only remaining members of a family known for its wealth and dubious uses of power. Archie Foyle is a local who can’t hold down a job and lives above the village pub. But when Frances teams up with Archie to investigate the car crash that killed most of Ford’s family, it quickly becomes clear that this was no accident—hints of cover-ups, lies, and betrayals abound. The question is, just how far does the blackness creep through the heart of Castle Knoll? When Frances uncovers secrets kept by both Ford and Archie, she starts to wonder: What exactly has she gotten herself into? As Annie and Frances investigate two new mysteries spanning decades, they'll unlock the next level of secrets held in Castle Knoll's dark heart.

As someone who really enjoyed the mystery and writing style of book one, I was very excited to see what Annie could be up to in Castle Knoll for the sequel. But this one? I was just confused. Firstly, there are so many characters in both past and present timelines - most from the last book with even more added. This storyline relies heavily on the fact that the reader is supposed to remember everything from book one without a recap or something at the beginning (or at least a list of characters). While I enjoyed the look into Great Aunt Frances' life in the first book, I was confused as to the way it was included in this book. Annie is trying to piece together the mystery of why Peony was murdered at her home. She has access to the many files of information that her Great Aunt kept in the home, as well as Frances' diaries. But the diary for the time we're privvy to in this book isn't in Annie's posession. So instead of reading like a diary that Annie is reading through to help solve her mystery, it's just a second timeline with a completely different murder but it was too similar to what was happening in the present timeline. I also hated that the police officer just let Annie tag along to EVERYTHING - searches, interviews - EVERYTHING. Why? Ugh. I know they're trying to set up a romance between the two, but no one seriously lets a citizen sit in on interviews. Then, of course, there's a huge recap at the end where both timelines try to come together, but it's just all so busy and everyone is just sitting around explaining everything that I found myself zoning out. I found myself zoning out quite a lot, actually, not really caring what happened. I was just trying to get to the end. I know it's set up for a third installation set in London with her mother, but I don't really think I'll be reading that one.

If you like quick reads with a host of characters, two POVs and a past and present timeline, you'll enjoy this one. I just felt disappointed after liking book one. I hope you enjoy it!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I absolutely loved the first book in this series. It was such a fun whodunnit. It left me wanting more and the second book did not disappoint!

I really enjoyed being back in this cozy mystery setting. I love the way the author uses historical events and stories to help solve a modern-day mystery.

The big house and expansive grounds setting feels like I'm being dropped in the middle of the clue board game and I absolutely love it. It's such a fun experience reading these books and trying to guess who's the killer and why.

Throwing in the hint of romance really gives you everything you're looking for in a cozy mystery!

I can't wait to continue the series with book 3!

3.5 stars. I enjoyed this but not quite as much as the first book. I would like a little more development in the sexual/romantic tension between the FMC and the detective. Maybe it'll be in the next book!!

This was a second book that I don't think was needed. I liked the first one well enough, but felt this one was kind of a waste of my time to read. It was overly detailed in a way that made it messy to read.

We return to Castle Knoll, where Annie Adams is unraveling a new mystery. This book was told in dual timelines - the present day and the past, which was told through journal entries. I was equally invested in both storylines and wanted to know the outcome of both. There were some twists and turns throughout the story, and I really enjoyed being back in Castle Knoll with these characters.

How to Seal Your Own Fate by Kristen Perrin is book two in the Castle Knoll Files series. This was fantastically fun read!! If you love self-fulfilling prophecy, tragic hero’s, dual timelines, cozy, gothic mysteries then you will love this book.

This is my first read from Perrin and I love her story telling!! In the current timeline we learn Annie Adams is investigating the 1967 murder of fortune teller Peony Lane who was found inside Gravesdown Estate. Before she died she left a very cryptic message for Annie. We go back to 1967, Frances Adams was just a teenager in love with 2 men Ford Gravesdown and Archie Foyle. Frances teams up with Archie ti get answers regarding an accident that killed most of Ford’s family, leaving him the only remaining family member and he is rich.

Perrin does a great job at pulling us into Annie and Francis story. We get cover-ups, police procedures, village gossip, secrets, lies, formed alliances, and grudges. What more could you ask for in a book!! Thank you to Penguin Group Dutton and NetGalley for letting me read this book in exchange for my very late thoughts and opinions.

Like the first one, it felt slow. I liked the story and the follow up characters. However, I wouldn’t recommend this book. The first one was good but not great.

Although I enjoy Perrin's writing, the format of this series just doesn't work for me. I find most of the characters to be unlikeable and 2-D; the dual timeline feels messy and the overabundance of characters made my head swim. While this is supposed to be cozy, it really just feels confusing. I think I'll come back to Perrin when she leaves Castle Knoll, but will still recommend for fans of Anthony Horowitz and PBS/Hallmark mysteries.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with this, but it just feels unnecessary and a big repetitive. Rather than a fresh mystery it just seemed to rehash things mentioned in book one for a very long time with the same people - not many (not any?) new characters. I enjoyed book one a lot and was a bit disappointed it turned out to be a series because I couldn’t imagine where we’d go from there, but I gave it a try.

Not sure I’ll pick up book 3, but we will see. The cover art is so good it’s hard not to 😆

Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton for the eARC!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a copy to review.

I loved the first book in this series but could not see how they were going to continue the storyline but Kristen Perrin did, and did it well. I can’t decide which MC I like better - the modern heiress or the ancestor who lived one hell of life (and I think we are only into her early 20s). I related to the character’s internal struggle between letting it go and never giving up - it’s hare to live, laugh, love when you place such a high value on justice. I like the supporting characters and I have 2 main thoughts. Everyone needs a best friend that loves fashion but will also drop everything to run through the woods with you to get away from people chasing you. My other thought is that this is one of the slowest of slow burn, maybe they will but maybe they won’t, torture. Like come on . . . . Every girl needs someone to snuggle with at night in your giant estate that can also fight the evil doers with you. Love it! 4.5

After successfully solving the mystery of who murdered her great aunt, Annie has settled into life as the new owner of Gravesdown manor. Life of a large historical manor seems a bit sleepy at first until a chance encounter with the famed fortune teller Peony sets Annie off on a new investigation.

Thanks as always netgalley for the digital arc (that I’m horribly delayed in reviewing). After reading the first book in this series I wasn’t so sure I’d love this one but I figured I’d read and find out. I have discovered cozy mysteries in general just aren’t for me. I find them too sleepy and this one in particular, convoluted. The jumping between past and present with so many different characters just didn’t work for me and I struggled to get through, or really care what happened. The perfectly neat ending just doesn’t spark joy for me so this one was ultimately a miss.

This story has two timelines that play on the current mystery that Annie Adams is trying to solve. It is not truly a dual timeline story as the 1967 bits are told more as flashbacks. I do wonder if I would have enjoyed this book more if I had read book 1 first. It felt like this book might have picked up right after (or at least soon after) the ending of book 1. I feel like we did get enough recap to know what happened in the previous book, but I felt I was missing something with the character dynamics.

Annie is trying to solve the murder that Frances had been working on when she died. The cops had ruled it an accident, but when Peony Lane turns up dead after delivering a cryptic message Annie begins to wonder if there was more to what happened. Peony Lane is a fortune teller and she just happened to have also delivered a message to someone involved in the accident.

The characters are a bit quirky, but I liked them. Annie inherited the estate she is living in because she solved Frances's murder. But there are people who might feel cheated, as there are others who had a stake in the inheritance. There are also some past relationships revealed that changes things.

The moving between past and present, revealing small clues, kept me guessing as to who had motive and means, and if there really was a murder.

I think I had higher expectations for this book, and it didn't quite live up to that. I've been seeing mentions of book 1 all over the place and excitement for book 2. It was good but I think I was expecting something more.

I'm hoping to find time to read book 1, as I think I need the foundation it probably provides. Depending on how I feel after that book will determine if I continue with the series when future books come out. And just so you know, book 3 is slated to publish in April 2026, so you have plenty of time to get caught up.

I recommended that my mystery book club read book 1. I thought How to Seal Your Own Fate had a vibe similar to Anthony Horowitz's Moonflower Murders, which my book club read last year and enjoyed.

My review will be published at Girl Who Reads in Saturday - https://www.girl-who-reads.com/2025/08/2-quirky-mysteries.html

Back in Castle Knoll! The secrets just keep coming in another dual timeline mystery. Annie has settled into her new home, finally changing locks and looking forward to bakery deliveries from neighbor Beth and checking in on new business partner Archie Foyle. She runs into none other than fortune teller Peony Lane and receives another fortune to spin the tale about the car accident that took the majority of the Gravesdowns, a ruby dagger and death. I always enjoy the duality of stories and since the present story hinges so completely on the sixties, I found I was always looking forward to Francis's telling of events before the devastating car accident.

i think i enjoyed this one even more than the first one, which is rare for mystery series. i love this small town and all the secrets running through it. very excited for the next installment!

What an absolute treat! How to Seal Your Own Fate is the perfect blend of wit, charm, and twisty suspense, the kind of novel that hooks you from the first page and doesn’t let go. Kristen Perrin has such a sharp, clever voice, and I found myself grinning at the sly humor even as I tried (and failed!) to piece together the mystery before the big reveals.
What I loved most is how playful the book feels while still delivering real stakes. Perrin takes familiar cozy mystery elements and gives them a fresh, modern spin, with characters who are delightfully eccentric yet deeply relatable. The heroine especially was a standout, plucky, smart, and just flawed enough to feel human. I rooted for her the whole way through.
The plotting is brilliant and full of red herrings, sharp turns, and gasp-worthy moments, and yet everything ties together so neatly in the end. It reminded me why I fell in love with mysteries in the first place: that delicious mix of intrigue, humor, and heart.
Kristen Perrin is fast becoming an auto-buy author for me. If you love clever mysteries with personality and heart, you’ll adore this one.

This author is just brilliant, and i enjoyed this book as much as the first for sure. So many twists and everything so intertwined keeps me super engaged and on the edge of my seat. I loved it.

The second in the Castle Knoll Files series wasted no time setting up its next murder and mystery. Fresh off of solving her Aunt France's murder and inheriting her estate, Annie is suddenly confronted with another high stakes mystery involving those closest to her.

Focusing on the Gravesdown family and told in flashbacks when Frances was a young adult, the reader learns more about Peony Lane's fortunes and how they affected everyone around them. We are also given more information into the deaths of Saxon's parents and a mystery that Frances is wont to solve along with her friend, Archie Foyle. In the modern day, old secrets are literally unearthed and a new locked room murder within Gravesdown itself threatens to upend everything that Annie thinks she knows about those closest to her.

Although I enjoyed returning to this series, I felt like this mystery was already solved before the story had even begun and the reader was just along for the ride, being given clues and backstory as each chapter progressed. Annie really didn't do any heavy detective work - almost all of the "mystery" was clearly and concisely explained to her and her relationship with the town's actual detective seemed forced. Crane seemed incredibly one dimensional and his questionable actions should have made him more worried about losing his job than they did. The ending clearly set up another installment and mystery, but without any real growth in our main character, I'm worried the third book is going to be more of the same. There were two many new characters in this one that I felt like any new book will need a family tree of sorts to have all of the connections make sense.

Will I be reading the next book in the series? Yes, simply because I have questions that I hope are answered, but my excitement for the series has waned a bit and I'm hoping it's just a case of the dreaded second book curse that seems to hit a lot of authors.

Thank you to NetGalley, Dutton, and Kristen Perrin for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

How to Seal Your Own Fate by Kristin Perrin
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Castle Knoll is the English Village that Annie is currently living, after her great aunt Frances included her in her will. When a local fortune teller shares a cryptic message with Annie and then turns up dead shortly afterward, Annie has to put on her detective hat once again.
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What I liked:
-I still really like Annie.
-I liked learning more about this fortunre teller, Peony.
-I enjoyed seeing Annie talk more with the inspector. I ship them.
-We got more Frances back story and it was quite dramatic!
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4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I enjoyed this mystery book and will keep reading the series. If you like cozy mysteries the be sure to try the Castle Knoll series.

DNF at 30%

I felt in the first book that there were too many characters in play and too many connections between those characters to keep track of. I still enjoyed the first book despite that but I started to feel similarly with this book and I just found that I didn’t care enough about the story to keep all that in my brain. This probably could have been avoided if the author had somehow worked in a better refresher of the characters from the previous book but I definitely wasn’t about to go reread the first book in order to get the most out of this. I just think the author needs to make these easier on the reader in the way of a cozy BBC village mystery show is. You can pick up anywhere in the series and kind of figure out the gist.