This second book in the Castle Knoll (Gravesdown) series has Annie pulled into another mystery of long past and current murders. Are they connected? And why is another fortune told by Peony Lane involved? As Annie investigates she knows she's getting close to the truth when suddenly all the clues point to her and she realizes she's being set up. I love that this book builds so well on the last one and I'm left to wonder just how many secrets exist in this small rural town?

I admit I liked the first Castle Knoll mystery more, but How to Seal Your Own Fate was still a fun read. The plot felt a bit messy, and I had a hard time following all the leaps and turns and assumptions made. Even when I did follow them, many felt like a bit of a stretch, so that the solution didn't feel quite as satisfying as I'd've liked. It's still an enjoyable read & premise, though, and I'll certainly read the third in the series if/when it comes out!

Thank you to the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me access this book!

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked the first book and equally enjoyed the sequel. As others have mentioned, because the cast of characters is the same as the previous book and still includes flashbacks to Frances’ youth, it reads better when you read this one immediately after book 1. It’s still enjoyable, but I was a bit lost for the first bit of the book simply trying to remember who was who and whether I was supposed to know some of the characters (other than the new chief inspector Marks, you have met or heard of everyone else). The mystery in this one involves multiple crimes and at times became a little confusing trying to parse out which connections were real and which were red herrings, but in the end everything was wrapped up well and set things up nicely for another book.

I really enjoyed this book! The mystery kept me engrossed and I loved getting to know the characters even more this time around! I can’t wait to see what is happening next at Castle Knoll!

Witty, charming, and with fantastic characters, this is a fabulous follow up! Highly recommend to fans if the Thursday Murder Club series.

Thank you Netgalley for this arc. I read her first book and it was so good, so of course I had to read this one as well. This was cozy, funny, and mysterious. I loved it! I rated this 5 stars.

3.5/5 I read the first book in this series when it came book, and I would definitely start with that one and not this book. This story centers around a lot of the same characters as the first book and I think I would've been lost without reading that one. I enjoyed the flashback chapters that let us get to know Frances and younger Archie a bit better. Overall, this was an enjoying cozy mystery for me. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Excellent continuation of How To Solve Your Murder, the previous book. Somehow, the mystery surrounding Annie's grandmother only deepens. Perrin's Castle Knoll series is charming and a comforting read. I purchased HTSYM after reading the ARC so I'd have a copy in my personal library. Will be doing the same with this one!

It is an enjoyable sequel. The puzzle is masterfully done and was very entertaining. L I am not sure how sustainable Annie is as a recurring character/detective as this book seems to make her character feel stretched instead of building on it.

In this second installment, murder once again hits close to home and Annie unravels more secrets from her great aunt's past.

This was another really fun murder mystery! I will say that I liked the first one a little better, as I feel like the conclusion of that storyline was stronger than this one. That being said, I loved returning to this world!!

✨️cozy mystery
✨️ dual pov
✨️ family drama
This is the second installment in the Castle Knoll Files and the follow-up to How to Solve Your Own Murder. Annie Adams has been at Gravesdown for a few months now, after she solved the murder of her great-aunt Frances. How to Seal Your Own Fate is told in alternating pov between Annie and Aunt Francis.

Annie has been in town for a few months, and she's just feeling a bit uneasy. People in this small town aren't the most welcoming. The house is large, cold, and old, and she's rant getting like an outsider, so she is happy when she meets Peony Lane, the fortune teller that great aunt Francis followed most of her life. Peony has a couple of secrets for Annie, though. However, she needs Annie to ask about her fortune. She does let Annie in on some info about an old accident. It just so happens not long after this, Peony is found murdered, so Annie finds herself in the same old predicament again, and this murder she must solve because she's a suspect.

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Group Dutton for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Expected publication April 29,2025

Annie is back to solve another murder mystery using the knowledge her great aunt Frances had on the community of Castle Knoll. I'm always a fan of duel narrative like this where we get to explore the present and past to discover the truth. While I loved the first one, this one didn't grab me the same way. I felt almost like I had to force myself to continue reading, which I try to avoid with mysteries that should keep me on the edge of my seat. I will say that if you want to learn more about Castle Knoll's history and the characters in this world, you will definitely want to give this book a try. While it didn't work for me as much as the first, it may work for others.

How to Seal Your Own Fate is the second in the Castle Knoll Files series and can definitely not be read as a stand-alone. Too much would be missed or lost without having read the first book. And while I enjoyed the first book, this book didn't work nearly as well for me.
Annie Adams is now the owner of Gravesdown Hall, having solved her great-aunt Frances’ murder. But she’s still viewed as an outsider by the villagers. She meets Peony Lane who tells her to investigate a car crash from the 1960s. Shortly thereafter, Peony is found dead at the estate. It was a slow and clunky start to the story. It goes back and forth between the current day and Frances’ journals from the 1960s. While the first book was fun and charming, this one was just dull. Another reviewer used the word “forced” and it fits. This one just never flowed. I kept losing interest. And the ending was both convoluted while not hanging together.
On the positive side, the characters were still engaging and I enjoyed getting to know them better. But I won’t be pursuing book three, if it comes along.
My thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Group for an advance copy of this book.

I was hoping that Perrin would be continuing Annie Adams adventures with her deceased Aunt Frances after the satisfying conclusion of "How to Solve Your Own Murder." "How to Seal Your Own Fate" was just as good. We've brought in a few new characters, some which met their demise, some which may cause mayhem in the future. Annie's got her work cut out for her, and I look forward to what promises to be Perrin's solid and intriguing literary future.

This was a slow burn but totally worth it! I wish it went a little faster with the details it was almost to mysterious. It took about 60 percent through before I fell in love but then I couldn't put it down. I'll definetly be looking for the next book!

Annie Adams has been living at Gravesdown Estate for several months. She inherited the mansion and land when she solved the murder of her great aunt Frances. That mystery is covered in the first book of the series and I think you almost need to have read How to Solve Your Own Murder in order to understand the history and relationships in this one. It’s a small town full of secrets and gossip, and just because you’ve known someone your whole life doesn’t mean you can trust them.

Annie is already feeling unsettled – the house is big and cold, the townspeople are not overly friendly, when she meets Peony Lane, the fortune-teller whose prediction guided most of Frances’ life. Peony has a fortune for Annie, but she won’t tell it unless asked. She also gives Annie some advice about looking into a decades old accident. Not much later, Peony is found dead, murdered in Annie’s solarium. Annie, of course, gets wrapped up in trying to solve the murder, not only because she’s one of the main suspects according to the new police chief.

The chapters alternate between Annie’s point of view, written in the present tense, and excerpts from a young Frances’ diary. The mystery is convoluted and so many of the characters were just teenagers doing their best at the time of the original crash that led, years and years later, to Peony’s death. The clues are there, but they’re so sprinkled through diary entries, Annie’s talks with people, and the town that it’s hard to put them all together. Annie gets there in the end, with some backup from Detective Crane.

The author does a good job drawing lines between the past and the present. The atmosphere, both the mansion and the village, are appropriately claustrophobic. I enjoyed this one, but maybe not as much as the first. The first just had a bit of originality that was lacking in this one. I am hoping for another, though. I’d like to see Annie settled down and at home on the estate and of course to see what her fortune, found in Peony Lane’s papers, reads.

I really enjoyed the first novel in the Castle Knoll series. The sequel did not disappoint. The mystery was intriguing and well thought out. There were so many chapters that left me on a cliff hanger and I could not put the book down about half way through because I needed to find out the answer! The story was intricate, so at times I had to reread to fully comprehend what was going on. You should read this book immediately after the first book. I had to go back and reread it since this book is released a year later and I didn’t remember key details. I really hope that there is another book in this series because I feel like there are some plot points that were not explored, I want to learn more about Frances’ past and see more about Annie’s future at Castle Knoll!

I liked this book! The second book is just as good as the first. Another visit to Castle Knoll with Annie, while digging deeper into the mysteries surrounding her family and the other cast of characters you loved, or didn’t… The writing is fun, the characters are well developed, and I loved picking up where things left off, but be ready for even more twists and turns! If you liked How to Solve Your Own Murder, you’ll love this one. And if you haven’t read it, get both of them! Quick read.

This was a cute, cozy, fun mystery! I was excited to read this after I had read book one before and this was engaging and entertaining!