Loved this second installment in The Castle Knoll Files series. A perfect follow up to the first. Journal entries galore! I absolutely adored them. It was a great then and now format that seamlessly blended.

Read this if you like:
-past and present tellings
-cozy mysteries
-amateur sleuths
-large estates
-putting puzzles together

Thank you to Kristen Perrin, Net Galley, and Penguin Group Dutton for the ARC copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Annie Adams is finally settling in at Castle Knoll after the events that lead to Annie solving Frances Gravesdown's murder and inheriting the Gravesdown Estate. When Annie runs into the local fortune teller, Peony Lane, she is given a cryptic message about a murder that happened several decades ago. A few hours later, Peony is found dead in the solarium of the Gravesdown Estate. It is made apparent that the killer is trying to frame Annie for the murder. Annie must dig into the past of Castle Knoll to figure out what secrets Peony and the local residents are hiding.

I enjoyed delving into this mystery. The book spans two timelines and multiple murders that seem to be connected to the death of Peony Lane. Many of the original characters are back and it was great to see Annie and Detective Crane together again. The ending did leave a lot of questions unanswered regarding Annie's future and I would love to read another mystery in the Castle Knoll Files.

How to Seal you Own Fate is out April 29th.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for the opportunity to review How to Seal Your Own Fate. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I don’t think I liked the mystery of this sequel as much as its predecessor, but I was happy to be back with these characters so much that it didn’t quite matter. I’ll definitely continue with this series, and it seems like there’s a lot more to uncover!

“Jenny has disappeared upstairs to phone her mum-she's one of those people who talk to their mums regularly and still somehow manage to fill hours with conversation. Not for the first time, I wonder what that's like.” I am one of these suckers :) Be an only child and live 5000 miles away from your mom - you can fill hours and hours

Annie Adams continues her journey of being Castle Knoll’s sleuth after her aunt’s passing. This time she is trying to figure out who is behind untimely death of Peony Lane inside her own apartment. Peony Lane was answer to many of Annie’s questions and now that she is gone it will be tough to figure out what happened to Gravesdown family.

I could not request this book fast enough knowing how entertaining and mind boggling the first book of the series was. Also, these events occurring in a quaint English countryside village makes it even more scandalous. I wonder what will be the topic of next book since the biggest mystery of Castle Knoll has been solved.

The sequel to "How to Solve Your Own Murder" proved to be just as good as the first book. I really enjoyed the first book and was looking forward to how Perrin was going to continue to evolve the story. Perrin did a great job! I was hooked again, after the first few chapters I was so focused on the mystery I wanted it to be solved. I ended up reading the whole book in 1 sitting. She does a great job of mixing the future and the past via the journals and present tense story-telling. I will say this one added "new" faces (not really new cause we met all of them in the first book) that made the story more interesting and included more people in the town. My only drawback was that the first book heavily implied some sort of romantic entanglement between the FMC and the lead detective, and nothing happened to further it in this book except for some slow burn/yearning moments. I wanted there to be just a little more, so hoping the next book can get us there. Again, overall fantastic book that I did not see the ending coming.

This book is hands down one of my very favorites of the year! It was truly so spectacular and I had such a good time reading it. I couldn't predict any of the twists, and the storyline kept me on the edge of my seat. I sped through this read within 2 days, couldn't get enough.

This story is the second of the Castle Knoll books, which follows Annie and her journey through solving the Castle Knoll secrets. The first book, How to Solve Your Own Murder, dives into the murder of Aunt Frances who had a fortune fortelling her death. This next book delves deeper into Frances history and her journey to the women she became, and it was reallly nice having the dual perspective between Annie and Frances. I love the cast of characters and I thought they all were so intriguing and I am so excited to see what happens next. The development was just so good between everyone, I can't wait for the following books to come out hopefully someday!

The BIGGEST thank you to Netgalley, Kristen Perrin, and the Penguin Group for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review!

Another murder has occurred in Castle Knoll! In order to figure out who committed the murder, Annie will first have to solve the mystery of a decades old crime.
This is a really cute cozy mystery. I loved the first book in this series and am happy that the second book allows us to get to know some of the characters from the first book even better. The mystery is well written leaving the reader guessing up until the final pages as to what happens.
I do feel like there were brief moments where the pace lagged a bit, but that may have been necessary in order to add details that will help develop the whole series.
I’m excited to see how the rest of the series goes!
Thank you to #netgalley and #penguingroupdutton for an ARC in exchange for a fair review.

Kristen! You’ve done it again! I thoroughly enjoyed the first in this series and this is no different! I at first found the two timelines somewhat confusing, but once I got into it, it wasn’t that bad! I really loved our present timeline with Annie and it was really reminding me of Knives Out— smart, twisty, and funny. A really good sequel to a successful first book !

Annie Adams is back in book 2 of the Castle Knoll series! This story focuses on a mystery with the fortune teller from the first book. I enjoy how the author balances the past and the present through Annie and France's personalities. Annie is very cautious, but an excited sleuth, whereas Frances was very bold. There are slow moments in the mystery, but the vibe and intrigue from the first novel really does carry through into book two. How to Seal Your Own Fate is exactly what you want in a mystery: smart, surprising, and utterly compelling. Perrin proves she's a master at crafting mysteries that are as emotionally rich as they are intellectually satisfying.

Thanks to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Dutton | Dutton for sharing this eARC copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

“How to Seal Your Own Fate” is the second book in the Castle Knoll Files by Kristen Perrin. In this book, we once again follow Annie as she solves another mystery. There’s a lot of changing timelines (as this book is based in both the present and in the 1960s). As with the first story in this series, I found myself getting a little bored and a little confused as to who was who. I wished that this book had had a recap from the first book because I found myself trying to recall information from the first book. This book is not a stand-alone book - one really should read the first book (or have a memory better than mine). For me, this book was okay - there’s not a lot of character development and it took a while for me to get into, and I’m never sure it fully grabbed my attention. There’s obviously going to be another book in this series. If you found the first book engaging and entertaining, this one might continue your interest in Annie’s storyline and mystery solving skills.

I loved the first book in this series “How to Solve Your Own Murder”and was excited to return to Castle Knoll for “How to Seal Your Own Fate”. Sadly, the sequel did not live up to my expectations. There was very little character development in the present time frame. The characters were flat and just going thru the motions of telling the story. It was about 1/3 of the book before I could get into it. It failed to captivate my attention and I struggled trying to remember who was who and if it was a character from the first book that I should remember for this storyline.

The mystery itself was summed up rather quickly in the end and there are still questions that were left unanswered for me. There is a very slow budding relationship with Annie and Crane that will be interesting to follow in the next installment. It will interesting to see what Annie investigates next.

How to Seal Your Own Fate is the second book in a new series by Kristen Perrin. I really enjoyed the first book and was really looking forward to the second book. I am happy to say that it did not disappoint at all! In the first book, the main character Annie solves the mystery of her great aunt’s death and inherits her estate. In the second book, Annie hears another prediction from the fortune teller that predicted her aunt’s death and works to solve the mystery and deaths involved in that prediction. I like how the book travels back and forth between the past and present and learning about these characters as they were then and as they are now. I really enjoy Ms. Perrin’s writing style and once I started reading it, I just couldn’t put it down! I’m looking forward to more books in this series and I highly recommend it for cozy mystery fans!

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to review this book. All opinions are my own.

A sequel to How to Solve Your Own Murder. This installment is told in two timelines - present and 1967.
Present day: Annie Adams is just settling into life in Castle Knoll when local fortune teller Peony Lane crosses her path and shares a cryptic message. When Peony Lane is found dead only hours later inside the solarium of the locked Gravesdown Estate, Annie believes she is being set up to take the blame for the murder.

1967: Frances' story: A year has passed since her friend Emily disappeared, and teenage Frances finds herself caught between two men. Ford Gravesdown and Archie Foyle.

Annie knows she has to delve into the diaries and the folders of information from Aunt Frances in order to solve Peony's death and to absolve herself. More mysteries and more murders occur. From Frances' diaries, we learn more about Archie Foyle's backstory and even with all that is divulged, we still don't know all about Archie. The local constable, Rowan Crane, is a delightful, handsome addition to the story line, and sets the reader up for the third installment of the Castle Knoll Files.

This is a tough one to review because I loved "How to Solve Your Own Murder" and Perrin's writing is so easy to read - I devoured this book just as I did with the first one. I like both Annie and Frances- it's nice to read about smart and capable young women who seem relatable.

Here were a few of my issues with this book:

1. I didn't read the first book that long ago but a lot of what happened was referenced in this book so I went back to the first and spent time reminding myself of the history of some of these characters. I get that Perrin doesn't want to give away everything that happens in book 1 but I feel like there could have been a better way to weave things together more seamlessly. Like I had definitely forgotten that Peony Lane was who gave Frances her fortune back in the 1960's.

2. The ending was very complicated and I still don't really understand the characters' motivations and why the murderer killed those people. I also had a hard time remembering who knew what in each time period. Also I still don't understand the fortune? Three and one or one and three? The math didn't really make sense to me there.

I read an uncorrected proof and there were just a few typos. For example, they mention Teddy Crane being Rowan Crane's dad - but his dad is Reggie. And at one point Annie doesn't know how old Saxon is, but she would know exactly how old he is because of Frances's diaries and looking into the car crash. Small things, but they stuck out at me because everything else in this book is so tight.

I was impressed with Perrin's thinking ahead because the first book includes Emily and Frances discussing both the ruby dagger and the car crash. Maybe we'll learn more about Annie's dad in the next (I do hope there's a next one).

Thanks to NetGalley and Ms Perrin for the opportunity to read and give an honest review!

Annie Adams is back and on the case again this time investigating a crime much closer to home in How to Seal Your Own Fate (4/29/25, Penguin Group Dutton Books).

Fresh off her successful investigation into her aunt Frances' murder, she is started to get settled in at Gravesdown Hall in the sleepy English village of Castle Knoll. Annie wants to fit in and yet can't help but continue to feel like an outsider. A chance encounter with Peony Lewis, the fortuneteller who predicted Frances' murder turns Annie's world upside down. Peony implores Annie to look into a cold case from decades earlier. It was a case that was ruled an accident by Peony is certain that a murder was involved. Annie is intrigued but before she can ask Peony any further questions Peony is murdered in the solarium at Gravesdown Hall. Annie is suspected of Peony's murder and must clear her own name while at the same time investigate a cold case that may or may not have something to do with Peony's murder.

Once again, Kristin Perrin has constructed an engaging puzzle in How to Seal Your Own Fate. We follow Annie as she is trying to make sense of her own purpose in life while simultaneously solving a couple of murders. The book is as much of a delight as How To Solve Your Own Murder was and I hope that Ms. Perrin will continue to provide us with further mysteries in the future. If you have not picked up these books, I highly recommend that you do. They have been some of the best mysteries I have read all year.

This is such a unique series and the second one did not disappoint! Twists, turns, secrets, mystery... it has it all. I love the dual time-line perspective. I honestly never had a guess as to what really happened, so the way the story unfolded was really great! Definitely recommend if you're looking for a new mystery book!

I loved the first book from this series, How to Solve Your Own Murder, so I was really hoping for the same magic here. Unfortunately, I did not get it this time. My biggest issue was that there didn’t seem to be any recap about things that happened in the previous book, so I felt lost reading this. With the exception of Annie and Detective Crane, I didn’t remember any characters from before.

Once again, the book ping pongs between a murder mystery in the present and revealing facts from the past. This book just didn’t have the magic of the first.

Not as good as the first one, in my opinion, but still a fun, enjoyable mystery!

Thank you to Penguin Group Dutton and Netgalley for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I found it difficult to keep the story and people in this book straight. There are two different time lines with a wide assortment of people. Some of the people have nicknames which added to my confusion. I had read the first book, How to Solve Your Own Murder, and I am not sure if it helped me or hindered me. I tried to apply what I read from Book 1 to Book 2 and soon my head was spinning. I waded through, looking up the same names repeatedly and was glad when I got to the end. The ending left little doubt that there would be a Book 3. Not sure how I feel about that. Sadly, I really enjoyed the first one; this one not so much.Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary ARC. This review is my own words and thoughts.

I absolutely loved the first in this series so I was so excited to get the ARC from NetGalley!

I will say I think the first may have been better, but this was still enjoyable. Diving into the crash and seeing Annie struggle with becoming like her Aunt Frances was interesting. I always love a good timeline shift and multiple POVs. Some of the plot lines felt slightly farfetched but I feel like that comes with the genre. I’m begging for another bc I HAVE to see Annie & the detective get together, talk about a slow burn.

Overall would recommend to everyone I know!