Thank you NetGalley for sending me an ARC of this book!

Rating 3.75 Stars

This book kind of had a similar riddled mystery to the inheritance games in my opinion, which I absolutely loved. Though the difference being this is more of a slow paced and cozy mystery versus action packed. Which is nice to have every once in a while honestly!

The premise of this book sounded like something that was right up my alley- a fortune that predicts murder that then comes to fruition, leaving a family member to solve the murder. Unfortunately, it just kind of fell flat. As you get to meet the characters and watch them interact with each other, the more forced and stilted it became. Outside of the character interactions, even the mystery aspect again fell flat. There were so many red herrings that ended up just leaving the story in a mess rather than intrigue.

Should you read this book?

Yes, if… you love a good whodunnit and a slowly unraveling thread you can keep tugging at
No, if… you don’t like riddles!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for honest review.

Someone else commented “Part Agatha Christie, part Colombo”man’s I couldn’t agree more! A fantastic cozy mystery. Frances visits a medium who tells her she will be murdered, that psychic reading comes true, and leaves her entire fortune to the person who can solve who did it. I love a dual timeline, and this delivers! Told in present time, as her great niece follows breadcrumbs trying to figure out the mystery behind the murder & past tense following Frances youth. It feels like a book within a book. A fun read.

Part Agatha Christie, part Columbo, this book tells the story of an old women who lives with a psychic reading that tells her murder. Then, that murder comes true and she leaves her fortune to the person who can solve it, hopefully her great neice. Told in dual timelines, we get to follow the current events as her great-niece follows the trail of crumbs to the real story of the death as well as the events from the youth of her great aunt. Not every character in this quaint English country village is who they pretend to be, and not every fact tells the story you expect it to. I love the modernization of this story format, even as the charm and vintage quality of the style is preserved. There are just enough red herrings and clues to lead the reader and the twists and turns were interesting. The human element of the story was woven through the clues in a skilled way and the journey to the end was delightful! How to Solve Your Own Murder was a delightful read and I enjoyed my time solving this crime.

Frances Adams visits a medium in 1965 who tells her she will be murdered. She spends the rest of her life trying to figure out who murdered her. In the present day, her body is found in her country mansion in Castle Knoll, and her great niece. Annie, has to figure out who murdered her in order to inherit Frances' fortune. A typical English cozy country murder case with the added fillip of being another book within a book. Annie finds Frances' journal and as she reads it, she begins to figure out who had the biggest motive to murder Frances. Not as good as I wanted it to be.

Loved this cozy mystery! It’s perfect for fans of Agatha Christie.

The mystery was done so well, I was guessing right up to the very end. I really enjoyed the characters in this book. They were each quirky in their own way. I especially loved Frances and Annie and can’t wait for the next installment of this series

The premise of the book is very original and intrigued me but unfortunately the writing didn't live up to the idea. The male characters need more development and the conversations are flat.

A mystery needs to move along quickly but this one dragged. I just couldn’t push my way through it.

The writing was fine but didn’t blow me away. The characters were fairly indistinguishable which made it hard to keep them straight. Since some of them appear in both timelines this made it a tougher read.

Not a terrible book but not engaging enough for a mystery and not good enough for me to go above 2 stars.

Thank you NetGalley and Dutton for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This will be an unpopular opinion but I really didn’t like this book (and believe me I tried). I almost DNF it a couple of times cause it was confusing and slow.

It had such a good premise! I was so excited to read this meet Knives out and Clue kind of book and I felt it had the potential but the story kept me saying “wait, what?” (And then I had to go back and re read).

I liked the dual timing and I would had hoped this would had been more detailed. The present time MC didn’t really worked for me and I guess because I didn’t connect with made it more difficult for me to like this book.

This was a unique take on the inheritance trope. It's told through the MC's estranged aunt's journal entries, as well as her own modern day experiences. Unlike other cozy mysteries, the author did without a dog or cat companion. She did include a subtle love interest.

The relationship between the MC and her mom was believable, and the plot moved along nicely. The mystery could be solved by someone paying enough attention, but it isn't so obvious that the story isn't interesting to a more relaxed reader.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. I purchased for my library.

"How to Solve Your Own Murder" by Kristen Perrin is a spellbinding tale that intertwines past and present in a captivating mystery. Set in 1965, Frances Adams receives a chilling prediction from a fortune-teller at an English country fair: she will be murdered. Determined to prevent this grim fate, Frances spends her life compiling information on everyone she meets, hoping to uncover her potential killer.

Decades later, Frances's great-niece, Annie Adams, is summoned to Frances's sprawling country estate in Castle Knoll. However, upon her arrival, Annie discovers that Frances has already been murdered. Driven by a desire to unravel the truth behind her aunt's death, Annie delves into Frances's past, uncovering a web of secrets and lies that implicates everyone in the village.

Perrin expertly crafts a narrative that keeps readers on the edge of their seats. The characters are richly drawn, with each villager harboring their own motives and secrets. As Annie gets closer to the truth, she realizes that her investigation may put her own life in danger, mirroring Frances's tragic fate.

Filled with suspense, intrigue, and unexpected twists, "How to Solve Your Own Murder" is a gripping mystery that will leave readers guessing until the final page. Perrin's masterful storytelling and atmospheric setting make this novel a must-read for fans of the genre.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for an advanced copy to review for my honest opinion.

A fun and clever mystery with a unique plot. The pacing was off at times, I wish it had stayed consistent. I found the characters interesting and had a hard time figuring out who was the potential murderer. I really liked the main character Annie and how she kept the police relatively in the loop. Overall, this was a good read with some fun twists. Thank you to Penguin Group Dutton for providing an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

In 1965, a Frances Adams receives a haunting fortune while attending a country fair with her friends. It predicts one day that Frances will be murdered. As a result of this fortune Frances spends the rest of her life trying to prevent her murder, or at the very least leave enough evidence for it to be solved. As she aged and her trust in other dwindled, many felt she was mentally unwell. On the day her great niece Annie Adams was supposed to meet with her for the first time, Francis is found murdered. As part of her will Francis leaves her estate to the one who can solve her murder. Annie is put up against a detective and Francis’ step-nephew. Solving the crime becomes priority number one for Annie and everyone in town seems suspect.
Thank you Netgalley for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. What a premise! Lacking execution. Don’t need a romance involved. Many unbelievable parts. This ended up being just okay for me, but I may pick up the second book in the series just to see for sure. Be prepared to suspend belief and be slightly confused with some of the timeline as it goes back and forth.

<i> How to Solve Your Own Murder</i> ended up being a suprisingly delightful little mystery. I am not a overwhelmingly big fan of cozy mysteries. Although this started off as what I thought was one, quickly turned into something that felt a bit more.
Annie found herself as the sole heir to her great aunt's fortune one day and then the next she was solving her murder in order to earn that fortune. Annie is not the typical, quirky self-proclaimed detective. Even though she does investigate on her own, she still isn't sneaky about it and includes law enforcement as much as she can. The cast of characters is an interesting bunch and they make for a good whodunit.
I enjoyed this mystery. I like that it is the first part of a series. I can only imagine where the next book will take us, but I'm looking forward to finding out.

This was very Agatha Christie meets Knives Out and I LOVED IT!!!

Thank you Net Galley for my free copy in exchange for an honest review!


I do love a cozy, English mystery. This was entertaining, twisty and had an ending I didn't see coming.
Four Stars!

An unique tale as written in the title of the book. Great Aunt Frances is murdered just before Annie is to meet her at the offices of Gordon,l Owen, and Martlod LLC to discuss the responsibilities of being the sole benefactor. Not everything is straight forward for Annie after Frances' death. Annie has one week to discover who killed her aunt. There are many potential murderers. And how does this relate to a murder that occurred sixty years earlier?
Read to learn who, why this happens in Castle Knoll. Well-written.
Also, is there another story coming about Annie and Castle Knoll?

Good clear writing. Interesting characters. Nice pace. The conclusion of the mystery was a little wanting. It didn't seem to match the rest of the story or plot. Pay attention to small details.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for an arc of this novel. I was sent this book in exchange for my honest review. My thoughts are entirely my own.

In this book we are following Annie who is summoned to her Great Aunt Frances's house. Annie and her mother have been told from their Great Aunt that they will inherit her home because of a prophecy she was given when she was sixteen years old. Great Aunt Frances was obsessed with that prophecy which shaped the rest of her live and made her write everything down so that Annie could figure out her murder. Annie discovers that her mother is actually the biological daughter of her best friend Emily who went missing when they were seventeen. Rose is the only friend out of the trio that is still alive and is devastated by Frances death. Frances put's a speculation in her will that states that whoever solves her murder gets the house. Annie starts to investigate and starts to read Frances's diary during the year of Emily's disappearance. After some ups and downs Annie discovers that Joe killed Frances because his mother Rose killed Emily to set both herself and Frances free. Frances finds out the truth after Annie sends back a trunk with Emily's body in it which Annie discovers after discovering it in Great Aunt Frances's library. There are quite a few comparisons to Agatha Christie and I found this story very interesting . I'm glad that Frances finally figured out what happened to her friend Emily.

This book was good but didn’t have much of an impact on me. It was a lot to process. Frances’ fortune about being murdered (not a spoiler) was intriguing the first few times I heard it. But the book is muddled with all the side stories of characters that left me asking who is it talking about now?

With all the characters it was hard to get to know any of them more in depth.

I am a big fan of alternating storylines so I did enjoy that aspect of the book. Piecing the puzzle together was not as big of a mystery as I would have liked but it did keep me entertained.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced ebook