For a quick light read that involves a spoonful of suspense with a far bigger serving of suspension of belief concerning its basic premise, Kristen Perrin’s dual timeline mystery may be just the thing. It all centers around a fortune told at a 1965 country fair to a teenage Francis who is there with her two BFF; the psychic foretells her murder with some very specific and rather creepy details, including a future of dry bones, and warnings about betrayals and birds among other things. It ends by stating that the right daughter will be the key to justice. And thus the course of the rest of Francis’s life are determined…by Francis.

And some troubling things do happen: a wooded estate that Francis and her friends can’t help trespassing on and get caught with some very unpredictable consequences, the repeated appearances of an unsettling 10 year old boy, a mysterious disappearance, and some unexpected behavior among friends and lovers that change everything. So Francis spends the next 60 years as the village oddball, trying to decipher the clues, hounding her neighbors, and getting very superstitious about birds, images of a queen, and else anything that strikes her as vaguely ominous according to the dictates of her long-ago fortune. Decades later, her grand niece, Annie, an aspiring mystery writer, is summoned to her great aunt’s lavish estate to discuss changes in Francis’s will. Annie has never met Francis, but just before she can, Francis is found dead in her mansion, and yes, the verdict is murder. Although dead, Francis has a few tricks up her sleeves, the first being the terms of her will, which features a timeline to solve the mystery and several possible and possibly untrustworthy beneficiaries, depending on the outcome. And then the young Francis sparks to life through her diaries, which Annie finds, and the alternating chapters between past and present take over the story line. It works for the most part, though the narrative of the teenage Francis and her circle of friends, relatives and villagers is far more compelling than Annie’s present day rather predictable fledgling detective maneuvers. Yes, Annie’s life is threatened several times, and there are a few brambly twists and the big reveal was just that, which is always satisfying. A few too many characters between the two timelines to fully flesh them out; some needed to be animated a bit more than authorial chess pieces and some time jumps could have used some filling in, but all in all, it succeeds as a frothy, diverting read. Even with her neuroses, I still liked Francis better than Annie though.

Thank you to Penguin Group Dutton for my advance electronic copy via NetGalley. My opinions are my own.

It's 1965 and Frances Adams is at the country fair with her two friends when she is told that she will one day be murdered. As she grows up, Frances becomes more and more obsessed with her murder and trying to prevent it (or, at least, figure out who her murderer will be). Enter Annie Adams, Frances Adams' grand niece, who, in present day, is called to meet with her aunt and arrives on the very day that Frances is found dead. In order to receive her inheritance, Annie must first solve Frances' murder, but as the clock runs out and the deadline approaches, is it possible that Annie's digging may be putting her own life at risk too?

I really loved the forthright and honest voices of both points-of-view: Frances (through her diaries) and Annie (as she investigates). This honesty unearths all kinds of twisty, small-village secrets, deceptions, and toxicity. It's a real "whodunnit," as we meet the cast of characters who knew Frances in her youth and who are still around, doubting her sanity even as she is found murdered. I liked that I hadn't sorted out who the killer was and that none of the characters was as straightforward as I thought they were. It looks like this may be the first in a series, and, if so, I look forward to seeing how Annie grows and evolves over time.

When Frances Adams was seventeen years old, a fortune-teller at a country fair gave her a grim prediction of death. This unhappy fortune changed the course of her whole life and Frances remained obsessed with looking for clues from the fortune to prevent her murder. Decades later, Frances really is murdered. Since she had always expected this, her will sets up a competition between two people, and the one who solves her murder first inherits her estate.

Most of the story is told in the present from the point-of-view of Annie Adams, the great-niece and one of the potential heirs of Frances. Annie finds a journal belonging to Frances, so there are flashbacks to Frances's story, both about her fortune and the disappearance of one of her best friends a year after the fair. Annie discovers some startling facts about Alice and other residents of the town of Castle Knoll, England, and faces grave danger while trying to solve the murder, which is more complicated than it first seems, and get justice for the woman she never met.

The title of this book caught my eye and it's proven true since Frances kept notes on many of the suspects in her eventual death and even had a murder board already set up for her death which she was always convinced was imminent. I really liked the young version of Frances that we get to know through her journal, as well as Annie who is clever and kind. Annie's best friend, Jenny, plays a small role and I would love to learn more about her since she is also a likable character. I was very surprised when the whole story was revealed at the end. It looks like Annie may have more adventures in future books and if so, I will be reading them!

Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton Books for the advance copy of this ebook. My review is voluntary and unbiased.

this was definitely not what I expected It to be but it was a fun adventure. It was a good twist and made me wanting to know the answers as you keep reading

Great-aunt Frances received a frightening prediction at the fortune teller's booth back in 1965 when she and her friends were at the fair. "Your future contains dry bones. Your slow demise begins right when you hold the queen in the palm of one hand. Beware the bird, for it will betray you. And from that, there's no coming back. But daughters are the key to justice, find the right one and keep her close. All signs point to your murder." Right, then. Anyone for a spot of tiffin?

Determined to outwit fortune, or at least make sure justice is served if it comes true, Frances spends the rest of her life compiling files on everyone she knows, recording secrets and indiscretions. The entire village knows about her obsession and there must be many who resent the carefully maintained dossiers on all their actions. Frances has no daughter of her own, so she names her niece Laura as heir to the estate, then changes her will and lists her great-niece Annie as heir without an explanation.

As Annie's friend Jenny comments, "an estranged aunt in a sleepy countryside village? A mysterious inheritance? Annie, your life is turning into a novel." And that is the story we are presented with - Annie arrives at her great-aunt's house to learn she has indeed been murdered and the filing cabinets are full of names that may have had a motive for the deed. Can Annie survive long enough to figure out who the culprit is and claim her inheritance?

The blurb says this book is a good match for fans of "Knives Out" and <i>The Thursday Murder Club</i>. I think those are good recommendations. Annie and readers must deal with the twists and turns of relationships in a family over generations added to those in a small English village, other claimants who would like to be the heir, always looking over one shoulder for a possible murderer, all while trying to piece together clues from the past and the present.

This book is intriguing and will pull you in as you follow one clue after another. Reaching the end is a relief after all the tension, but then you will be sad that it is over. A bright spot is that the book is listed as Castle Knoll Files #1, so now we just need to wait for the next mystery to present itself.

I read an advance copy, but the book comes out March 26 - so be ready to do some sleuthing.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4. Clever Agatha Christie-esque premise. There is a large cast of characters that were hard to keep track of, partly because there are several family groups with the same last names. The plot got a little muddled just from the sheer number of characters past and present. Annie got a little annoying with her fainting at the sight of blood, syringes, etc. - I did wonder how she managed her monthly period. I would have liked to know what Frances was up to for the past 50 years. There are hints that she meddled in others' lives (like her niece Laura) but there is no follow up on the hints. Also, there are a number of dangling mini-plots that are left, well, dangling. Fans of cozy mysteries will enjoy the setting and the characters.

Sixteen year old Frances visits a fortune teller, and learns of her future demise. Only it takes 60 years for the crime to occur.

Annie learns that she is the sole relative to inherit her great-aunts estate. She comes across old journals detailing the events of Frances friend, Emily's disappearance, and their visit to the fortune teller in the 60's. Emily's vanishing still haunts the small village. Annie slowly unravels the events involving Emily, but also that of her Aunt's demise.

How to Solve Your Own Murder moves along with a inquisitive cast of characters. Annie slowly learns who to trust, who to be cautious and who to partner to solve two crimes. I enjoyed these characters, and the suspense they built throughout the story. The english manor house also added an element of thrill to past and present telling.

Entertaining story, look forward to the next installment in this series!

Thank you, Dutton.

"My favorite chess saying is very simple: You can play without a plan, but you'll probably lose."

Frances has a problem--when she was 17, a fortune teller predicted that she would be murdered. She doesn't know when, or how, only that there are clues and hints within the prediction that may help her solve her own murder--including keeping the right daughter close, avoiding holding a queen in her hand, and being mindful of a bird that will betray her. From that day forward, she becomes paranoid about stopping her murder before it happens and solving it preemptively.

Annie, Frances' great niece, becomes entwined in the conspiracy years later. Frances decided SHE was the right daughter and set up a competition in her will between her and Saxon, a neighbor, to compete to solve her murder--winner gets her fortune! But things take a turn when Frances actually is murdered, and there actually is a case to solve--two actually. Because what if Frances' death is tied to the disappearance of her friend, Emily Sparrow, back when they were teenagers?

Armed with a diary, a love of mysteries, and a determination to do right by her aunt, Annie must finish solving her aunt's murder before she's next.

This book was a fun cozy mystery, definitely inspired by Agatha Christie. If you like Agatha, The Westing Game/The Inheritance Games, and a classic "whodunnit," this one is going to be for you! Annie and Frances are great "narrators" and I couldn't decide who's POV I liked more. My only complaint is that Annie's motivations seemed insufficient--she's not motivated by the inheritance, and she didn't really know her aunt. Other than getting to keep her childhood home, there doesn't seem to be any REAL motivation tying her to wanting to solve this mystery.

And for those of you who like mystery's but can't stand the graphic nature, you'll love this one! This is VERY PG in terms of the violence and descriptions of events! I highly recommend this one--it was a super nice break between fantasy novels!

I loved the dual storyline and how the journal played into the solving of the murders. I didn't find that the foreshadowing was strong enough for me to really formulate my own theories. Overall, fun cozy read.

This is an interesting plot. Annie’s aunt has spent nearly 60 years waiting on her own murder driven by a fortune teller. Annie is an author who recently left her regular job. She gets an invite from her aunt . She goes out to her estate address her aunt will which she is now the heir of. Annie meets Walter her aunt lawyer. Her aunt eventually does end up lifeless on the floor. The question is is it natural causes or the fortune tellers fortune coming true? I found the twists in this book to be new and interesting. I did decor this book in two days it was so gripping and I just wanted to know what was going to happen.

DNF at 39%.

By this point, I should care about what is happening in the story, but I'm not invested.

Here I go again, reading and reviewing a book that is not fantastical in any way, unless you count the fortune teller who started the whole thing.

Our narrator is Annabelle Adams, great-niece to the extremely wealthy and paranoid Frances Adams. She's called out to a sleepy country village for a meeting about her inheritance. A meeting that is cancelled by the unexpected death of Frances. This book is half Annabelle's point of view, and half journal entries from Frances from that fateful 1965 summer when her death was foretold and the story of what happened leading up to her friend's disappearance.

This is a fun mystery with lots of potential murderers, because who knew that a paranoid and demanding rich white woman wouldn't end up universally beloved? Frances started attempting to solve her own murder decades before it occurred. It's revealed that she kept detailed dossiers of everyone in town, complete with an entire murderboard room full of photos, pushpins, and string. How delightfully tin-foil-hatted. She suspected everyone around her, and so everyone is a suspect.

Despite nearly everyone in the book being completely unaware of their privilege due to their close proximity to wealth, the book drags you along with it through the end. It's completely captivating, even though the book is filled with selfish, oblivious people. Even Annabelle curiously never seems to worry about who is paying her open-ended hotel bill, despite all the talk in the beginning about how her mom is a struggling artist whose home is owned by Frances, and Annabelle herself is attempting a career change into being a mystery author.

It isn't so much the characters that are compelling, but the setup. Was Frances' murder really foretold by prophecy? Did it have anything to do with the disappearance of her childhood friend? What was the role of the wealthy older man who Frances clearly ended up marrying? And what older man hangs about with teenagers, even in 1965? All that is even before you get to Frances' mysterious murder. Was it a self-fulfilling prophecy because Frances was so obsessed with it? Coincidence? Was it over the money or something else? Was it a product of old grudges or new? And what role did the husband's strange nephew play, both in 1965 and now?

All these questions and more are addressed in the book, and while I did eventually suspect the real murderer before the end, the questions of why and especially how were still a bit of a surprise. A completely digestible mystery for a pleasant day's distraction. If you're a murder-mystery fan, I'd recommend it.

Thank you to Dutton and NetGalley for an electronic version of How to Solve Your Own Murder.

This cozy mystery makes you want to curl up in a chair with a blanket and a hot cup of tea. A mysterious fortune, an inheritance at stake, an eccentric old lady, flashbacks to the past, and a murder that needs solved make for an enjoyable mystery.

Frances’s flashbacks were the highlight for me. I wanted to see how she became who she did, the antics her group of friends were up to, and how she became the lady of Gravesdown manor. Her cabinet of secrets was intriguing and I enjoyed watching Annie hunt down her killer.

I do feel like we didn’t get to know Annie that well, despite present day being told from her first person perspective. I think maybe in trying to surprise us with the murderer the author gave us too many characters and aspects of the story instead of diving into Annie’s character. Hopefully in subsequent books in the novel Annie is developed a little more, if so I think this could be a great series for mystery fans.

This was a solidly written murder mystery. The premise was intriguing and I love a good dual timeline. We follow Annie as she tries to uncover the secrets behind not one, but TWO murders. The second timeline is told through the diary entries of Annie’s great aunt Frances.

I got very invested in both timelines by the end of the book, but I will say I was much more interested in France’s diary entries for the first half. I looked forward to those chapters and was disappointed when they ended until the present day timeline started to pick up.

Overall, this was a cozy-esque mystery that was slightly too long for my taste. I enjoyed following along with Annie and discovering whodunnit!

Annie has been summoned by her distant aunt and she is not sure why. Just a few week ago Annie had sent the stuff from the basement of the house her and her mother lived in which is technically her aunts. Upon arriving Annie discovers there is more than one person who has been invited to this meeting and some have not so great intentions. But things quickly change when arriving at her aunts house and discovering her aunt has been murdered. Through lots of self discovery and detective work Annie has to not only find out who murdered her aunt but try to save her mother and her from losing their house.

This was a much better book than I expected! I thought it was going to be kind of boring but it was far from that. I was kept on the edge of my seat the entire time and I truly did not expect the ending. I thought it was funny, thrilling and exciting at times. I would recommend for everyone to read!

DNF 21% - I will be giving this an average 3 star rating on Netgalley as I don’t think it’s right to 1 or 2 star a book I wasn’t able to finish.

I think it’s time to bite the bullet, I came to this on multiple occasions and attempts and just couldn’t get into it. I’m not sure if it’s me as people seem to be really enjoying this and I can’t quite pinpoint the problem I had.

Sometimes you come to a book and it’s just not the right time. Perhaps I was excited by the many Knives Out comparisons and it wasn’t doing that. I just never connected and felt pulled in and usually I’m very easy to grasp but it didn’t happen. The writing felt incredibly passive and I just wasn’t getting anything out of it. I felt myself consistently wandering off and having to reread and then upon rereading, it felt like nothing was happening.

Oh well. You win some and lose some.

DNF at 27%

Kristen Perrin's How to Solve Your Own Murder has all of the ingredients that makes a good murder mystery for me: a quaint English town with secrets hidden beneath the surface, a huge cast of suspicious characters, and an inventive take on the investigative process. Despite having all of the ingredients, something in the execution left me unsatisfied.

Maybe it is the fact that our investigator Annie Adams felt super one-dimensional, maybe it was the fact that neither of the two timelines really appealed, or maybe it was the fact that this felt like a paint-by-numbers meta mystery with none of the wit and sparkle that really takes a book like this to the next level. If it had just been one of these things, I probably could have slogged through. All three, however, meant that it was time to DNF.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!

Dollycas's Thoughts

Three teenage girls walk into Madame Peony Lane's tent at the Castle Knoll Country Fair in 1965. Two don't take her seriously, but one does. Frances Adams listens carefully to every word the "psychic" says and takes them to heart.

“Your future contains dry bones. Your slow demise begins right when you hold the Queen in the palm of your hand. Beware the bird, for it will betray you. And, from that, there is no coming back. But daughters are the key to justice, find the right one and keep her close. All signs point toward your murder.”

She spends the rest of her life trying to stave off death and trying to solve her own murder before it even happens.

Still alive and kicking almost 60 years later Frances has decided to change her will and requests her great-niece, Annie Adams come to her estate immediately. Sadly by the time Annie arrives in the small English village of Castle Knoll and her home, she finds Frances dead. Using all the information Frances has gathered over the years Annie plans to do whatever she can to find the killer and get justice for her aunt. But she has just met all the people in Frances's life, could one of them be the killer? In her quest to find the truth, she puts herself in grave danger. Will she join her aunt in the afterlife? or will she solve the murder mystery and receive her aunt's riches?

____

This story is told from Annie's point of view and Frances's journals. I found Annie to be likable and engaging. She really knows nothing about her Great Aunt Frances but she gets to know her by reading her journals.

Readers and Annie are introduced to several people when she arrives in Castle Knoll. Her aunt's lawyer and old friend, Walter Gordon and his determined son Oliver,  Frances' late husband's nephew, Saxon, along with his over-the-top wife Elva, she really grated on Annie's nerves and mine. After Frances's death, we meet Detective Crane. He seems very capable of solving the murder but a twist in Frances's will Saxon and Annie are in a race with him to catch the killer.

From Frances's journals, we meet her group of friends. Rose, Emily, and Frances were best friends, a young Walter Gordon, John Oxley, Teddy Crane, Saxon, and his Uncle Ford. The relationships between all of these characters are very complicated.

The idea of solving Frances's murder drew me right in. Frances had a room full of clues, files, and even murder boards with post-its, and strings galore. The journals added even more details. Annie didn't know any of the people so it was hard to know who to trust especially when many had motive to kill her great-aunt. She had to deal with secrets, lies, betrayals, and threats. With Frances's set timeline, the story has a very brisk pace. I admired the way Annie, the budding mystery writer, investigated the crime, but she does find herself in some precarious situations. The stress, tension, and danger build nicely to a dramatic reveal. The author did a brilliant job plotting out this story. I was gobsmacked reading the final chapters.

I found it very easy to escape into this story. I enjoyed going back and forth in time to see the characters and how they had developed from then to now. The English village settings of Castle Knoll and Gravestown Hall were perfect.

How to Solve Your Own Murder was an intriguing and original whodunit full of twists and turns that kept me guessing to the final pages. Annie Adams is now not only a budding mystery author but a budding amateur sleuth.  I can't wait to see what Kristen Perrin has planned for her next.

Thank you for the ARC! This was an enjoyable murder mystery. Nicely written. Both the flashbacks for Emily and the current investigation in to the great aunt’s murder kept me engaged.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started reading this book. Was it a victim who leaves a note telling everyone who to suspect if they are murdered? Was it someone who knew they were going to be murdered and wanted to stop it before it happened? My interest was piqued!

How to Solve Your Own Murder starts in the past when, as a teen, Francis receives a foreboding future from a fortune teller. ( That’s a tongue-twister!)

From there is skips to the present as Francis’ great-niece, Annie, is summoned to her aunts house for a meeting about her future inheritance. Why would Francis want her to inherit anything? Annie has never even met Francis! Annie agrees to go and that’s when everything goes haywire.

From the moment Annie arrives at Castle knoll, it’s clear that there are several people who want part of Aunt Francis’ money.

The story goes back and forth between Francis’ 1965 diary and the present with Annie. There are a lot of creepy suspects and I kept going back and forth thinking I knew who the villain was. In the end I was totally wrong!

There are a lot of fun clues and suspenseful situations. Some are highly unbelievable but kept me reading.

Francis’ diary was like a soap-opera so that was a bit spicy and weird! She had quite the time in high school! I kept thinking, who does that?!?!

Anyway, it was a fun, suspenseful/ cozy murder mystery.

Many thanks to Kristin Perrin and Penguin Group Dutton for the ARC vía NetGalley!!