Not for me but I have recommended because so many have loved this book. Thank you to the publisher for a copy.

Think this is a fun inquisitive book that cozy murder mystery readers would enjoy. The style of writing is easy to understand while interests people with the intrigue of the title. Could you solve your own murder?

**3.5-stars rounded up **

Annie Adams has had her presence requested at a meeting hosted by her wealthy and reclusive Great-Aunt Frances. Annie doesn't really know Great-Aunt Frances, so the invitation stirs up some anxiety, but also a lot of intrigue. Unfortunately, by the time Annie arrives to the quaint English village of Castle Knoll, where her Great-Aunt lives, Frances is already dead; murdered.

In a way, it almost seems fitting. Frances was a woman literally obsessed with her own death for close to 60-years. This began in 1965, at the local fair, when a fortune-teller predicted Frances would be murdered. Disturbing, sure. The prediction also included clues as to how it would happen. Frances, unsurprisingly, had a hard time living her life without seeing connections to those clues everywhere.

Most of the long-time residents of Castle Knoll were well aware of Frances's preoccupation with her impending murder, and they have a lot of opinions on that and her. Annie is thrust into this world, where everyone seems to know a lot more about her Great-Aunt than she does. Now it's up to Annie to solve the murder first; there's an inheritance on the line, and of course, her Great-Aunt's legacy and reputation.

How to Solve Your Own Murder was a fun an engaging mystery. It was the exact tone I needed at the time I picked it up just prior to Thanksgiving holiday. The slow-build and seamless back-and-forth between the past and present perspectives were exactly what I needed to take my mind off real life stressors. It felt cozy and thoughtful, though I did struggle at times to keep track of some of the characters. With this being said, it's still a very fun story featuring a likable new amateur sleuth, Annie, who I'm looking forward to getting to know even more as the series continues.

As mentioned above, this story does have both past and present perspectives. The past perspective follows Frances as she receives her fortune and the events that follow shortly thereafter. Our present perspective is of course, Annie. I thought the way Perrin presented both of those perspectives was really well done and I did enjoy both equally. I thought it was layed out in a way that allows the Readers to piece things together in a natural way.

I also loved the quaint village atmosphere, my absolute favorite setting for a mystery. I feel like as the series continues, we'll get to know the villagers more and that slight confusion with who's who will go away. I'm so excited to continue on with this series. I'm not sure what the plan is for it, but I think this was such a solid 1st-book and I know that the 2nd-book will be just as exciting. Annie is already a character I can't wait to meet again.

Thank you to the publisher, Dutton, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I can't wait for more Annie and the Castle Knoll Files!!!

How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin had me hooked from the start. A great aunt leaves her estate in the English countryside to her young relative, after failing to outrun a fortune teller’s dire prophecy made long ago. Her great niece is now in the unique position of getting to explore the house (and its surroundings!) to her heart’s content, while solving the mystery of who is to blame for her aunt’s death.

This was a fast paced, fun read. I enjoyed it immensely! I can’t wait for the second installment so I can see how the author wraps up all the details.

It took me longer to finish this than it really should have. I found myself struggling to keep my attention on read and I lacked any feeling for the characters. It’s not a bad book by any means, but there’s nothing that feels special about it. The characters are fairly flat and their dialogue is unrealistic at times, the setting feels under developed and under utilized, and the way the story comes together doesn’t feel super smooth or well paced. The mystery itself was intriguing (I had part of it figured out) but also felt underdeveloped.

I think living up to the premise was simply too big a task for this book, and the author bit off more than she could chew. I’ll check out the sequel to see if these things are improved on!

Annie goes to see her great Aunt Frances. But, before she can meet her, Frances is found murdered. Armed only with her great aunt's diaries and a desire to inherit the estate, Annie must figure out who killed her aunt.

This was a quirky, cozy, British mystery in the vein of Agatha Christie. I thought it was fun.

I really enjoyed this book, and I didn’t know who to suspect. I had an inkling that Rose wasn’t the nice person she seemed to be, and her son was definitely horrible as well. I’m glad they got caught! I wish we had got more of Frances, she seemed like a cool person. I can’t wait to read the second book. I hope Annie and the detective end up dating!!

I was really excited about this book but I found it to be lacking and a little boring. Thank you for the opportunity to read this title. It was very reminiscent of an Agitha Christie book, in how well thought out the plot was and how it unraveling in staggered stages.

3.5/5 stars. I loved the setting and the main character! There were ultimately a LOT of characters to keep track of, and that had me a bit distracted and confused. I enjoyed the dual-timeline/diary element - it kept the story moving at a great pace.

The plot sounded really interesting, but it just read too slow. I couldn't get invested with whether or not Annie solved the mystery. It was a long guessing games and I got bored and DNFed sadly. I think this would be a good people that like a cozy mystery book with low stakes.

Such a fun ride. I love Annie so much-- she's got "golden retriever energy" in all the best ways, which helps you bond with her and create fascinating plot hiccups. A great mystery in and of itself and an ode to mysteries and the mystery lover in general. Don't miss it.

🅱 🅾 🅾 🅺 🆁 🅴 🆅 🅸 🅴 🆆 ​✨

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗢𝘄𝗻 𝗠𝘂𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 by Kristen Perrin
Publish Date: March 26, 2024 by @duttonbooks
Reviewed by: Mel
Format: Kindle eBook via @netgalley

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲...
✨ Cozy whodunnit mysteries
✨ Dual perspectives (via a journal)
✨ Strong FMC

𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀
While it wasn’t the quickest read — at times it was a very slow build — it was quite fun to work through solving the two mysteries alongside Annabelle. It was a bit strange to me that, even though Frances may have solved the other mystery and potentially knew how she was going to die in time to be able to change her will — she didn’t leave a letter explaining what she found, and created a game for Annabelle and Saxon.

The writing kept me interested throughout, but there were definitely some slower points in the book where I found myself putting the book down only after a few pages and not coming back to it until the next day.

It was the perfect time of year for a cozy mystery, and this one was entertaining enough.

Have you ever been so obsessed with something that it takes over your life? You are very similar to Frances Adams.

Frances's fortune: "Your future contains dry bones. Your slow demise begins right when you hold the Queen in 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 towards your murder."
After getting her fortune-teller makes a chilling prediction of her future, Frances becomes obsessed and even starts investigating her own murder before her death. Her great niece Annie gets a summons to go meet her great aunt Frances, however, when she gets there with Aunt Frances's lawyer & his son, and other possible benefactor of Aunt Frances's will, the women herself seemed to be not home.
Frances's last wish was for her relatives to compete to find her killer - winner inherits.

Thank you to NetGalley & Penguin Group Dutton for allowing me to read this book early.

What if you heard a fortune teller predict your own murder? That’s what happened to 16 year old Frances. Then she spent the next 60 years trying to solve her own murder.

3.5

This was such a fun cozy-ish mystery! It has the classic small town British countryside/manor house with a cast of characters that all have their own secrets. There is a dual timeline of sorts, with a second mystery unraveling via journal entries from 1966 and there's tense family relations and a will that guarantees the inheritance goes to the person who can solve the murder.

It's charming and feels cozy without the tweeness of modern cozy mysteries and I loved the twists and turns and secrets that are revealed. I do think there were a couple of rushed reveals at the end that made the ending feel less strong than the rest of the book, but overall I really enjoyed the reading experience here!

I think the set up of Great Aunt Frances collecting dirt on everyone she meets could make for an interesting series, but I'm not sure a series/sequel feels entirely necessary here. That being said, if reviews are positive I could be convinced to check it out.

Annie is an aspiring mystery writer hoping to visit her great Aunt Francis at her country estate. When a murder occurs on the first day of her arrival, she finds herself in a bizarre competition to solve the crime by interviewing villagers and reading a decades-old diary left to her by her aunt.

I liked this one! It had a bit more depth and grit than a lot of the cozy mysteries I've read, but still pulled off that lighter feel. More cozies like this one, please! It was a lot of fun.

This was so fun start to finish. I will say there were definitely a couple plot holes and a few reaches, but I enjoyed myself the whole time. I’m excited to see more from the author!

I was worried at first because it started out a little slow for me but then I was sucked in a few chapters in. The guilty party was never clear to me which is not common for me. I loved it.

I've tried this one multiple times and I just can't get into the writing style and, based on things others have said about it, I don't foresee it getting a high rating if I pushed through.

A well-written mystery with a dual timeline. The story flowed easily between the two timelines with distinct voices. There was a large number of side characters and I did find myself confused from time to time about who was who. I also felt like there were some parts of the main character that seemed off to me (like when she removed evidence from the scene of the crime), but overall I enjoyed the cozy mystery.