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.

How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin is a cozy mystery that had its moments, but it didn’t fully deliver for me. The story centers around Annie, who gets involved in solving her great-aunt’s suspicious death after being named in her will, and it’s packed with family secrets and a hint of the supernatural. While the plot had potential, the pacing felt a bit slow, and I wasn’t as hooked as I hoped to be. The characters were okay, but they didn’t feel as fleshed out or engaging as I expected for a mystery like this. I kept waiting for the “fun” to show up, but it never quite hit the mark. The twists weren’t as surprising, and the story dragged a bit in places. That said, it wasn’t a bad read, just not as captivating as I wanted it to be. For me, it’s a solid 3 stars—enjoyable at times but could’ve been better.

How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristin Perrin is an immensely fun and quirky mystery centered around Frances Adams, who spends her life trying to prevent a foretold murder, only to be proven right nearly sixty years later when she’s found dead in her sprawling country estate. The plot kicks off in 1965 when a teenage Frances is given a chilling prophecy by a fortune-teller, and she spends the rest of her life digging up secrets to prevent her demise. In the present day, her great-niece Annie arrives at Frances’s estate, determined to solve the mystery, only to find a village full of eccentric characters, each with their own potential motive. While the premise is wonderfully imaginative and the early chapters build an engaging atmosphere of suspense, the story ultimately doesn’t live up to its potential. The pacing sometimes falters, and the ending, while satisfying in some ways, doesn’t quite deliver the payoff expected from such an inventive setup. It’s an enjoyable, fast-paced read with charm and clever twists, but the conclusion feels somewhat underwhelming compared to the ambitious premise.

I definitely wanted to like this one more than I did. It was a super interesting premise but the book itself was pretty slow paced and didn’t keep me super engaged. Perhaps it wasn’t the right time for me and this book but it just wasn’t for me. I could see this being a hit with others though.

Thank you publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishing Company for providing me this Digital Advanced Readers Copy of the book!

While it took me a bit to get into it, I really enjoyed this book and did actually enjoy the pacing of it all by the end. This was a cozy mystery and really gave me Clue vibes! The characters were entertaining, the atmosphere really sucked you in, loved it!

Wow. What started out as a slower read for me quickly turned into a fast-paced, exciting, and also cozy whodunnit that I ended up loving. I’m truly so excited that this book is becoming a series, as I will definitely be reading the second one! I love a book with a dual timeline, connecting the two in a unique way (makes me think of the way Fiona Davis writes), and while this novel has a large cast of characters, I never found the plot difficult to follow. Major plus there.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for this digital review copy!

4.5/5 stars

This book was amazing. I found myself hooked on the alternating timelines. This book was a great escape and adventure.

This book was hard to get into and find interesting. Very slow paced. I would not recommend. The story just couldn't seem to go anywhere. A small town mystery for sure. I can see how some may love it. But it wasn't for me.

🥀🥀🥀 / 5

thank you to NetGalley and Dutton for access to the ARC!

quick thoughts:
🕵🏻‍♀️ granddaughter tries to find her grandmother’s killer
🔎 whodunnit mystery
🔥 slow burn
✍🏼 multiple POVs, dual timelines
🤷🏻‍♀️ might recommend to mystery lovers

i was excited for this book because it seemed right up my alley! however, i wasn’t expecting the slow burn or the huge cast of characters in both timelines. i had to set this one aside at 30% because it wasn’t holding my attention. however, once i gained access to the audiobook, i was more invested. i ended up enjoying this one on audio and following Annie’s POV, as she was a great protagonist.

This book is full of teasers, starting with the title. Then the cover synopsis, how could you not read this one? A unique story line full of characters that are just a little crazy at times. As a teenager, when Frances receives a prediction of her murder, she goes just a little overbaord in her method of solving/preventing her murder. She keeps a detailed journal of her interactions with EVERYONE in her life. When she really is murdered......60 years later.......the story takes on a life of it's own. This was an entertaining read that keep me engrossed as Frances' murder investigation gets more and more twisted. Great premise, great characters, great story.