How to Solve Your Own Murder is a cozy murder mystery set in a small town. There were a couple of twists that I didn't see coming and caused me to gasp out loud at work! I loved that it was set in a small town where everyone knows everyone and that Frances knew everyone's secrets. Reading from Frances old diary entries was my favorite part. It was a little difficult for me to keep track of everyone because I felt like I had to keep track of who's everyone family was. I did enjoy the ending of the book but I felt like there were too many assumptions about how the murder occurred.
Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Group Dutton for the ARC!

Somewhere between 3.75 -4 stars

I would describe this book as a cozy-adjacent mystery. The story takes place in 2 timelines, one in the form of journal entries from when the great-aunt was a teenager, and then in the present following the great-aunt's murder. I thought this was a fun concept for a book. It reminded me a little bit of the movie Knives Out, with the murder of a wealthy family member, and a cast of suspicious characters.
I was super invested in this book throughout the first half. I enjoyed the journal entries and how they connected to the present. I also liked how you were introduced to all the characters from the past - guessing who everyone was and figuring out where they ended up was interesting.
This book started to lose me a little bit around halfway through, however. I felt like the plot wasn't really moving forward and the mc was starting to annoy me. The "regular person can solve a crime better than a trained detective" trope is not one of my favorites. The mc was constantly putting herself in danger and got annoyed when the detective told her it was a bad idea.
I did feel like the book pulled me back in right at the end and tied everything up nicely. If you're a fan of lighter murder mysteries and mysterious families with lots of secrets you might enjoy this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton for the ARC!

"How to Solve Your Own Murder" revolves around Annie Adams, thrust into an unexpected inheritance after being named the sole benefactor in the will of her previously unknown rich great aunt, Frances. The catch – Frances is murdered before they can even meet. Frances, fixated throughout her life on a fortune predicting her murder and enduring mockery for this superstition, decides to prove a point and leaves behind a challenge: whoever solves her murder will inherit her vast estate. Annie finds herself in a race against time, competing with both her uncle and a detective, to find out who did it, a challenge further complicated by the many potential suspects who disliked Frances and may not want the murder to be solved.

Intrigued by the premise and drawn in by references to Knives Out and Agatha Christie in the blurb, I found the book to be a fun and fast read. The story is told through two timelines, Frances's in the 1960's and Annie's in the present time. I liked how the timelines were intertwined, and you could see how Castle Knoll's residents changed over time. I do still find it somewhat implausible that Frances was so convinced the fortune was true, and I kept waiting to find out why she was so certain, but ultimately accepted the fact that the belief was an aspect of her nature (and also needed for the plot).

The story is fast-paced, and I was hooked and wanted to keep reading to find more details. The abundance of twists, turns, suspects, and motives, however, made it challenging to keep track of the intricate plot. I didn't love the writing style, which felt very simplistic, and the dialogue between characters also felt odd and occasionally distracting. Despite a large cast of characters, the characters lacked depth and didn't feel real. Annie and Frances read the same to me, which may have been intentional, but it further led to the characters falling flat.

Despite these drawbacks, the reveal was ultimately satisfying, and I feel like if I did a reread I would notice the subtle clues incorporated throughout the book. Thank you Penguin Group Dutton for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

How to Solve Your Own Murder was very cozy mystery set in a small town. It gave off Clue game vibes and a whodunit plot line. I really like Annie and her dedication to solving the mystery. 2 timelines and POVs. I really enjoyed this book!

This was my first advanced reader copy book from NetGalley and it was a good one. The book puts it take on a classic murder mystery tale and asks the questions, if someone predicted your murder could you solve it before it happened? Such an interesting concept and it was well written! I could see this becoming a really good movie one day!

I absolutely loved this book! I couldn't put it down. I found it to be very easy to relate to the MC and I definitely never saw the ending coming!

Intriguing and immediately immersive mystery with memorable characters, great sense of place, and a unsolved disappearance from long ago.

4 stars!!
What I Thought About the Book:
I enjoyed this cozy mystery! This book was a whodunit murder mystery with Agatha Christie vibes. The book was engaging from beginning to end. I had no clue who did what in the end. But a side note: I am not very good at solving murder mysteries.

Read If You Like:
Cozy Mystery
Fast-paced read
Dual Timeline
Agatha Christie Vibes

Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton publishing for providing me

Kristen Perrin’s debut is a very enjoyable mystery. The dual timeline aspect of the novel, Frances in 1965-6 and Annie in the present, works really well to propel the story along.

As the story progresses, even more mysteries are unveiled. There is a large cast of characters, spanning 3 generations of several families, which I admit did get me confused once or twice, but I was eventually able to keep them straight.

I think most fans of a cozy mystery or Agatha Christie-esque mysteries will enjoy this. This book is set up as the first book in a series, and I will definitely be interested in reading the next installment.

What a cozy whodunit with an amateur sleuth, who is an aspiring murder mystery writer! Think a game of Clue with some spice of Knives Out mixed in. Pieces of the puzzle were given throughout; only enough to keep you guessing though. It would be a fun one to discuss with a book club. If Perrin happens to write more, I would happily keep reading and hope that some of the side characters might be developed along the way.

This is without a doubt, my favorite murder mystery I have ever read! I was getting cozy "Knives Out" and "Clue" vibes.

60 years before the story takes places, a 17 year old Frances, is given a fortune that outlines her "inevitable" murder., causing paranoia for all the years to come. Fast forward to present day, when our main protagonist, Annie, is summoned by her estranged Great Aunt Frances to her estate, just in time to play a game in solving her mysterious murder.

With an inheritance on the line, Annie has to now dive deep into France's past and uncover secrets from a disappearance that happened 60 years ago, in order to solve her Great Aunt's murder. This is the type of murder mystery that will keep you on the edge of your seat the entire time. I felt like I was playing the "game" alongside Annie and uncovering the clues with her piece by piece.

“Oh, you joke, but this would make a good one! Like Clue, but you have to solve a fortune-teller’s puzzle to beat your friends to an inheritance. But you’re all also guilty of a secret crime, and—”

"I'm a contestant in Great Aunt France's murder games"

"It was character building, but I think my character is fully formed now"

As this book kicks off, Annie travels to her mysterious great-aunt Frances's house and ends up having to solve a present-day and a past murder. I had a hard time finding my way into the story. It was pretty slow to start and there were so many character introductions. There are people only in the past, only in the present, and many who are in both whose past and present selves need to be reconciled.

It took a few times of me picking it up again, but by halfway through I loved Frances and Annie both and wished I was there in the house walking around and holding the clues physically. I almost felt like I was! I still think of the people and the house fondly several days after finishing reading. I think future books in the series will benefit from the cast already being introduced in this one and I'm ready to read them. Too bad they haven't been written yet!

The book follows Annie, who, summoned to her great aunt Frances' estate, finds her deceased instead. Frances, obsessed with a teenage fortune-telling prediction of her murder, collected information throughout her life to solve the crime. As Annie delves into the mystery, she unravels the town's secrets and suspicious characters while reflecting on the legacy left behind by her aunt. The story provides a compelling and captivating introduction to the town of Castle Knoll and sets the stage for potential future mysteries.

my kind of cozy mystery! the story reminds me of the only one left by Riley Sager but within a complicated family / town dynamic. thanks NetGalley for the advanced copy!

I liked this book a lot and I did not figure it out! It is always nice when a book makes you say "No Way!" at the end. I hear it is going to be a series and will absolutely read book two and see where the characters go. I will probably see the movie when it is available, of course the book will always be the better choice. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC and well done Kristen Perrin!

I love a good murder mystery and this one did not disappoint. Annie has to solve the mystery of her Great Aunts death in order to keep her inheritance. This book was a lot of fun to read, had me guessing until the end I don’t know how many times I changed my mind on who-done-it. Great book!

Honestly overall really enjoyed this book. It’ involves a small town mystery. I loved the different POVs and trying to figured out the ending along with the characters!

A dueling timeline and a double murder set in the English countryside. Great Aunt Frances gets a dismal fortune while a teen and spends the rest of her life trying to decipher it. When she turns up dead, it is up to her niece Annie to figure out who did it. Was it the cook in the kitchen, the gardner in the roses, the lawyer in the library, the vicar at the church? I found this a fun read that had enough mystery to keep me intrigued to the very end. It didn't end the way I thought but it all came together to make sense. 4 out of 5!

I would like to thank Net Galley for providing me with the ARC for this book! I read the first 75% of this book in one sitting, because I could not put it down. It's great for fans of Knives Out and Agatha Christie, or anyone who wants a lighthearted murder mystery to read.

I loved the way this book is set up with the dual POV, and you are learning about the characters as the main character is. My only problem with this book is that sometimes the character's dialogue felt a little far fetched, but it was still overall a great read!

4 stars. Was difficult to keep all the characters straight even towards the end. But overall really liked it and enjoyed the format of the dual timelines. Would read more by this author.