The premise behind “How to Solve Your Own Murder” is intriguing, and author Perrin is able to grab the readers attention from the outset.

A dual POV, dual timeline story, this book follows Frances in 1965, who is given a fortune telling reading that says she will be murdered, and Annie in present-day.

I really enjoyed the mystery and don’t want to say too much about the story and give it away. There is a broad cast of characters, and though at times they were difficult to keep straight, they created more complexity and questions for the story.

Although a murder mystery, there is not an overt amount of violence, for those who like mystery but are sensitive to that. I recommend!

Thank you to Dutton, an imprint within Penguin Random House, NetGalley, and the author for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Murder mysteries and family secrets are two components that make up some of the best novels, especially in this case! I absolutely loved this family-based, Clue-like, whodunit! I love that it is set in the country side of a deceased family member's mansion that everyone thought was crazy. It gave off such cozy mystery vibes. I loved it! I highly recommend it! Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

Annie Adams’ Great Aunt Frances is the definition of eccentric. She’s super wealthy (with 40 million pounds plus numerous properties – including the house where Annie and her artist mother live) with a bizarre pursuit: she was told by a fortune teller when she was 17 that she’d be murdered, and she’s spent her life trying to figure who’s going to do it.

Frances has made a change to her will and has summoned Annie and other related parties to reveal the changes. Unfortunately, before Annie meets Frances, her fear becomes true, and she’s killed. The details of the will are then revealed; if Annie can figure out who murdered Frances in a week, she inherits. If not, it’ll go to the other heir (if he figures it out) or to the land developer if the police figure it out. Annie’s got a huge incentive to figure out it, if only to keep her house.

There are a bunch of possible motives for Frances’s death. She had a good friend who disappeared soon after the fortune teller made her prediction. Is Frances’s death tied to it? Frances did a lot of snooping to figure out who her killer might be; is her death tied to that? If so, is it something that happened recently, or did it happen decades ago? And why did she decided to change her will, before even meeting Annie for the first time, after all these years?

I enjoyed this novel. The premise was unique – figure who finally killed someone who was expecting to be killed for 50 + years. There were lots of little details that added to the plot. Annie finds Frances’s journal from 1965; reading it, she gets to know Frances and her friends, many who still live in the same town. It was a neat twist to read about young Walter doing something, for example, then meeting the older Walter at the will reading. Likewise, there were many generations of characters: Walter’s grandson represented the developer; the grandson of another friend was the detective investigating the case. Having the will create a competition of sorts between Annie and the police added an interesting twist giving Annie a reason not to share all with the police.

My one complaint is that Annie’s sections are all written in the present tense, “I snap on a smile,” or “Mr. Gordon takes out his pocket square.” I realize it’s trendy, but it always takes me out of the flow of the story. In this book, I don’t think having the present tense adds anything to it, either.

There’s a hint at the end that this might become a series, the Frances might have solved other murders. I think if it was it would be a huge challenge for Ms. Perrin to come up with a reason for Annie to get involved and to keep the police at arms’ length, but if she does, I look forward to reading it.

Recommended!

I received a copy of this from NetGalley.com that I voluntarily chose to review.

This book is UN-PUT-DOWNABLE!!

I DEVOURED this book in almost one sitting because the writing style was so effortlessly immersive and highly addictive.

The plot was BRILLIANT. I was consistently guessing “whodunnit” until the very end when the killer was revealed. I honestly came close to guessing but was still off the mark when all the puzzle pieces were revealed.

As we follow our MC Annie, we slowly learn of secrets long since (thought) to be forgotten. This is a story of finding the truth, putting together the clues and figuring out what parts everyone plays in this foreboding family. How will a great-niece who is far removed uncover all the secrets and solve a murder? Why was she even chosen to be involved?

A delicious unwinding with heart pounding moments, I seriously found myself trying to speed read just get to the end of the sentence! I resisted the urge of turning to the end to find the killer many times…that is how expertly written and suspenseful this novel is. Immediately yes, I want to read everything by this Author.

Thank you to the publisher Dutton and Penguin Random House LLC for the book in exchange for my honest review.

How To Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin is such a good and fun story! I found it hard to put down and there wasn't a dull moment. I loved trying to solve the murder as well, but of course it wasn't who I suspected in the end. The story was captivating from the very beginning to the end.

The main character Annie is invited to the reading of her great aunt Frances last will and testamant. In which she's sure her great aunt has got it wrong, because they have never met. But her great aunt thinks that Annie is possibly the key to a fortune of her demise that she received decades prior with her best friends.

Frances, with her two best friends, has her fortune told in 1965 which predicts that her future contains 'dry bones' , these two words haunt Frances until the day she dies.

The book is told between the present and flashbacks to 1965/1966 and involves the disappearance of Emily, one of the girls who went with Frances to the fortune teller.

Interesting read but I am always puzzled by how police detectives in books, seem to let people just look at evidence?? Hey ho, I am being picky!

Entertaining and hope to read more by the author

Thank you to Net Galley and Penguin Group Dutton for sharing this absolute treasure of a book with me, several months before its release.
My Nancy Drew-Clue-murder mystery-whodunit little heart soared from start to finish with this book. It was incredibly fun without being so “cozy” it lost its suspense.
This is my second book in a row with the setting being an old estate and honestly, I don’t think I will ever tire of it. The character development was superb and I really hope to read more about our detective gal Annie Adams in future books.
This book was just the escape I was desiring. I might need to read it again here soon.
Publish date is March 26, 2024
5 ⭐️ out of 5

Told in a dual POV, split timeline, anyone who loves books like The Alice Network will find the right book for them in How to Solve Your Own Murder. I found it very enthralling and the kind of mystery that keeps you hooked from the beginning until the end.

My thanks to Netgalley for the ARC of this fun murder mystery.
The writing isn't fantastic, rather colloquial in language, and you won't find a deep exploration of character or setting (the 1960s parts are particularly lacking in veracity) here, let alone lyrical prose. However, the story quickly pulls you in, and before you know it, you're in "just one more chapter" territory. Top that off with plenty of red herrings, potential suspects and a satisfying denouement, and Perrin has delivered a decently addictive read. Perfect for a rainy winter's afternoon.

I knew this was going to be good, based solely on the title. I was not disappointed! As far as murder mysteries go, this one was fast paced and full of details, and was easy to follow. Not predictable like some others in this genre, but every event in the story was connected to the resolution. All loose ends are tied up, and it ends with a positive vibe. Definitely preorder this one if mysteries are your jam!

Okay I have thoughts.

I was really intrigued by Frances' journal entries and thought this really carried everything. But can we stop pretending in novels that it would take multiple days for one person to read a journal to squeeze out feelings of suspense? Or have our heroine put the journal down simply because they are *yawn* too tired to read more than five pages at once!!! Or having a police officer take it but then say okay you can read it? What was that?!

If I were Annie, I'd have read that thing in ONE HOUR. Oh a journal written by the very person who is now deceased and was obsessed with documenting her own murder investigation (AND BEST FRIEND'S). Put that baby on my number one priority list of To Do's in my own personal challenge to solve someone's murder. And also! I would not be traipsing along in a giant house wandering around to see if I happened upon any clues!!!!!! With no agenda or idea of my surroundings! With possible murder suspects at every turn!!! Get out of here.

Maybe my most important note because it aggrieved me deeply- the use of Great Aunt Frances referring to Frances at every turn. Honestly it boiled my blood. Who doesn't shorten this in ones own thoughts to something shorter? Particularly in the case where you have never even met the person, certainly a "Frances" or "Aunt" would do! I found one reference to just Frances at chapter 42 and think it works just fine! please! For the love of god! Change it and shorten this novel by at least 5 pages.

Anyway. I did actually enjoy this a lot, as I said particularly the parts set in the first time frame and Annie was overall not horrible, except for her fainting, and she had some depth, even though I thought Jenny and Laura deserved more page time.

Thanks to Netgalley for the eARC.

I feel so lucky to have been able to get my hands on this book, so thank you to NetGalley and the publisher! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. It only took me so long because I’ve been so busy and I’ve really only been able to make time for audiobooks.

I thought the plot of this book was so well laid out and it kept me guessing until the very last second. I feel like that’s a luxury for so mystery readers because the plot is so often way too predictable. Like, painfully predictable.

Additionally, I loved all of the characters and how they were written. I felt like they all had really unique personalities and compelling stories. They felt like real people, flaws and all, and I think that’s a big reason as to why I enjoyed it as much as I did.

Not to mention, you really get two stories for the price of one because of the intertwined plots of Annie and Frances. I thought the intermingling of the two plot lines was masterfully done, always revealing enough to keep you hooked without either ever outpacing the other or revealing too much. It’s not often I read a book from multiple perspectives and equally enjoy both of them.

I really hope this book sees a lot of success because it’s a really fresh and well played take on a mystery that will keep you invested from start to finish.

This was a really fun read! Definitely gave me Knives Out and Clue vibes, which I really enjoyed.

This book jumps between the words of Frances (through her diary) and Annie (her grand niece), and was done very well and didn't feel gimmicky.

The characters were all well developed and the premise of the book was concise. It was very well-paced and well-written. Definitely a fun mystery!

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC of this book!

This was not what I was expecting - and not in a good way. This book is about this girl, Annie, who receives a letter from her Great Aunt Frances to come see her about her will. Thing is, Frances received a fortune years and years ago telling her she would be murdered, and low and behold, when Annie gets there, she really was murdered - now, she has to race against other people to try and solve the murder first to get her inheritance and bring her justice.

The plot for this book sounds AMAZING, it's a dual pov format - Annie in the present and Frances in the past through her diaries. Although I loved the synopsis when I first stumbled upon it, reading was a very different feeling. There were too many characters and not a single one I connected/cared about. This didn't bring me any excitement, it didn't make me want to pick it up and find out who did it immediately.

The writing was good, but sometimes the pacing was so slow and some explanations and details felt unnecessary to add. Just felt like it the characters could’ve used more development, Annie basically spends the whole book just reading Frances’ diary and when she finally finishes it, she sees the connection and figures it out (which annoyed me, c’mon girlie you're trying to solve a murder faster than the competition, why wouldn't you read the DIARY OF THE VICTIM all in one go????? stop spacing it out!!!).

I think I expected more from this. It was an okay read, slow paced cozy murder mystery, but it could've been way better. At some point after the 30% mark, it just falls flat and it never recovers from it. Frances’ storyline felt more interesting in the beginning too.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read a digital ARC in advance of publication in exchange for an honest review.

First off, thank you to NetGalley and Dutton for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. This mystery didn’t captivate me the way I hoped it would. Many are calling this one “Agatha Christie inspired,” but it simply couldn’t keep my attention. The novel flashes back from present day to the mid 1960s. I found the flashbacks somewhat interesting and I found Francis to be a unique character, but sadly, I still found my mind drifting away from the story.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC of this book!

As with any murder mystery, a reviewer needs to be careful to not give too much away so I’ll try to stick to general information available in the first few pages.

I really enjoyed almost every character and the premise. It was very well-paced and well-written. Additionally, the jumping between the words of Frances (through her diary) and Annie (her grand niece) was done very well and didn’t feel gimmicky.

The only thing I do wish is that the diary read more like a diary (but that’s a common complaint I have for books using a dairy as a plot device).

Personally, I wish I could forget the book and read it again because I did find it quick, enjoyable, suspenseful, and a bit surprising. All the best components of a mystery. Would read this author again.

This was so fun- I was hooked from the first chapter and loved all the characters so much. Plus, great name!

The premise of Kristen Perrin’s HOW TO SOLVE YOUR OWN MURDER is enough to make a devoted mystery reader swoon. Annie Adams, an aspiring mystery writer herself, is summoned to her enigmatic great aunt’s estate. Great Aunt Frances is a superstitious, reclusive woman who has spent her entire life in constant paranoia because of a fortune teller’s ominous words when she was just a teenager. The fortune? That she would herself be murdered.

Of course, that’s precisely what happens - and we follow our amateur sleuth Annie as she rolls up her sleeves to solve her mysterious aunt’s murder.

There are parts of this book that absolutely delight. The nods to the detective-era genre, the red herrings, the descriptions of the small town. Again, swoon-worthy.

And yet, parts of it fall flat for me. The only character I felt a connection with was Frances, and Annie herself seemed almost like a filler. A tenet of detective fiction is that the reader should have access to all the facts that the sleuth does, and I don’t think that held true here. I don’t often say so but I actually think that this book could have been longer. It seemed like it was probably written with a movie in mind.

All that being said, it was a thoroughly readable and fun mystery. And when it is adapted for film, I’ll be very glad to buy some popcorn and tickets.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advance copy in exchange for my entirely honest opinion.

The mystery was satisfying, but the execution lackluster. The book is dual timeline, but the "past" chapters, which are ostensibly a diary, are a drag to get through (they aren't temporally grounded -- when was she writing these entries? Her voice seems very distant and removed, leaking any tension or drama). In the main storyline, the protagonist was flat and nonspecific (yes, there are details we know about her, but I couldn't predict how she would react to things, or feel alongside her). Despite the fact that the story had good plot bones, I doubt I'll be picking up anything else by this author.

Think who dun' it Agatha Christie mixed with The Inheritance Games mixed with Knives Out all together. A fun ride though I wish more time was spent on present day character development versus the past timeline.

Really a quick and good read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishing team for this free ARC in exchange for my honest review.