What a fantastic murder mystery! There is not just one but two murders to solve and I felt like I was playing Clue with the main character, Annie. This book was perfectly paced and I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that I wasn’t immediately able to guess who the murderers were. As soon as I thought I’d figured it out our focus switched to someone else with new information to explore.

The story immediately grips your attention with Frances receiving her life altering fortune that foretells her murder.

“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 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳.”

Frances spends her entire life obsessing over this fortune to the extent that everyone in town thinks she’s a kook. Until she is actually murdered. Having been called to the estate to go over Frances’s will, Annie is there when her body is found and is determined to uncover who her great aunt’s killer was. Using Frances’s own murder board, journal, and documents from investigating her own predicted murder, Annie races against the clock to unravel the mystery in the hopes of not just catching a killer (or killers) but earning her inheritance that will save the town and their own home.
The dual timeline between Frances in the 1960s and Annie present day made this an absolute page turner. I also found Annie to be really intelligent and Frances to be a very lovable character as well. Overall I’d say it was unputdownable!

My first thought after finishing this novel (besides wow!) Was how meloncholy it was. Despite the ends being tied and justice being served it has several deaths and devastated families. This was indeed a family curse.
The fortune that that Francis received at sixteen ruined her life and that of several people around her because she couldn't focus on anything but that. The underdeveloped mind of a young girl latched on and carried it with her until it became a self-fufilling prophecy.

Beyond that, this book was fantastic and had me hooked immediately. It maintains a moderate pace and mystical feel as it shifts between the past and present, connecting the two. The characters of Great Aunt Francis (deceased but definitely still present) and the ecentric mother Laura were a great contrast to Annie. Three generations of women with their own unique gifts and spirits. This book was beautiful just in its creation of female relationships and how the variety and complexity of how they can be. Not only that, but the multi-generational mystery wasn't shabby either!

Annie receives a summons to attend a meeting to discuss estate matters with the rich great-aunt she’s never met. Aunt Frances has been known for decades as the superstitious town eccentric who has been obsessed most of her life with the prediction she received from a tarot card fortune teller at age 17, that foretold her eventual murder. Upon arriving for the meeting, Annie and some others stumble on a horrifying scene: Aunt Frances is prematurely deceased. Now the race is on to solve the mystery that’s been nearly 50 years in the making.

I liked all the characters in this novel very much, especially Annie and the dashing Detective Crane. I absolutely love the mysterious setting, as well! There’s nothing better than a sprawling English manor in the countryside, especially if an intricate cozy mystery is in the works. At the end, the threads were so tangled up that I was positive there was no good way to make it straight again and reveal the solution without some massive plot holes. However… I’m pretty sure Kristin Perrin has done it! The last 25% kind of lost me for a while, but the conclusion got me back where I needed to be. Way to go! This one is a wild ride, and I loved it.

Annie is summoned to her great aunt Francis's estate to solve her murder. Francis was an extremely wealthy widow who, in her will, pitted Annie, Saxton and Oliver, the solicitors grandson against each other to solve the mystery. Detective Crane also had a hand in this. The winner was to be awarded her entire estate.

Francis grew up with two close friends: Rose and Emily. Rose was always on Francis's side, and Emily was an antagonist towards Francis. Although Emily seemed to be always against Francis, Francis had a soft spot for her and spent the remainder of her life trying to solve the mystery of Emily's disappearance. You see, Emily ended up pregnant and gave her baby away. Her baby ended up being Annie's mother, Laura.

The home that Annie and her mother lived in was owned by Francis, and when Annie found several trunks in the basement, she had them shipped to her great aunt. It turns out Emily's dead body was found in one of the trunks. So Annie tasked herself to solve both Francis's and Emily's murders.

So this story is about Annie's process, and the fact that Saxton set her up so that he could inherit. She put her life on the line and, at Saxton's bidding, was almost killed.

I really liked the author's juxtaposition between Annie and Saxton. Annie wanted to play fair, but Saxton was devious. All he could see was the money. In all actuality, he didn't even like or care about Francis. Although Annie had never met her, she developed a love and respect for her. And then there was Oliver. All he wanted to do was raze the property and put in a golf course or some such thing.

I was quite pleased with this book. I gave it five stars.

This story has it all! Great lead character who has a chance at getting a fortune and fabulous estate from a relative she’s never met if she solves the mystery that has been foretold for decades. Super imaginative twists. Give yourself time if you start this- it’s my favorite page turner this year! Great ending thank goodness.

The only way to describe this book is that halfway through the book I just had this sudden thought that this would be an EXCELLENT Wes Anderson movie. The thought is purely based on vibes, there is no real way to describe it besides that.

Frances at 17 gets read her fortune and spends her adult life trying to figure out the puzzle pieces of the riddle that she was given by the fortune teller. Fast forward to the present to Annie, Frances' great niece, finding out that she has been included in great aunt Frances will even though the two have never met. After Frances' death, Annie is pitted against other members of her family who know Frances better in a race to find out who murdered her great aunt.

I found that in a book like this there is going to be a lot of character bias from the main characters POV. There is nothing wrong with that at all. Annie's character bias made sense. It was her first time meeting most of those people and the majority of her thoughts about people were mostly based on what she felt would motivate them to commit murder. The dual POV kept me so interested and on edge, just hoping for more of Frances' teen years and her adventures.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the characters quite a bit and the mystery and the twist definitely kept me interested. I even didn't mind the back and forth from the past to the present, which sometimes I find tiresome. Although, I did find myself enjoying Frances' timeline more than Annie's.

I loved the premise of this book, although I do think the title is a little misleading. The story ended up not being what I expected, although I still found it to be a good story. I do wish some things had been explained more, like why Frances felt such a strong connection to Emily after she disappeared that Frances became obsessed with the fortune teller's prediction, and <spoiler>how Rose went up to kill Emily when she was supposed to be playing Frances for Frances' mother.</spoiler> I thought the mystery was intriguing enough that I kept thinking about it even after I had set the book down. I had all the clues the protagonist did (except actually seeing the pictures) and I still hadn't figured out who had killed Frances.

I thought it was genius of the author to give these obscure clues in the fortune which Frances sought out to find "the right daughter" so she could have justice after her murder. But, it was difficult for me to imagine Frances after she was a teenager (after the diary) if she was so obsessed with this fortune. I don't know how anyone could have stood being around her. That part might have been a little too over the top for me.

The ending was a good wrap-up. I hope there will be a sequel; I would love to read more about the residents of Castle Knoll.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC of this book. All opinions expressed within are my own.

Annie Adams receives a mysterious letter from her great aunt Frances (also Annie's benefactor) summoning her to the estate. When Frances winds up dead, it is unclear whether it was murder, and if so, who did it. The story bounces back and forth between Frances's own teenage years, when she received a fortune that she would be murdered, and Annie's attempts to figure out her great aunt's death. I *wanted* to love this book, which seemed right up my alley -- marketed to fans of Knives Out and Thursday Murder Club. But I just didn't enjoy it quite as much. Some of the story lines don't full tie out, and others seem frivolous. The writing felt a bit young at times - almost like this was a YA. Overall it kept my attention and I was intrigued to find out what happened to all of the characters, but it wasn't quite the cozy mystery I was craving.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy -- look for this at a local bookshop near you in March 2024!

Thank you to Dutton and NetGalley for this ARC! As someone who leans more toward thrillers versus classic “mystery” stories I didn’t know how I’d feel about this one but man I was so pleasantly surprised at this one. Great writing, lovable characters, a cozy setting, and I genuinely had no idea who did the crimes until it was revealed. I want more of these folk in this town!! Will be recommending this one to all my mystery lovers!

I thought this was a great idea for a book, A woman lets a psychic reading totally take over her life as she prepares for it to come true. The characters were interesting and the setting delightful. Unfortunately the book didn't seem to go anywhere for long stretches of time. I kept waiting for something to happen. By the middle I was bored and was not as interested. Great plot, but in the end it just didn't compel me to read it.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for this eARC!
I give this book a good 3.5 maybe 4 stars it was a good read! The pacing at the beginning for me was a little hard to get through but as soon as the mystery started to pick up it was fairly easy to finish. Some of the dialogue in the "now" chapters confused me and I found I couldn't really attach much to the characters there unlike the journal chapters. Frances' chapters were ones I absolutely ADORED reading it was so interesting reading about her, Rose's, Ford and Emily's dynamics and those chapters really made the book come alive, a big strength of this book were those journal entries. The ending was a tiny bit lackluster but I enjoyed nontheless, didn't expect it at all, a fun start to my October reads!

A fun, pacy novel with a fabulous premise. It raises the question--does a fortune teller predict the future, or influence future outcomes with her prediction? And does that really matter, when you've got such delightful characters as Frances and her great-niece, Annie on the case?

How to Solve Your Own Murder is full of intrigue and red herrings, suspicious individuals and eccentric locals, with a lovely family story at its heart. I can see Annie (and Frances) in many future adventures.

How To Solve Your Own Murder follows Annie Adams as she is unknowingly thrust into a real life murder mystery. After receiving notice from her great aunt Frances informing her that she was now the heir to her fortune, and requesting she comes to her estate, great aunt Frances is found dead in her library. When her will is read, Annie and the others called to the meeting find out that great aunt Frances knew she was going to be murdered and the person who solves her murder within the week will inherit her fortune or it will be sold to developers. Annie must race against the clock to try to solve her great aunt Frances’ murder and save the estate from being sold.

The story jumps between timelines: present day with Annie trying to solve the murder and Frances’ teenage years in the 1960s described in her journal. It’s as if the reader is reading the journals along with Annie and getting to know Frances right along with her, helping Annie, and the reader, feel a connection to Frances.

This was a very enjoyable book to read. The writing and storytelling were great and I found all the characters to be likable. Each time I thought I had solved the case, there was something that made me change my mind and suspect someone else. I was completely surprised by the ending!

I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a good murder mystery.

Book: How To Solve Your Own Murder
Author: Kristen Perrin
Publisher: Penguin Group Dutton
Pub Date: March 24, 2024

Francis, Emily and Rose live in Castle Knoll and on February 10, 1966 they visit a fortune teller and she tells Francis her future contains dry bones. In a year’s time the girls have drifted apart and one of the girls has disappeared….and it wasn’t Francis. Fast forward to present time and Francis has called for her great niece Annie to be present for the reading of her wishes at the time of her death. But before they can speak with Francis they find she has been murdered. I struggled with this one. I loved the plot. It seemed different from anything else I had read but I was so bored with it. The book moved so slow. The author just didn’t deliver on the story. It’s told in a dual timeline and I had a hard time keeping up with all of the characters. The story alternates between Frances’s diary in 1965 and present day Annie trying to solve Frances murder. I really did enjoy the diary excerpts. At first I cared about who killed Frances and then it took so long to get to the clues that I found I really didn’t care who killed her. I skipped a whole bunch to get to the end and didn’t feel like I missed out on anything.

Thank you Penguin Group Dutton and NetGalley for this sneak peak! Publication date is March 24, 2024.

WOW!!!! ALL THE STARS (and then some more) to this AMAZING book!!!!

How To Solve Your Own Murder was sooooooo captivating, that it was hard to stop myself from continuously thinking about it. The story grabbed my attention from the very beginning and it did not disappoint.

You get mystery, red herrings, family drama, interesting and well developed characters, top-notch writing and a unique plot that will keep you guessing till the very last page.

In 1965, Frances receives a twisty fortune that tells her she will be murdered. She then spends her entire life trying to solve the crime before it happens. Unfortunately, the fortune comes true, so Annie, her estranged great-grandniece and Saxon, her late husband's nephew, are tasked with solving her murder instead. It's a competition that will reward her incredibly massive fortune to whoever wins it.

The plot alternates between Frances' point-of-view, being shown through exerts from her journal entries, and Annie's current observations. The end result is a beautifully woven tale that will keep you on your toes, as you will get to know all the gossip and small-town drama about the residents of Castle Knoll, and will start wondering who the guilty party is. I'm telling you, this was a fuuuuun ride!

This was a well written mystery and I will be recommending it to everyone I can think of.

I'd like to thank Netgalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

How to Solve Your Own Murder would make an AMAZING movie or show! This book had me hooked from Chapter 1. The twists and turns the author makes keeps this book interesting. Will be pushing our library to purchase this for our collection.

What a fun surprise this book was! In 1965, a fortune teller at a country fair gives seventeen year old Frances a chilling and terrible fortune that sounds more like a curse, and after 60 years living in paranoia, the fortune finally comes true with Frances' murder. But Frances was canny, keeping track of clues and secrets over the years which might just solve her own murder, if her newly unemployed, aspiring author great niece can put the pieces of the puzzle together in time.

This book was a lot of fun, with plenty of 60s throwbacks through diary entries, a quirky cast of small town characters, and a compelling mystery. The pacing is brisk and breezy, and the writing is clear and engaging. My quibbles over details are small and few - a slight inconsistency or two. And a powerful man in his twenties pursues and toys with teenage girls who are impressed by his status and wealth, but never really gets called out for being the creep that he is. Luckily there was so much else to like about this book that it didn't substantially affect my enjoyment.

I blazed through this book quickly because I couldn't wait to see what woukd happen next. I could easily see this being a mystery series - cozy, but not cutesy. I had a great time reading it!

I'm thankful to the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

This book reminded me of old mystery movies and tv shows, where mysterious circumstances happen and you’re tasked with figuring out who is the killer.

Annie is a writer who is summoned to her great aunt’s home for a meeting. Her great aunt Frances ends up murdered before the meeting takes place. Frances had changed her will and whoever solves her murder gets the inheritance.

I liked the intermingling of the diary entries with present day as Anne solves the mystery. It was a little long and dragged a bit, but the story was decent. I do hope there is some editing because the switching between Great Aunt Frances and France was driving me bonkers by about 60% of the way through. Just pick one and stick with it! It was distracting, because no one says Great Aunt in front of a name so many times in a single dialogue with someone else.

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

There seems to be so many books coming out with titles like “how to solve a murder”, but this one was so incredibly fresh that it’s worth reading. We follow Annie who is summoned by her Great Aunt Francis (who she’s never met) to come to Gravesdown manor about an inheritance. But as so often happens, once she gets there, a murder happens. Once the murder happens and the will is read I was very surprised by the rest of the set up (which I won’t say here though I don’t think it’s a spoiler) and from there I really enjoyed it. It felt like Agatha Christie meets old (and more concise) Kate Morton.

We follow two timelines, Annie’s as she tries to solve Aunt Francis’s murder, and one in the 1960s where we follow a younger aunt Francis and her friends as tries to navigate her young adult life. Francis has received a fortune telling her she will be murdered, which also becomes a major focus of her life. This book is full of complicated and interesting characters in a wonderful setting—the village of Castle Knoll. It is the country house mystery refreshed for the modern audience. Definitely recommend picking this book up when it comes out in March 2024.

I was really interested in the premise of the book but unfortunately this didn’t feel like it delivered. The writing felt heavy handed and the ending wasn’t satisfying as a reader. I did enjoy getting to live in two different worlds throughout the book!