This Agatha Christie-ish whodunnit (British village, mysterious great aunt, fortunes!) had me hooked from the start. Who doesn't have a crazy relative (like Annie's mother OR Great Aunt, so many to choose from)? I'm a fan of British Mystery shows and Midsomer would be proud of this one. I'll be sure this joins our library's collection and I will talk it up to other mystery-lovers.
Thanks for the opportunity.

Really enjoyed this book, beginning with the cover! The premise drew me in--the murder victim, Frances Adams, learned 60 years ago that she would be murdered and spent the rest of her life trying to solve a crime that hadn't yet happened. Once it does, the victim's great niece, Annie, takes up the quest to find out who was responsible.

How to Solve Your Own Murder takes place in a small English village and could properly be described as a cozy mystery, with a lot of humor and wonderful character development. I'm really hoping we see Annie in future adventures! I also really enjoyed the flashbacks into Frances' life and how the murder prediction really warped all of her relationships in her community.

A fresh take on the genre, and I am definitely looking forward to more from this author!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a light story about a woman who visits a fortune teller as a teenager, where her murder is predicted. Sixty years later it happens after she becomes a very wealthy eccentric. Her niece who never met her is tasked with solving the murder, involving a varied cast of characters.

Annie lives with her Artist mother in London. She was recently made redundant at her job so she is taking some time off to try to become a murder mystery writer. Imagine her surprise when she receives a summons from her great aunt Frances, whom she has never met, to come to the English countryside to discuss her inheritance. Annie appears for the meeting when she and the other potential heirs receive quite a shock. Now they are in a race against time to uncover the answer to a real mystery or risk being disinherited….or perhaps worse?

The whole time I was reading this book I was thinking, “is this YA? It reads like it’s YA.” And in the Afterword I discovered that it either is YA or began its life that way. So, if it’s YA, it’s pretty good. If it’s not YA it’s far too juvenile for an adult mystery. Annie takes far too many crazy risks and the bad guy is a bit too obvious. But for a YA romp it’s a bit of fun and the shifts back in time are the most enjoyable pats of the book. Recommended.

What a fabulous read.

Very Knives Out meets Agatha Christie. I'm generally not a fan of "locked room" style mysteries, but this was very well done.

The dual time-lines were very interesting, though I did have a little trouble keeping characters straight with grandfather/father/son lines woven through both.

Annie is a delightful character as is Frances. Lots of secrets and twists everywhere. It was a little hard keeping track of all of the secrets, but that's more of a compliment than complaint.

There's very little graphic description of violence, it steers away from what's become cliché romance arcs, and there's zero sex or foul language (I personally have no issue with foul language, but I know many do).

Very well done. I'd give this a 4.5 stars. There were some parts where I felt the story was dragged out unnecessarily and maybe there could be a little less secrets to keep track of, but overall it was a wonderful story.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book!

hank you Netgalley for sending me the ARC of this book.

I went in to this book with high hopes. The premise was interesting and something I’ve never heard of before- a psychic predicting your own murder and then spending the rest of your life trying to solve it before it actually happens? That was the big sell for me in choosing to read it. The great premise and decent writing had me in the beginning, but things slowly dropped off from there, unfortunately.

The pacing on the book was the biggest issue for me- it seemed to take too long to get to any clues, and the flashbacks didn’t help with the story much either. They were too long with too little information.

I also think some of the dialogue was a little forced, and making our female MC alternate between fainting and solving pieces of the murder with seemingly no rhyme or rhythm was a little strange.

Overall, it was ok, but it could have packed a bit more punch.

I really loved this book a lot.

I really liked the way the authors chose to do the dual POV with the present viewpoint of the present character with looking into the past through journal entries.

It was a little bit of Knives Out and Agatha Christie all wrapped into one. A great little whodunit and I was really sad when it was over. I enjoyed all the characters, even the ones that weren’t all that likable (on purpose).

It never got boring and it really kept me reading. There are some mystery books that get slow in certain parts and it’s hard to pick them back up, but I looked forward to reading this one! It kept me guessing until the end and I usually, sadly, figure most of these mystery books out before I’m even halfway these days. Kristen wrote this so cleverly! It really kept me engaged.

Something else I really appreciated was there were no scenes that were irrelevant, no romances, no curse words…everything stayed in line with the plot and there were not distractions.

I enjoyed the way the characters were written and how the author gave us enough clues to follow along with Annie to try and solve the case.

The only complaint I had was connecting all the family and friends and how they were interconnected. It was a little confusing to me for a while. I eventually caught on, but it took a bit.

It was a really fun read and I look forward to future books written by Kristen Perrin!

thank you to negalley and penguin group for this beautiful arc!! it was such an honor to be granted this masterpeice as my first ever arc aaaaaaaaa <3


final rating: 4 stars!
it's the 1960's, and teenage frances adams has just received a chilling fortune:
"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."

and from that moment on, frances becomes obsessed with solving her murder. but alas, she isn't able to catch her killer before she meets her untimely death, and now, 60 years later, her great-niece annie must rise up to take frances's reins. will she be able to solve the mystery of her great aunt's death before the killer comes after her, too?

how to solve your own murder was a delightful surprise - once i started reading it, i simply could not get through it fast enough. it had a grip on me early on; never once was it boring. in fact, i found myself skimming through the pages sometimes just so i could figure out the mystery quicker. i rather enjoyed annie's character, but honestly? i was much more interested in frances and her story. sorry not sorry.

the characters were all written beautifully, and the pacing was perfect in my opinion. the writing was a bit too simple, however it made it all the more enjoyable to read. also, the plot was a little bit predictable on my end... but that might not be the case for everyone! and guys, don't get me started on the setting!!!!! i am such a sucker for castles like 😭😭 it was perfect.

so yeah! this was a really good mystery!! definitely deserves 4 stars, watch out for this book in march 2024! you won't be disappointed. 👀

While the murder mystery plot seemed solid, I just couldn't care about the characters enough to finish the book. I found the characters shallowly developed and unengaging.

I really liked this one! I enjoyed the dual timeline/solve the mystery as you watch the original events unfold format, and really liked the addition of the fortune as the backbone of the story. The writing was engaging and the characters were well crafted to draw you in and make you question everyone's motives and capacity for truth. The way it ended made me wonder if there might be a series in this, and I hope so because I would definitely read a second book. I found this one to be delightful!

I enjoyed How to Solve Your Own Murder quite a bit. I found the dual timelines intriguing and multiple mysteries fun to try to solve along with the main character. At times, I had to check back to remember who was who because you’re dealing with characters in the present and their parents or grandparents in the past. Overall, it is a strong mystery with lots of clues that let you play detective along with the characters. Thanks to the publisher for the advanced copy through NetGallery.

The thing I love about mysteries is the puzzle of figuring out who did the deed. This book pulled that off extremely well. The author left a trail of hints and unsavory characters that had me trying to figure it out from the very beginning. I loved the back and forth between the present and the past with the inclusion of Francis' journal from her youth, and that there were indeed two mysteries that needed to be solved. There was an inherent creepiness to the setting and characters that continued until the end. My only criticism was the main character. Based on her development, I couldn't quite believe in the courage she found to do the risky things she did to solve the case. However, I would definitely recommend this to anyone who loves a good whodunit! I couldn't put this down!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book!

Decent Christie-style murder mystery with an interesting plot. With dual timelines and a variety of characters, I felt the plot got a little lost and frantic. By the end I felt I just rushed through as it loss some of the mounting tension that pulled me in in the beginning. Would definitely recommend to lovers of Agatha Christie and murder mysteries in general. #howtosolveyourownmurder #kristenperrin #netgalley #goodreads

I'm struggling here. There are no serious flaws, it's strongly written, it's occasionally captivating, it has a terrific sense of a classicish kind of whodunit about it. Yet. It didn't make my socks roll up and down in any tangible way.

How to Solve Your Own Murder was the perfect cozy mystery for fans of The Thursday Murder Club! The characters were all wonderfully written, especially the protagonist Annie. The plot was intriguing and kept my attention throughout the whole book. I wish we got a little bit more about the murderer but even despite that I thoroughly enjoyed this book!

This was really good! If you enjoyed Knives Out or Clue, this is right up your alley.

The book begins with a sinister psychic reading given to Francis where she's told that one day she will be murdered. Frances then spends her entire life trying to figure out who will commit her murder. When it finally happens years later, her niece Annie is given the task of finding the killer. She uses all the clues her aunt has left her and what ensues is a really fun whodunnit mystery.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Group Dutton for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Loved this mystery. The back and forth between present time and the past worked really well. The characters were interesting and well developed. I didn’t foresee the ending but it all made sense when it played out.

I first want to thank Netgalley and Penguin Group for this ARC. I was so excited to receive it as my first! I'm giving this book a solid 3.8 - rounded to 4.

Frances Adams receives a fortune at a county fair that she becomes obsessed with avoiding for the rest of her life. She is unable to avoid her fate and her great niece Annie Adams is set on a task to find her killer. Fans of "Knives Out" will like this murder mystery. It also reminded me alot of an Agatha Christie novel.

What I liked: This book has two timelines and two POV - you have me at either of those so having both was plus for me. Both POV characters, Annie and Frances were enjoyable to read. At times I found I enjoyed Frances' storyline more than Annie's but I didn't find myself grudgingly reading either. I would describe myself as an avid thriller/mystery reader as it is consistently my most read genre. I can say I didn't guess this one!

What lacked for me: I had a hard time with the amount of characters/familial ties in this book. With that being said, everything was tied up nicely and I wasn't left confused. I like to try to guess while i'm reading so maybe that's why it was a negative for me...but at one point I actually made a little bit of a family tree to try to keep everyone straight. Additionally - while I love that I didn't guess the ending...I didn't particularly like the ending. I thought it seemed rushed and I just didn't find the motive that compelling.

Overall though this was a fun read and I will be suggesting it!

Dual timelines and dual murder, all centered on a fortune told to a teenage girl in the sixties that she will one day be murdered. This was the perfect mystery for all ages with just the right amount of humor and emotion. Reminiscent of Clue, this story gives you each eccentric character and their backstory making you guess who did it. I enjoyed this way more than I thought I would. Between the setting, the diary entries taking you back in time, and the story slowly giving you small pieces of the puzzle as it goes, this was highly addicting. I definitely recommend it to all. Four Stars.

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Group Dutton for this ARC.

This was such a fun, perfect mystery. Quirky characters, a small town full of mystery, an old diary, two time periods coming together, a fortune to unfold…. I highly recommend and hope this is the beginning of a series. Seemed like lots of seeds planted for more drama in Annie’s future.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for the early copy!