There’s nothing inherently wrong with this, but it just feels unnecessary and a big repetitive. Rather than a fresh mystery it just seemed to rehash things mentioned in book one for a very long time with the same people - not many (not any?) new characters. I enjoyed book one a lot and was a bit disappointed it turned out to be a series because I couldn’t imagine where we’d go from there, but I gave it a try.

Not sure I’ll pick up book 3, but we will see. The cover art is so good it’s hard not to 😆

Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton for the eARC!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a copy to review.

I loved the first book in this series but could not see how they were going to continue the storyline but Kristen Perrin did, and did it well. I can’t decide which MC I like better - the modern heiress or the ancestor who lived one hell of life (and I think we are only into her early 20s). I related to the character’s internal struggle between letting it go and never giving up - it’s hare to live, laugh, love when you place such a high value on justice. I like the supporting characters and I have 2 main thoughts. Everyone needs a best friend that loves fashion but will also drop everything to run through the woods with you to get away from people chasing you. My other thought is that this is one of the slowest of slow burn, maybe they will but maybe they won’t, torture. Like come on . . . . Every girl needs someone to snuggle with at night in your giant estate that can also fight the evil doers with you. Love it! 4.5

After successfully solving the mystery of who murdered her great aunt, Annie has settled into life as the new owner of Gravesdown manor. Life of a large historical manor seems a bit sleepy at first until a chance encounter with the famed fortune teller Peony sets Annie off on a new investigation.

Thanks as always netgalley for the digital arc (that I’m horribly delayed in reviewing). After reading the first book in this series I wasn’t so sure I’d love this one but I figured I’d read and find out. I have discovered cozy mysteries in general just aren’t for me. I find them too sleepy and this one in particular, convoluted. The jumping between past and present with so many different characters just didn’t work for me and I struggled to get through, or really care what happened. The perfectly neat ending just doesn’t spark joy for me so this one was ultimately a miss.

This story has two timelines that play on the current mystery that Annie Adams is trying to solve. It is not truly a dual timeline story as the 1967 bits are told more as flashbacks. I do wonder if I would have enjoyed this book more if I had read book 1 first. It felt like this book might have picked up right after (or at least soon after) the ending of book 1. I feel like we did get enough recap to know what happened in the previous book, but I felt I was missing something with the character dynamics.

Annie is trying to solve the murder that Frances had been working on when she died. The cops had ruled it an accident, but when Peony Lane turns up dead after delivering a cryptic message Annie begins to wonder if there was more to what happened. Peony Lane is a fortune teller and she just happened to have also delivered a message to someone involved in the accident.

The characters are a bit quirky, but I liked them. Annie inherited the estate she is living in because she solved Frances's murder. But there are people who might feel cheated, as there are others who had a stake in the inheritance. There are also some past relationships revealed that changes things.

The moving between past and present, revealing small clues, kept me guessing as to who had motive and means, and if there really was a murder.

I think I had higher expectations for this book, and it didn't quite live up to that. I've been seeing mentions of book 1 all over the place and excitement for book 2. It was good but I think I was expecting something more.

I'm hoping to find time to read book 1, as I think I need the foundation it probably provides. Depending on how I feel after that book will determine if I continue with the series when future books come out. And just so you know, book 3 is slated to publish in April 2026, so you have plenty of time to get caught up.

I recommended that my mystery book club read book 1. I thought How to Seal Your Own Fate had a vibe similar to Anthony Horowitz's Moonflower Murders, which my book club read last year and enjoyed.

My review will be published at Girl Who Reads in Saturday - https://www.girl-who-reads.com/2025/08/2-quirky-mysteries.html

Back in Castle Knoll! The secrets just keep coming in another dual timeline mystery. Annie has settled into her new home, finally changing locks and looking forward to bakery deliveries from neighbor Beth and checking in on new business partner Archie Foyle. She runs into none other than fortune teller Peony Lane and receives another fortune to spin the tale about the car accident that took the majority of the Gravesdowns, a ruby dagger and death. I always enjoy the duality of stories and since the present story hinges so completely on the sixties, I found I was always looking forward to Francis's telling of events before the devastating car accident.

i think i enjoyed this one even more than the first one, which is rare for mystery series. i love this small town and all the secrets running through it. very excited for the next installment!

What an absolute treat! How to Seal Your Own Fate is the perfect blend of wit, charm, and twisty suspense, the kind of novel that hooks you from the first page and doesn’t let go. Kristen Perrin has such a sharp, clever voice, and I found myself grinning at the sly humor even as I tried (and failed!) to piece together the mystery before the big reveals.
What I loved most is how playful the book feels while still delivering real stakes. Perrin takes familiar cozy mystery elements and gives them a fresh, modern spin, with characters who are delightfully eccentric yet deeply relatable. The heroine especially was a standout, plucky, smart, and just flawed enough to feel human. I rooted for her the whole way through.
The plotting is brilliant and full of red herrings, sharp turns, and gasp-worthy moments, and yet everything ties together so neatly in the end. It reminded me why I fell in love with mysteries in the first place: that delicious mix of intrigue, humor, and heart.
Kristen Perrin is fast becoming an auto-buy author for me. If you love clever mysteries with personality and heart, you’ll adore this one.

This author is just brilliant, and i enjoyed this book as much as the first for sure. So many twists and everything so intertwined keeps me super engaged and on the edge of my seat. I loved it.

The second in the Castle Knoll Files series wasted no time setting up its next murder and mystery. Fresh off of solving her Aunt France's murder and inheriting her estate, Annie is suddenly confronted with another high stakes mystery involving those closest to her.

Focusing on the Gravesdown family and told in flashbacks when Frances was a young adult, the reader learns more about Peony Lane's fortunes and how they affected everyone around them. We are also given more information into the deaths of Saxon's parents and a mystery that Frances is wont to solve along with her friend, Archie Foyle. In the modern day, old secrets are literally unearthed and a new locked room murder within Gravesdown itself threatens to upend everything that Annie thinks she knows about those closest to her.

Although I enjoyed returning to this series, I felt like this mystery was already solved before the story had even begun and the reader was just along for the ride, being given clues and backstory as each chapter progressed. Annie really didn't do any heavy detective work - almost all of the "mystery" was clearly and concisely explained to her and her relationship with the town's actual detective seemed forced. Crane seemed incredibly one dimensional and his questionable actions should have made him more worried about losing his job than they did. The ending clearly set up another installment and mystery, but without any real growth in our main character, I'm worried the third book is going to be more of the same. There were two many new characters in this one that I felt like any new book will need a family tree of sorts to have all of the connections make sense.

Will I be reading the next book in the series? Yes, simply because I have questions that I hope are answered, but my excitement for the series has waned a bit and I'm hoping it's just a case of the dreaded second book curse that seems to hit a lot of authors.

Thank you to NetGalley, Dutton, and Kristen Perrin for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

How to Seal Your Own Fate by Kristin Perrin
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Castle Knoll is the English Village that Annie is currently living, after her great aunt Frances included her in her will. When a local fortune teller shares a cryptic message with Annie and then turns up dead shortly afterward, Annie has to put on her detective hat once again.
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What I liked:
-I still really like Annie.
-I liked learning more about this fortunre teller, Peony.
-I enjoyed seeing Annie talk more with the inspector. I ship them.
-We got more Frances back story and it was quite dramatic!
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4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I enjoyed this mystery book and will keep reading the series. If you like cozy mysteries the be sure to try the Castle Knoll series.

DNF at 30%

I felt in the first book that there were too many characters in play and too many connections between those characters to keep track of. I still enjoyed the first book despite that but I started to feel similarly with this book and I just found that I didn’t care enough about the story to keep all that in my brain. This probably could have been avoided if the author had somehow worked in a better refresher of the characters from the previous book but I definitely wasn’t about to go reread the first book in order to get the most out of this. I just think the author needs to make these easier on the reader in the way of a cozy BBC village mystery show is. You can pick up anywhere in the series and kind of figure out the gist.

"Welcome back to Castle Knoll, the idyllic English village home to a surprising number of murderers."
How to Seal Your Own Fate is the second book in the Castle Knoll Files and it does not disappoint. This was another fun and page turning mystery that kept me guessing until the end. This continues from the first book and Annie is investigating a murder, but the catch is that this time Annie is a suspect. The author wrote this well and every character in it was great. I am looking forward to the next book in this series. I highly enjoyed this one and would recommend to any reader who loves mysteries. Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Dutton/ Dutton for this read in exchange of my honest review of How To Seal Your Own Fate by Kristen Perrin.

How to Seal Your Own Fate was such a clever, twisty delight! 🕵️‍♀️✨ It’s got that perfect mix of mystery and wit, with enough small-town secrets to make you side-eye every character. I was hooked from the first page, trying to figure out who was telling the truth and who was just very good at smiling while hiding a dagger behind their back.

The pacing kept me on my toes, the characters had layers upon layers, and Kristen Perrin’s writing made the whole thing feel both fresh and classic—like an Agatha Christie novel that decided to trade tea for espresso. I’ll definitely be keeping my eyes out for more of her books.

4.5 rounded up

I may have enjoyed this book more than the first. The author created a different murder using the same characters readers met in the first book. Through this book we get to know the characters more, especially great-aunt Frances.

This story is told fun a dual timeline, but the transition between the two timelines is easy to distinguish.

How to Solve Your Own Murder is the first book in the Castle Knoll series. It isn't necessary, but I do recommend reading the first book before How to Seal Your Own Fate. Characters and their background will make more sense, because the second book only gives brief background information.

Both books will be rereads for me and I look forward to the next installment.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

3.5* rounded up.

How To Seal Your Own Fate is the second in the Castle Knoll Files series, and I would strongly advise readers to read the first book in the series before diving into this one. I am at blame here, as it's always a risk to jump into a series, but normally I don't feel as lost as I did in this book.

This was a dual timeline cozy mystery, and I enjoyed the setting and the mood of the book. I love English mysteries and this quirky little village is very appealing. However I struggled to keep up with what was happening because I felt like I was missing a lot of the back story. I would advise readers to start with the first book in the series, and I think it will increase the enjoyment of this one by tenfold. This is what I intend to do.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kristen Perrin, and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this follow up, Annie Adams is a great, unusual character that I feel like we don’t often get to see on the page. Highly recommend!

Sadly this one did not work for me at all. There's just too many characters introduced on top of who we met in book one and the diary flashbacks are not working for me.

This book was just as good as the first. The mystery within a mystery really had me hooked. I enjoyed getting to see these characters again. The town is super cute and adds to the setting of the story. I like the hint of a romance, and am curious to see where it goes. Overall, I am enjoying this series and can't wait to see where it goes.

Another cozy mystery in this series- I really enjoyed the first one last year. This novel needed a little bit more of a summary of the first novel instead of the random mentions of what happened, in my opinion. Or maybe a reread before reading this one. However, I think this could stand alone - the mystery is mostly separate from the first book’s but a lot of the characters are interwoven so that gets confusing.
Overall, this was fine! Thanks for the galley!

"How to Seal Your Own Fate" is a solid follow-up to "How to Solve Your Own Murder". It's great to return to Castle Knoll and the great characters that we left there at the end of the first novel. What's even better is that the dual timelines from the first novel continue, so despite Frances no longer being around in the present, we still get to follow her around in the past. It was also wonderful to see Annie settling in and growing closer with Castle Knoll's resident detective (I am happy with that slow-burn relationship). There was a great mystery in this one, but what's even better is that the novel made it clear that there are still many more mysteries in Castle Knoll that need unravelling. Looking forward to seeing Annie and Frances again in the next installment.