I was so excited to be able to read the second book in this series. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity. I really love this series. This book kept my interest that I had it finished in a day!

In this second installment of the Castle Knoll Files we return to the town of Castle Knoll and the cast of characters from the first book. I really enjoyed How To Solve Your Own Murder and was excited to dive into this follow up, which publishes April 29, 2025.

Annie Adams is settling into her new life at Gravesdown Estate when she runs into the fortune teller, Peony Lane, who told the fateful fortune from the first book. This new mystery was very intertwined with the first book’s mystery, so I recommend reading that before this book.

The story is very atmospheric. It was both a bit spooky, but also at times quite funny. A good balance. Many of the characters from the first book return and we meet a number of new ones.

Though I really enjoyed getting to hear more of Frances’s story in her own voice, I am less a fan or stories that jump back and forth though time every couple of chapters. It pulls me out of each of the stories.

The mystery in this book is new, but ties in with the mystery of the first book in a way I really enjoyed. That said, it didn’t have the magic that the first book had for me, though I certainly enjoyed it.

Thank you to the publisher Penguin Group / Dutton, author Kristen Perrin, and NetGalley for the gifted digital ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars!

I'm a bit disappointed in this book because I absolutely LOVED the first book in this series and it was one of my favorite books of 2024. This sequel, however, really lost some of the magic from the first book. Even though I enjoy our cast of characters, with some of the notable ones coming back in this book, I didn't really connect with the plot or mystery. Things felt a little too similar to book one, but without as much as the novelty or big twists. The writing was also very good, but ultimately the case is where I didn't find my most enjoyment.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

3.5 stars!

I'm a bit disappointed in this book because I absolutely LOVED the first book in this series and it was one of my favorite books of 2024. This sequel, however, really lost some of the magic from the first book. Even though I enjoy our cast of characters, with some of the notable ones coming back in this book, I didn't really connect with the plot or mystery. Things felt a little too similar to book one, but without as much as the novelty or big twists. The writing was also very good, but ultimately the case is where I didn't find my most enjoyment.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is the first novel in this series that I have read but the first had been on my radar. I hope to read that one some day soon. I love British mysteries, and this one reminded me of some of my favorites. I liked Annie Adams, the main character. I also liked getting to know her Aunt Frances. In the beginning, I got confused between the two characters, but I soon sorted that out. The supporting characters were well developed, and I could picture them clearly in my mind while reading.
Because the narrator often mentioned what happened the previous year made me want to go read the first book. I would like to know more.
Loved the setting because I love anything British when it comes to mysteries.
There were plenty of suspects and the author skillfully planted red herrings throughout the story to keep me guessing. I didn’t figure it out until the end.
I loved the romance in the past and the possible romance with Annie and Detective Crane.
I especially liked the idea of new stories from Peony Lane’s fortunes.
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves cozy mysteries and would love to read more in this series.

I hadn't read the first one but this was just what I wanted. Cozy, lighthearted, fun, at times a bit ridiculous but overall a nice read. If you're looking for plausible this isn't for you. I think it was a great break from reality and I loved reading it!

3.5 stars rounded down

Another cozy mystery set in Castle Knoll! This is set after the events of 'How to Solve Your Own Murder', with Annie still at the crime-solving helm, but this one focuses on a new case and a different chapter of Frances's life.

Frances's diary entries are once again interwoven with the investigation unfolding in the present timeline, but I think this worked less effectively here than it did in the first book. The overlapping focus made it a little tricky to follow. Still a very fun and cozy read, though! And I do hope there's a third book, because I'd love more of Frances & Ford's story, and Annie & Crane's.

Thanks Dutton Penguin Group for the ARC!

There is a lot in this sequel that echoes great things from the first book (which I loved): likable characters, a red-herring laced mystery, a fun, vibrant setting, and nothing too gruesome or objectionable. However, there were a few things which made it not quite as stellar as the first story, for me. The author expected you to remember many details about characters and plots from the first novel and didn't include a lot of "review". So thrown back into the large cast of characters and their various relationships, I sometimes felt pretty lost. A sharper reader than myself may not have this problem! Secondly, the mystery felt a little forced and less believable. Not a deal breaker to an enjoyable story, but it did have me raising my eyebrows in disbelief a few times. If you enjoyed the first book, it's definitely worth giving this one a try! And if you haven't read the first book...make sure you pick it up first!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for an eARC of this title!

3.5 rounded up to 4. How to Seal Your Own Fate picks up where How to Solve Your Own Murder left off, and continues in the same way including with a witty title. Our smart, crime-solving but slightly wayward Annie is in Castle Knoll in her newly inherited manor. The same cast of Castle Knoll characters is back, and soon another death has occurred as well. Crimes committed long ago are brought to light but who was involved and who knew what is quite tangled. Annie and Detective Crane work to uncovered the clues, and are helped along by late Frances diary. Along the way, Annie ponders the role of fates and questions whether Gravesdown is leading her down a path of paranoia, just like Frances before her.

Overall I enjoyed reading this book and looked forward to it. As with other books in the genre, at times the crime and cast of characters felt a bit over-complicated and hard to keep track of. However, this didn't take away from my enjoyment and if you enjoyed How to Solve Your Own Murder I think you'll enjoy reading the sequel. I'm looking forward to the next book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for providing an ARC of this book for review!

Wanted to love this one as much as I loved the first book in the series, which felt crisp and original. I didn't, sadly.

It relied too much on information from the previous book, which I tried and failed to remember with the detail required to follow this story. (We're talking, "Remember that story that one side character told another side character in a flashback chapter? No? Well, that's important to understanding the significance of this piece of evidence.") It's fine if an author wants to require a reader to read all books in a series to fully understand a plot, but when they do, they should also recognize that they are going to lose people along the way. I knew enough to keep going, but I imagine other readers will give up in frustration.

I did stick around to read the whole thing, though sometimes I felt confused as to what was happening. That's not just because my brain was combing my memory to fill in story gaps. It was a convoluted plot that, in being too complicated, relied more on things happening than character motivations or good detective work. The first book took time to introduce us to characters and show us how Annie eventually solved the mystery. Here, it felt like characterization was skipped over for action, and that answers just fell on Annie rather than arising from her clever and meticulous sleuthing skills.

In the end, this was still somewhat engaging, and it did have a lot of potential. I will keep reading the Castle Knoll stories with hope that the next one goes back to what made the first one work well.

How to Seal Your Own Fate by Kristen Perrin is the second book in the Castle Knoll Files series. Annie has settled into her new home at Castle Knoll when she comes across fortune teller Peony Lane, who gives Annie a cryptic message and then is shockingly found dead hours later. Annie must dig into the dark secrets of Castle Knoll so she doesn’t get blamed for Peony’s death.

I enjoyed this about as much as the first in the series! The dual-timeline, multiple deeply-written characters, and unexpected twists and turns kept me interested and wanting to know how the mystery would resolve. I would definitely continue reading the series if more are written (and with how this one ended there is definitely the opportunity for more stories!). I highly recommend reading the first book before this one.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and author for granting me a complimentary advanced reader copy of the ebook. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and based off of this draft; the final publication may be different. Expected publication date is April 29, 2025.

Annie Adams is settling into her new life at the Gravesdown Estate when she runs into fortune teller Peony Lane. After giving Annie a cryptic message, Peony is found murdered in the locked Gravesdown Estate.

Annie dives into her aunt's past to unravel Peony's message. I loved how the author uses Aunt Frances's journals to reveal the past, particularly the mystery of the 1967 accident that killed Ford's family. With Annie's best friend by her side during the investigation, they make a fantastic team in solving the present-day murder.

Many familiar faces from the first book make a return, along with some new characters. Aunt Frances's presence is strong, and her detailed journals provide excellent clues. The first part of the book sets up the characters, events, and mysteries, while the ending is fast-paced and kept me hooked. Overall, this is a fantastic sequel in the series.

Thank you NetGalley and Dutton for the opportunity to read in advance. This is my honest review.

Mystery lovers are in for a twisty treat with the second installment of the Castle Knoll series. This is a novel where reading the first book before will make How to Seal Your Own Fate a compelling and propulsive read.

Annie Adams has been living at Gravesdown Estate for several months following solving the murder of her aunt Frances. Peony Lane comes to Annie to tell her she has her fortune to share, but Annie does not want to listen. She gives her cryptic messages, and shortly thereafter, Peony is found stabbed to death with an heirloom knife in Annie's solarium, making her the prime suspect. Her best friend Jenny stays with her during the investigation, and they fear for their safety as they try to figure out who got in and how they got inside.

A lot of the same characters from How to Solve Your Own Murder are present in this with a few new characters adding to the suspect pool as well. Once again, Aunt Frances assists Annie in her investigation from beyond the grave with her journal entries from 1967. Everyone knows what a record keeper Frances was, so there are a few key papers and journals missing to complicate Annie's investigation.

How to Seal Your Own Fate is everything you want in a cozy murder mystery: it begins with a slow burn in the first half as the story is set, including important clues from past and present. The second half takes off like a speeding train, and you can't put it down until you find out what happens. I love this series because it isn't predictable. So grab your favorite English tea and get cozy for this mystery that I highly recommend! Many thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Group Dutton, and Kristen Perrin for the advance reader's copy in exchange for my honest review.

#HowToSealYourOwnFate #KristenPerrin #booklover #PenguinGroupDutton #NetGalley #mystery #CastleKnoll #read #ARCreview #bookreview #bookrecommendations #2025TBR #anticipatedbooks #readersofinstagram #booksofinstagram #bookstagram

How to Seal your own Fate by Kristen Perrin

This story continues the saga of Annie Adams, recent inheritor and heir of the Gravesend Estate in Castle Knoll, England. Annie has grown into her role as heiress, and she begins to delve further into her Great Aunt Frances’ and husband Ford’s past.
Frances’ journal from the 1960’s gives the backstory of the many characters and dramas taking place then. This is paralleled with a present murder investigation that happens to take place at the Gravesend Estate.
Annie reads about Frances and Annie’s neighbor, Archie’s, past, and the horrible accident that killed the three Gravesend occupants, leaving Ford Gravesend to inherit the estate. All of this unfolds in an a compelling way, describing Frances’ youth and showing her youthful desires and ambitions. Ambitions that Annie discovers that she shares with her aunt Frances. Annie also finds that she and Aunt Frances are both collectors of secrets and solver of crimes.
Will Annie find the answers she is looking for?
This was an interesting sequel to How to Solve Your own Murder and adds layers to the charming yet sinister village of Castle Knoll.
#netgalley

I adored the first one in this series. This one just missed the mark for me. I can’t quite put my finger on why. Maybe because there were allusions to nuggets in the previous book. It may have been all the characters and keeping the dual timelines straight. Either way, I would likely read more in the series to see how Perrin continues to develop the main character. If you choose to read this one, make sure you read the first beforehand or you will be lost!

I am really enjoying this contemporary British murder mystery series: back ‘n forth timeline, lots of interesting characters, slow burn romance in the background, and fairly clean (I’d recommend it to my mum). Fair warning: these books all hinge on each other so keep up with the details so you’re not confused.

I enjoyed this book and liked that most of the characters from How to Solve Your Own Murder were present. Rowan Crane is still my favorite! I look forward to the next installment in this cozy mystery series.

Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this uncorrected ARC!

This is the sequel to How to Solve Your Own Murder that was published in 2024. You have to read that one first if you want to read this one!

Annie is back to her crime solving ways after the fortune teller that saw Great Aunt Frances’s future, was murdered in the Gravesdown estate. Annie and her friends dive back into Frances’s journals from her young adult life, to see if they can piece together any old clues with new clues so that they can bring this case to justice, and clear Annie’s name in the process.

I did not like this book as much as I liked the first book, but with that being said, I still read this once very quickly and had to keep turning the page to see what happened next. The plot is fast and engaging since the timeline switches between current day Annie’s point of view, and young Frances’s point of view through her 58 year old journal entries. Cozy murder mysteries are my favorite and this is a great series if you are like me, and cannot get enough of this genre! The ending is very satisfying when they reveal who the killer is, and there are plot twists that I definitely did not see coming!

I mentioned in my review of How to Solve Your Own Murder, that you would need a notebook to write down all of the many names, details, timelines, and clues addressed if you are the kind of person that wants to try and solve the mystery as you read– and man is that extra true for this book! I found myself having to go back and reread passages and pages because I think the writing at times was unnecessarily confusing– or maybe I’m just not as great of an investigator (the latter theory is unlikely). There were a lot of details that I didn’t remember because I read the first book a year ago, but Perrin does a pretty good job of reminding you what happened, and the details you forget, don’t matter as much to this story. If you are able, read these two books back to back– and then get excited for the (hopefully) third book because this once leaves off on a juicy cliff hanger!

There are two more things that I will mention that are addressed more for the publishing team. I think it’s crazy that Annie is only 25. I also thought that she was 26 in the first book…. I feel like she should be aged up because 25 feels too young for her vibe but if you are trying to make her super young because Frances was super young when she was doing all of her investigating, then I’m okay with it. I also think aging her up would make her potential slow burn romance with Detective Crane seem a little bit more real. But once again, if you are trying to keep her young to mirror Annie’s romantic life with Crane to Frances’s romantic life to Ford– then I kind of see it. Next, speaking of Crane, I wish we saw more development in their romance! This burn is tooooo slow!!! Maybe for book 3 have a new guy come in and make it a bit of a love triangle, or make them kiss! In a tense circumstance! Like only one bed!

All in all, I am hooked on the Castle Knoll files and I very much recommend them and am with this series for the long run.

I was so excited to head back to Castle Knoll! I thoroughly enjoyed the first book. I loved the flashbacks to the past of Aunt Frances and I enjoyed the differences between Annie and her investigative styles. I cannot wait to read the next one!

Annie has settled into her new home in Castle Knoll when another murder strikes down a key person from her great-aunt’s past in the very house Annie has just made her home. Luckily Annie is not alone; her friend Jenny is visiting, and together they work to uncover the murderer before Annie takes the blame for what happened.

Thank you Kristen Perrin and Dutton, Plume, Tiny Reparations Books for the eARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions here are mine and mine alone.

Once again, Perrin writes a gripping mystery full of drama and suspense. I enjoyed learning more about Frances’ past in her POV chapters. The massive secrets and lies from her past were shocking to say the least. Be sure to get your hands on this one when it comes out!