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.

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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!

How to Seal Your Own Fate is a continuation of the story started in How to Solve Your Own Murder. Annie Adams has now settled into life at the Gravesdown estate and Castle Knoll, but all is not what it seems when she crosses paths with Peony Lane, the fortune teller who told her great aunt about how she would die one day. After their encounter, Peony ends up dead at the Gravesdown estate and much like the first story, there is buried secrets galore to discover.

This story was just as good as the first installment. The pacing of the story and some potential red herrings were well placed. It kept me guessing, and always all the characters of Castle Knoll are full of history and secrets. The use of alternating timelines was well done and propelled the story forward well instead of slowing it down. I highly recommend this one.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Yet again I thoroughly enjoyed this!! I love how early on I get attached to the plot. And I’m impressed that the sequel was just as good!!

I love the romance subplot so much and I really hope there will be a third because the ending had me needing more (both mystery and romance!!!) love this series.

I read this book as a standalone, not knowing it was a sequel. I do think I missed a lot of context and information from not reading book 1, so my review is biased based off of that. It was an okay book, but I would not read it as a standalone book, I would follow the order of the series!

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

I loved Kristen Perrin’s debut novel and her second book did not disappoint! Perrin’s unique and well-developed characters are my favorite part of her writing, and “How to Seal Your Own Fate” includes several new and interesting people from Castle Knoll. The start of the book was a little slow for me, but once the story picked up I was hooked! Annie Adams dives deeper into the lives of her great-aunt Frances, Archie Foyle, the Gravesdowns, and the mysterious fortune-teller who set Aunt Frances’ life of paranoia in motion, Peony Lane. This book was excellent and I am now going to wait impatiently for the next installment of the Castle Knoll series! (I have to know if Annie and Crane are finally going to get together!)

I didn't enjoy this as much as the first in the series, maybe because I had a hard time keeping all the characters straight. It was an interesting premise and well-executed, I just wasn't quite as drawn in this time. I'd like some more character development for our main protagonist -- maybe in the next one?

This was book two of the Castle Knoll series. Now that Annie has solved her Great Aunt’s murder and moved into Gravesdown Hall, she continues to discover more secrets and more murders. Banding together with her best friend Jenny, potential love interest Detective Crane, and Aunt Frances’ files of secrets, Annie is now looking into the life of Peony Lane, Frances’ cryptic fortune teller.

This book was filled with the same cast of characters we grew to know and love in How to Solve Your Own Murder. I enjoyed continuing to learn more about each of them and their pasts. The mystery keeps you guessing until the end sets things up well for the next book in the series.

My main complaint with this second book was that the characters and what happened to them in the first book is vital to the plot of the second book, and I had a hard time remembering all the details from book one. Kristen Perrin did write in some reminders throughout the book, but I felt like a needed a season recap and a family tree at a few points. Regardless, I sped through the read and will eagerly await the next in the series!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for this ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I love a good cozy mystery, and this one had some unexpected twists that I did not expect. I did catch myself having trouble putting it down at night because I wanted the mystery to be solved. I enjoyed the chapters that are passages from Frances’ journal, and learning more about her past and her relationship with Archie.

However, there were a lot of involved characters in this book, and it got difficult to keep all the names straight, and how each person was involved. I started having to take notes just to keep things straight. There are also a few loose ends I wish were resolved at the end.

I am curious about how Ford and Frances eventually come together, so I will be reading the sequel!

I loved the first book in this series and was so excited to get a chance to read the second installment. This book had all the cozy mystery elements that I loved so much in the first one, but for some reason it fell a little flat for me. I wish I had read them back-to-back because I had forgotten a lot of the characters and plot points. With little to no exposition, I felt lost in the world. With that said, I had fun reading this book and would recommend the series to others once it is complete.

Get ready for a thrilling ride with Kristen Perrin's How to Seal Your Own Fate! The second book in her captivating Castle Knoll series, this novel takes us back to the quaint English village that harbors dark secrets beneath its idyllic surface. When Annie Adams finds herself entangled in a web of mystery and murder, she must race against time to uncover the truth behind Peony Lane's cryptic warning before it's too late.

As we're transported between present-day Castle Knoll and the village in 1967, we find ourselves piecing together the clues that connect a tragic car accident from the past to the ominous events unfolding in Annie's life. With an engaging plot that'll keep you guessing until the very end, How to Seal Your Own Fate is perfect for fans of cozy, suspenseful mysteries and well-crafted characters.

Another fantastic installment in The Castle Knoll Files! There’s something about Kristen Perrin’s writing that feels like it’s from another era—and I mean that in the best way possible. Both books in this series have a good ol’ classic mystery vibe, and the way she crafts the characters and their voices just pulls me right in!

Once again, we get to dive into both Annie’s mind and Frances’ journals to piece together the mystery, which I really enjoy. However, the slow-burn romance is really taking its time… book three, I’m counting on you! 🤞

My only gripe? The ending didn’t totally land for me. The killer’s confession felt a little far-fetched, which took away some of the satisfaction of the reveal. But overall, I’m still hooked on this series and will definitely be back for more Castle Knoll mysteries!

Huge thank you to Penguin Group Dutton and NetGalley for the gifted eARC! ❤️

Did you read How to Solve Your Own Murder and wonder what happened in the years between Emily’s disappearance and Frances and Ford’s marriage? How to Seal Your Own Fate dives into those years more, filling in the story of Frances’s late teenage years, the history and dynamics of the Foyle family, and the mystery surrounding the crash that killed Ford and Saxon’s family.

I read both books back to back and the charm and mystery of the first book really come alive again in How to Seal Your Own Fate. Annie is a delightful sleuth to follow - she has a heart for the people of Castle Knoll while wanting to solve the case and bring justice. Frances’s story was also developed in interesting ways in How to Seal Your Own Fate - her diary entries feel believable for an 18/19 year old woman. She isn’t trying to seem older and more mature to impress Ford Gravesdown in this book - she’s able to let loose and be young and free. I’m still left wondering how and why she trades that in for a life with Ford, but I’m assuming that will be in a future book (which I can’t wait to read!)

Thank you NetGalley, Penguin Group, Dutton, and Kristen Perrin for this gripping ARC!

I really liked the first Castle Knoll book and was looking forward to this sequel, but I found myself lost and wandering in the dark so quickly, that I was disappointed... It's been a year since the last book. There were so many references to the characters and events that this felt more like a "part II" than a second-in-series - and I could not keep everything straight as a result. There are a LOT of characters. There are multiple timelines. And there are a lot of mysteries - some solved previously, some unsolved, some brand new. The combination of those three things meant that I constantly felt like I was behind the 8 ball and really struggled to hold all the threads together.

I understand there is going to be another book - at this point I think I will have to save these and read them when they are all available so I can go sequentially without any breaks in between. I'm hoping that will help me hold all the pieces together in my head such that I can enjoy the interrelated and overlapping mysteries rather than be frustrated by them. I did really enjoy book one, so am definitely not counting this one out - but don't want to reread book one now for this one, and then have to go back and pick up one and two again in a year!