This was such a great sequel, I loved it! I'm not sure how the author will keep the series going, but I hope she does because I really like this cast of characters.

This is book 2 in the Castle Knoll series and warning spoiler alert if you have not yet read book 1 [book:How to Solve Your Own Murder|181350367]
In this book Annie becomes an amateur detective once again when a body is found in the conservatory of her inherited estate. Having previously been involved in finding out who killed her Great Aunt Frances, this murder seems to be linked to Frances and the residents of the local village. Annie, however, is shocked to find that she herself is a suspect in this crime.
One thing that annoyed me, is that the book felt a bit long. There were parallel story lines that told of happenings in the 1960's that seemed to tie in with the current situation and characters. I felt these may have read better as actual extracts from Frances' diaries than a complete retelling of conversations etc. Overall, it did present an intriguing mystery with a couple of unexpected twists thrown in.
Thank you Netgalley and Quercus Books for the opportunity to read this digital ARC.

NetGalley reader unfortunately would not let me download this file so I was unable to read or review it.

I just wasn’t very keen on this. It started off really strong and I was enjoying it but the lead character Annie is just a bit bleurgh. She’s neither here nor there and if I’m honest get on my nerves a little. She is still gloating about having won the inheritance of the stately home but tries to balance this with caring about her great aunt Francis - a woman she never actually met by trying to solve a crime that she failed to solve whilst alive.
I found there were too many confusing characters especially with some of them being referred to by 2 separate names (legal and nicknames) and the passing between present and past was too sporadic. I enjoyed reading Aunt Frances’ diary entries and would to read about her to find out more about her life!
I did read book 1 in the series but thought it showed some potential and the blurb of this sounded great hence me giving it a go but after a couple of chapters it fell short and I was too confused by the end to actually care who killed who and why.

Loved this second in the series about the little town of Castle Knoll. I liked the mystery and Annie in particular

This is the sequel to the wonderful opener "How to Solve your Own Murder" which I read and enjoyed last year. Where this book doesn't quite match that in excellence, it is a great read nonetheless.
In it, we catch up with Annie as she is once again tangled up in another death centred around Castle Knoll's local fortune teller Peony Lane, just as she is settling into living in the house her great-aunt Frances left her. She comes across Peony as she is out walking. True to form, Peony imparts a rather cryptic message to Annie, changing her destination. Only hours later, Peony is found dead in Annie's house, whilst she is actually there, stabbed with a knife that Annie brought home! Obviously with fingers pointing in her direction, Annie is destined to once again don her investigating hat and not only find out who killed Peony but also work out what she was trying to warn her about when they met...
Meanwhile, we go back in time to the late 60s and follow Frances as she finds herself caught between the advances of two men. Chalk and cheese - Ford Gravesdown from the big house, and local scally Archie Foyle. The latter assisting Frances to investigate the death of the rest of the former's family in a car crash. The car having recently been discovered in the present day thread.
Quite what links the two threads, well, I'll have to leave it to you to figure that out. Suffice to say it's all thing convoluted and interconnected and a bit on the perilous side!
One of the things I do like about this series is the difference between Frances and Annie's investigatory methods. One being a bit gung-ho, the other way more diligent. But they both get results so...
If I have one criticism, which might have knocked off a half star, it is that the pacing is a bit hit and miss. I know we have the two threads and they are different in style and pace accordingly, but on occasion the pace doesn't quite hit the spot.
But, that is only a slight niggle, and it does settle down in the second half of the book though, so I was happy to suck it up as the story was all things compelling. Hitting the ground running, sucking me in once again, entertaining me all the way through, spitting me out at the end wholly satisfied and, if truth be told, ready for round three...
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Book Review: How to Seal Your Own Fate by Kristen Perrin
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ (4/5)

Kristen Perrin’s How to Seal Your Own Fate is a satisfying and clever follow-up to How to Solve Your Own Murder, and it successfully keeps the cozy mystery charm alive while upping the stakes just enough.

We’re back with Annie Adams, now settling into Gravesdown Hall—a place still very much haunted by its past (and not just metaphorically). Annie’s attempts at finding peace are quickly interrupted by the reappearance of Peony Lane, a fortune-teller tied to an old family prophecy. When Peony ends up murdered in classic whodunnit fashion—stabbed with a ruby-hilted dagger—the stage is set for another twisty, small-village mystery.

Perrin has a knack for atmosphere. The autumnal vibes, the looming estate, and the constant feeling of being watched add a satisfying creepiness to the book’s charm. Annie remains a strong, likable protagonist—witty, inquisitive, and human in her moments of doubt.

The pacing is tight, and the clues are cleverly layered. While some moments lean a bit into cozy mystery tropes, they’re executed with enough freshness and energy to stay fun. And the inclusion of Frances’ library as a sleuthing tool is a lovely nod to the first book while deepening the lore of Castle Knoll.

Final Thoughts:
This is a classic murder mystery with a modern voice—perfect for fans of Agatha Christie with a splash of humor and heart. How to Seal Your Own Fate proves that Annie Adams is a sleuth worth following, and I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for book three.

I loved How To Solve Your Own Murder and love this follow up that feature
An entertaining and compelling novel that kept me hooked and guessing
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

3.75*

A really solid follow up to last year's fantastic debut 'How To Solve Your Own Murder'.

The story this time didn't flow quite as well for me but I found the mystery to be intriguing and again the split timelines with the live action of now and the diary entries of the past worked well. It did feel a little padded at times but the final quarter was extremely satisfying and closed out the story well.

I'm not sure how another story in this format can work as it could potentially feel a little far fetched but I still would welcome another visit to this world, especially to see if the potential love story between Annie and Crane comes to anything!

Cosy mystery, dual timelines and loveable characters make this a duology (as it stands) that I've enjoyed and would read more!

Thank you so much to Quercus Books for inviting me to read a finished digital copy of "How To Seal Your Own Fate" and I offer here my honest and voluntary review.

I remember reading the first book in this series and having a decent enough time with it. But my reading tastes between January of last year and now have changed, I think. And within about 20% of reading this book, I just realised that this wasn't something I was interested in anymore. It's not necessarily the fault of the book or the writer - though, I did find the writing choices left something to be desired, even if the round-ups in the text of what happened in the last book were helpful because frankly, I'd forgotten. I think this is a genre that really appeals to some people and it's just not my thing anymore. Had I read this sooner after I'd read the first one, maybe I'd be on board, but it all just felt a bit cutesy for my taste. A personal thing, nothing against the book itself.

How To Seal Your Own Fate picks up where How To Solve Your Own Murder left off, while I appreciated the continuation of the story and the author’s consistently engaging writing style, I found this installment a bit more challenging to enjoy.

Told across two timelines, the dual narrative works well, gradually revealing connections and deepening the intrigue.

However, the story relies heavily on knowledge of the first book. There are numerous references to past events and characters, and even having read How To Solve Your Own Murder, I still struggled to recall all the necessary details. A brief recap or character guide might have helped refresh my memory.

There’s no shortage of twists and turns—something the author does well, and the author’s voice remains a strong point but while I admired the writing and the ambition of the plot, I didn’t enjoy this book quite as much as the first. It felt more demanding, and at times, I found it harder to stay emotionally connected to the characters.

Still, if you loved the first and have a good memory for the details, this is a solid continuation with plenty to chew on. Just be prepared to do a bit of mental backtracking.

How to Seal Your Own Fate by Kristen Perrin is a clever and engaging mystery with a whimsical tone and a sharp edge. From the start, Perrin draws readers into a world where fate, free will, and a touch of the fantastical collide. The premise is fresh, and the writing is lively, striking a nice balance between intrigue and humor.

The protagonist is smart, quirky, and easy to root for, navigating a plot filled with secrets, unexpected twists, and just the right amount of emotional depth. Perrin keeps the pacing brisk, and while a few moments lean into predictability, the journey remains thoroughly entertaining. The world-building adds an extra layer of charm without overshadowing the central mystery.

The ending ties things up in a satisfying way, leaving just enough ambiguity to linger. How to Seal Your Own Fate is an inventive and fun mystery with heart—a solid 4-star read for fans of offbeat thrillers with a thoughtful twist.

Present Day: After inheriting the Gravesdown Estate, Annie Adams is beginning to settle into life at Castle Knoll. When local fortune teller, Peony Lane, is found dead not long after speaking to her, Annie realises that she is being set up – someone wanted to silence Peony while also making Annie look like the guilty party. Once again, Annie is drawn into the secrets of Castle Knoll and her discoveries are about to shake the local community to the core.

1967: It has been a year since the disappearance of her friend Emily, and now Frances Adams finds herself torn between two men: wealthy Ford Gravesdown and Archie Foyle who lives above the local pub. When Frances helps Archie to investigate the cause of the crash that killed Ford’s family, it soon becomes apparent that it was no accident, setting in motion events that will continue to have repercussions for years to come.

I loved the first book in this series, How To Solve Your Own Murder, and so I was pleased to once again enter the world of Castle Knoll and discover more of the secrets of the inhabitants. This story continues from where the previous one left off so while it would be a good idea to read the first book, it is not essential as it can be read as a standalone. I did see the benefits, however, of already knowing most of the characters.

The book is told in two timeframes, the plot cleverly overlapping to give you a modern perspective as Annie conducts her investigation while also showing the results of a similar task back in 1967. This was well-written and despite the two timeframes being about the same plot, it was not repetitive, giving us different aspects of the same story.

With all of the diaries and notes left behind by Frances, there is definitely scope for more books so I hope it won’t be too long before book 3. I look forward to seeing what Annie discovers next!

A sequel to How to Solve Your Own Murder sees Annie trying to settle into village life. Multiple characters, double timeline and a slow narrative left me feeling flat. Cosy crime readers will enjoy the story and setting but it was not for me

Intriguing…
The second offering in the Castle Knoll Files series and Autumn time in Castle Knoll finds Annie settling into her new home and feeling thankful that the murders have been done with - but have they? Unsettlingly, Annie has an odd feeling of being watched - and that’s just the tip of a very sharp iceberg. Another entertaining and engaging outing with a well developed cast of eclectic characters and a pacy and unexpected plot. Intriguing.

I was really excited to receive this ARC as I very much enjoyed the first book in this series, but although there was definitely stuff to enjoy in this one too, I can't quite shake the feeling that it's a poorer copy of the first book.

It's obviously not the same story, but it has the same structure of being based around a fortune told many years ago by fortuneteller Peony Lane, and somehow our MC Annie Adams gets sucked into solving the mystery. It also alternates between Frances's diaries from the 1960s and present day. This time, it is the fortuneteller herself who is found dead, in Annie's house.

I enjoy the setting and the atmosphere of this series, and I feel the author is good at building up tension and making things exciting - knowing someone has been in the house and may still be there, the feeling of being watched, of people close to you hiding something, etc. And when I picked it up I felt compelled to keep reading.

However, it does feel a tad chaotic. In the first part of the book I felt like I needed to remember who a bunch of people from the previous book were in relation to each other, which I didn't. And once I was settled in the story again it feels like the author is consciously making things vague or complicated. Often actions seem to be taken quite spontaneously, leaving me wondering what the character's motivation is.

I think the previous point is also somewhat related to the fact that I didn't connect with the characters. They all feel kind of bland and cardboard to me. No quirks, no mannerisms, passions or aversions, nothing to really make me care about them - and thus perhaps I also have trouble understanding their actions. This is less forgivable in a second book than the first, and I really missed some proper character depth and development here.

Leading on from that again, when it came to the denouement, I just felt that I didn't care. This was partly due to not feeling connected to the characters, and partly due to the manner in which it was done, in which Annie basically just tells everyone what happened because for some reason she has worked that out, but not in an exciting Poirot way, more just reciting facts.

That being said, I did find parts of it exciting and I think the series has promise if some work goes into developing the characters further, and the third book doesn't just follow the same formula.

(Also, a big deal was made about Annie's phone battery, which felt like a Chekhov's Gun that was in fact never fired.)

Sequels to cosy crime novels are always a risk, as it's debatable how many murders an ordinary person is likely to get involved in. So there's a plausibility issue straight away. That may not bother some readers, but I dislike when books are unrealistic (except for obvious magic/fantasy), as I feel it's cheating. 'How To Seal Your Own Fate' falls into that category, and in fairness, so did its predecessor so I wasn't surprised by that. The structure is similar to the original. Chapters are split between diary entries from the 1960s, when a young woman named Frances Adams was starting to gather information on people in her village in the hope of outrunning a fortune saying she would be murdered, and the 2020s when her great-niece Annie tries to use Frances's records to solve a murder on her own doorstep.

Annie and Frances are both sympathetic characters, but the story is really far fetched. It has extremely unbelievable police, which I find very annoying, and all the events in the 'present' are very implausible. The part in the 60s is stronger and more interesting, though still stretches credibility. The small village setting and elements of the plot make me think of the TV series 'Midsomer Murders' - which isn't entirely a compliment. But whereas the latter is a couple of hours with ad breaks of undemanding background telly, a novel requires a significant investment of time devoted just to reading, and for that I have a higher bar of what constitutes worth my time.

There's a certain coyness about the writing which I also find annoying, partly because I get the impression the author is aiming to spin this out over as many books as possible. There's a possible romance (an unrealistic one, by the way) that goes nowhere. We are told Annie's father (a man she has never met) is back in her mother's life, but that goes no further. No doubt he'll be turning up as either corpse or suspect in the third or fourth instalment. I don't think I have the patience to read any further books to find out though. The writing isn't witty or enjoyable in itself, the plots aren't intriguing enough and the characters aren't loveable enough to engage me for more than two books.

If you read nothing but cosy crime, and enjoyed the first book, then you will probably enjoy this one and find it worth reading. If those two things don't apply, I'm not sure it's worth it. If you dip into the genre along with others, there are so many better options to read before this one.

What a fabulous continuation of the story.

I absolutely loved all the twists and turns, along with revisiting some great characters from the first book. It was a joy to be back in there presence and learn more about them all, through Frances diaries and the present day investigation with Annie.

If you've read and enjoyed How to Solved Your Own Murder, you will love this follow on. If you've not read it yet, go and enjoy the first book, before diving into this one.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

Kristen Perrin’s How to Solve Your Own Murder was a particularly fresh, clever and contemporary take on the amateur sleuth mystery novel. I really enjoyed its dual timeline construct and use of journal entries, the complexity of the underlying mystery, and the burgeoning character relationships. So I was excited to see how this would translate into a series with the publication of Book 2, How to Seal Your Own Fate.

Firstly, I do not recommend reading this second book as standalone. Initially I found it tricky to regain my bearings regarding the many different character connections and histories. And, since this story starts up relatively soon after the last novel ends, it refers to many events in it.

Secondly, while Perrin utilised journal entries and employed a dual timeline construct just as she did in the first novel, this did not feel quite as revelatory, or indeed necessary, the second time around. Rather than the story leading, at times I wondered whether this overly complicated (rather than clever) mystery was in part moulded to fit this novel construct. The red herrings felt less robust. There was less humour. Suffice to say, my lofty expectations set by Book 1 were not quite met.

Having said all this though, I must stress that the vivid scene depiction and strong evocation of time and mood are captivating once again. The rural village idyll of Castle Knoll and Annie’s inherited new home Gravesdown Hall that Kristen Perrin has conjured up are settings plausibly ripe with history and secrets.

Ultimately, I flew through How to Seal Your Own Fate in only two days, so clearly I was entertained. I simply found the relationship development in both timelines more compelling than the sleuthing elements this time around. 3.5 Stars.

Published on BookloverBookReviews.com

In the second novel in the Castle Knoll Files, Annie Adams is back with another web of murders to solve in the past and the present. Annie is just settling into her new life in Castle Knoll when she crosses paths with Peony Lane, the woman who told Great Aunt Frances’ fortune all those years ago, and is given a cryptic message. Hours later, Peony Lane is found dead inside Annie’s home. The murder seems to be linked to a terrible accident that took place decades ago, causing the death of three members of the Gravesdown family. So, Annie decides to dig into events past and present to discover what really happened back then and how it relates to Peony’s murder.

I really enjoyed How to Solve Your Own Murder, so I was thrilled to get the opportunity to read the second book in the series as well. And I was not disappointed.

Annie is a great character. She’s likeable, relatable, and her totally unqualified investigations actually make some sense, given the events of the first book. I also enjoyed seeing more of Detective Crane – I am desperate for more of a romance to develop there later in the series!

The plot is surprisingly complicated for a cosy mystery, particularly with the dual perspectives and timeframes, but it all links up and makes sense, and isn’t at all difficult to follow.

I think I enjoyed the first book slightly more, simply because it felt more original, but this is still a solid mystery, with plenty of twists to keep things interesting.