Sensational! So clever, so layered, so unique in it's perspective. I couldn't look away from this brilliance and I recommend you do the same ASAP.

How To Solve Your Own Murder is the first adult novel by British author, Kristen Perrin. Recently jobless, aspiring murder mystery writer Annabelle Adams is living with her mother in her great aunt Frances’s Chelsea house when she receives a summons from the woman’s lawyers.

Annie has been made the sole benefactor of her great aunt’s estate and assets, a woman she’s never met, and is attend her at Gravesdown Hall in the Dorset village of Castle Knoll to learn what responsibilities this entails. But when she arrives there, in the company of the lawyer and other interested parties, they find Frances Adams quite dead.

Since she had been told a fortune predicting her murder at a summer fair at age sixteen, Frances had always been wary of certain items, and had made it her business to know everything about everyone, in case they might end up trying to kill her. It didn’t increase her popularity in Castle Knoll.

The special conditions of her will require potential beneficiaries to reside at Gravesdown Hall and pits them against one another to solve her murder, for it is indeed murder, within a week, or the place will be sold off to developers, a premise that really is rather contrived. There’s a large cast so many of them lack depth and appeal.

The story is told over dual timelines, with the 1960’s narrative in the form of diary entries whose dating is a little confusing. It turns out that Frances Adams has the dirt on most of the people around her, giving them ample motive to kill her off. But Annie is distracted from her investigations by the unsolved disappearance back in 1966 of one of two teenaged friends with whom Frances had a toxic closeness.

The plot is quite convoluted and several aspects require the reader to don their disbelief suspenders. There are some twists and surprises, a dramatic climax, and a sequel that some readers may be interested to read. An adequate debut.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Quercus Books.

Fun, enjoyable whodunnit. Our main character is named in the will of an aunt who was murdered and with the help of some diaries we flit between the 60s and present day to find out who did it , little confusing with the timelines at times but a very enjoyable read nonetheless

A clever, enjoyable storyline that keeps you guessing. Even better because I didn't guess who did it, but it all made perfect sense.

If you enjoy a whodunnit, this is for you. Hopefully a sequel is on the way?

I read this ARC for an honest review
All thoughts and opinions are mine

The cover would not normally be something that would attract me to this book but I'd just read a review on it and was compelled to request it

A debut novel and I love to read new authors to add to my list ! I was totally blown away by it. Didn't want it to end

Stunning

This was such a fun mystery, with dual timelines set in both the mid-60s and the present. The story revolves around Annie and her great-aunt Frances, whose murder was predicted by a fortune teller decades earlier.

I loved the settting - it felt straight out of an Agatha Christie novel! The short chapters also made it such a page-turner I sped through it pretty quickly.

Excellent, set over two time periods two murders are inextricably linked. A great who done it with an intriguing cast of characters.

An odd but very fun and interesting read! I really enjoyed this a lot and was very interested to see where the story would go, overall it was a good read and I recommend it

Cosy crime is probably my least favourite crime genre, but I lapped this up. The premise is pretty far fetched. Annie Adams is suddenly named in the will of her mysterious country estate-dwelling Aunt Frances and called to visit. She ends up playing a central role in solving her Aunt’s sudden murder, alongside an ensemble of strange village characters.

The timeline jumps around a bit and it can be confusing to follow, but I enjoyed the use of Frances’ diary acting as flashbacks. Reading this felt a bit like playing a game of Cluedo. The setting is very cutesy and there’s a suggestion of romance too, if that’s your vibe.

I’m certainly hooked enough to care about what happens in Book Two….

With thanks to Quercus Books and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley & Quercus Books for approving me an ARC of this book, I really enjoyed it and it gave me that Sunday night watching Midsummer Murders feeling.

I found this a really easy, pretty fast paced read and the characters were well written where i could get a sense of who they were and how they lent to the plot. You really felt like you were working out these mysteries alongside Annie.

Annie Adams is called to her great Aunt Frances estate to discuss something but when she arrives Frances her been murdered, after spending her whole life focused on a reading a fortune teller told her at 17 Frances has a lot of 'dirt' on her family, friends and those who live in the Village.

With the help of these files and Frances diary Annie sets about not only solving Frances murder but also another mystery that happened when Frances was just a young girl.

My thanks to NetGalley and Quercus Publishing for a copy of “ How To Solve Your Own Murder” for an honest review.
I was really drawn to this book by the premise and the cover , but to begin with I thought I wasn’t going to enjoy it.I sometimes struggle when there are too many characters, but I’m so glad I persevered because the book was so good !
The characters were well written and I found the book really entertaining .
A must read

What a clever spin on a story, and also giving all the essences of a golden age with such an inspiring turn. Hugely enjoyable read!!
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Thanks to the publisher for an early read of this one!

Teenage Frances receives a prophecy of her death as a fortune at the fair. Consequently she spends the next 60 years gathering evidence on every villager she knows. Someone murdered her and it's up to Annie (her great niece she's never met) to discover who. In a twisted game of cluedo Annie needs to discover the murderer before several of the suspects so that she can inherit Frances's estate. Can Annie solve Frances's murder and the disappearance of her teenage friend?

Theres a lot of classic crime in this novel and it works really well. There's some double crossing, lies and bluffing until we get to the end for the big reveal. It works well and the addition of Frances's diary really helps - I think the novel would have been quite flat without it.

This book was great.
I was immediately drawn in and enjoyed both the past and present mysteries. The ending was satisfying and fulfilled my need for suspense! I would recommend

This was quite an entertaining story and I was interested to discover who was responsible for past and present mysteries. However towards the end the main character behaved in an utterly ridiculous way that completely disengaged me from the story. It was a shame as there was a lot to like up until this point, but I’m afraid this wasn’t for me and I wouldn’t recommend.

*** Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher ***

The plot is as deep and dark as it gets, multi-layered with 'who knew what when?' as the strands come together and the finer details get filled in. This is a compelling, gripping book full of mystery and suspense. Only a few authors can write deeply involving psychological drama of the very highest quality.

The E-Book could be improved and more user-friendly, such as links to the chapters, no significant gaps between words and a cover for the book would be better. It is very document-like instead of a book. A star has been deducted because of this.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if it were in a bookshop. Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

3.5/5.

In 1965, Frances Adams has her fortune read at a country fair, which tells her she is going to be murdered. She spends her life trying to solve her murder before it happens, without success. Nearly sixty years later, Frances is found dead – murdered – and her great-niece, Annie, is determined to catch the killer.

This book was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed Annie and could totally understand why she got so hooked on the mystery of Great Aunt Frances. The premise is set up in such a way that it’s entirely plausible for Annie to be investigating the murder instead of (or as well as) the police, which I appreciate, and there were plenty of revelations and possible suspects to keep things exciting.

There wasn’t as much outright humour as I was expecting (thanks to comparisons to The Thursday Murder Club), but the vibe was light-hearted and I liked Annie’s narrative voice. On the whole, the characters, the mystery and the reveal were all really well done and I enjoyed it a lot.

Some books come along at just the right time and man o man I needed a sleepy village crime to solve.

How To Solve Your Own Murder is the multigenerational story of Frances Adams and her great niece Annie. Annie is off to visit her aunt for the first time at Frances's request as she is being bequeathed property in her will. However, when Annie turns up in Frances' small village she finds she may be receiving her inheritance quicker than she thought.

With a set of twisty turny puzzles and a smattering of clues, you are drip fed nuggets of information and you feel like you are helping Annie to solve this murder. If you are anything like me then you will be completely baffled and blown away by the results.

A fantastic read that I was sad to say goodbye to.

How To Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin is available now.

For more information regarding Kristin Perrin (@Kristen_PErrin) please visit www.kristenperrin.com.

For more information regarding Quercus Books (@QuercusBooks) please visit www.quercusbooks.co.uk.

Annie is on her way to meet her great aunt Frances. She has lead a difficult life having spent years believing she will be murdered. Unfortunately she had been proved right. Annie is shocked to be the recipient of her Great Aunt’s estate but only if she can solve Frances' murder within a week.
Alongside her cousin Saxon, his scary wife Elva and curiously the estate agent Oliver, Annie has to get to know about her aunt’s life so that she can understand her death.
It sounds like a premise for a deep, dark and depressing novel but it’s full of life and optimism. The setting is modern but with a whiff of period murder mysteries. It is full of red herrings and blatant clues that I missed and it is definitely worth reading again.
I was surprised and delighted by this book which feels fresh and charming and i will be recommending it to everyone who loves a cozy mystery.

As a teenager Frances Adams has her fortune told at a local fair, part of the fortune is that she will be murdered. The only person who takes the fortune seriously is Frances, everyone else thinks it is nonsense and that she should live her life. Sixty years later Frances is found dead at home - murder or natural causes. - it is down to Frances’s great-niece to figure that out. The story itself is engaging, everyone in the local village has a secret that they want kept and quite a few seem to have reasons to want Frances dead.