SO GOOD! Read the whole book in about 24hrs and stayed up far too late because I just had to keep reading!!!
I loved his the story of the past slowly unfolds and gifts clues for the current day murder investigation!
* slight spoiler*
- I need to know who smashed the laptop though!!!

This was such a great story and I knew I wouldn't be disappointed as I love Kristen Perrin's work, as always I was captivated until the end.

1965, a visit to a fortune teller where 17 year old Frances is foretold her murder. No one else believes it, but Frances does. And when she is murdered her estate is the prize for solving it.

The narrative switches between the present day and Frances’ version of the past recorded in her journal. The great-niece Annie is the present day narrator, an unpublished mystery writer with a very bohemian upbringing and no knowledge of her great Aunt. She learns about her great-aunt from the journal ahead of kept as a teenager around the time of the events. It was an enjoyable read. I did find some of the flowery write initially off putting but soon got drawn into the murder mystery. A book I would thoroughly recommend.

4.5/5 (rounded up to 5/5)

A twisty turns somewhat cozy mystery with an interesting central conceit that the murder victim had been trying to preemptively solve her murder before it took place.

Small village secrets and webs of connection all converge with our outsider heroine piecing it altogether in the face of a ticking clock this is a fast read, with all the clues to solve the mystery in the text with a little bit of an opening for another adventure.

A most enjoyable read at the end of the year.

Actual rating- 3.5 stars. The book is a nice, easy read. It goes between two narratives: Frances’s teenage years in 1960, starting from when she was told her future ‘contained dried bones’ and then Annie, Frances’s niece, trying to solve her murder. I enjoyed reading Frances’s POV, as it was a lot more interesting than Annie’s imo, I only wish Frances’s POV was longer. Overall, it was a good read but not one that I’d jump at the chance to read again for the first time.

Thanks to NetGalley and Quercus books for this ARC.

Rating: 2.3/5

I was initially drawn to this novel by its title. It gave me the sense that the book would be a little quirky and different. This seemed to be borne out by the accompanying synopsis. These elements, combined with the significant noise surrounding this debut from Kristen Perrin, had me looking forward to a highly enjoyable reading experience - but, unfortunately, I found it quite disappointing in a number of respects.

"How to Solve Your Own Murder" seems to be positioned as a cosy murder mystery and although it does contain certain traits pertaining to that genre, I suspect it will not be cosy enough for true devotees. On the flip side, nor is it likely to prove robust enough to satisfy the demands of fans of non-cosy fiction. Essentially, this book falls between two stools and doesn't really excel in either form.

The story actually starts with a reasonable amount of promise and the setting is very much in keeping with some of the great murder mysteries from the so-called "golden age" of crime writing, but it doesn't make the most of its potential. There is plenty to suggest that Kristen Perrin has talent as a writer, but there are also a number of aspects that don't pass muster. I won't list all of them, but here are some of the most striking. The central character, Annie Adams, is nowhere near charismatic enough to carry off the dominant role that she plays in proceedings. She is certainly no Miss Marple, nor even for that matter a Jessica Fletcher - though she does share the common (and far from original trait) of being a murder mystery writer investigating a murder mystery. The other particularly significant persona is that of the now deceased Frances Adams, who is represented by means of her diary entries from the 1960s. Helpfully, Frances' diary entries are printed in italics, which is just as well, as the reader may otherwise struggle to distinguish the voice of her character from that of Annie. There is also quite a sizeable supporting cast, but there is little in the way of depth to the portrayal of any of them. I also had issues with the pace of the novel. There are too many occasions when it too pedestrian far too long and I found myself losing interest. However, there is also one very fundamental flaw with this novel. Frances' paranoid obsession with her "fortune" is the very basis of this whole story - but nothing about the way that Frances' character is portrayed suggests to me that she was the kind of person who would simply accept the words of a fortune teller without challenging it or doubting its veracity. Quite late in the day, the author does attempt to provide justification for Frances' obsession with the clairvoyant's predictions, but I was not at all convinced by this. Consequently, the whole plot is built on very crumbly foundations.

"How to Solve Your Own Murder" is far from being awful, but there are also many books of this genre out there that have more to recommend them.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for supplying an ARC in return for an honest review.

A Hornets Nest..
Frances Adams spent the largest proportion of her life trying to prevent a crime - her very own murder. She knew it was going to happen but why would no one believe her? And then, it did. When her great niece Annie arrives, she is soon thrust into a veritable hornets nest. With a deliciously drawn cast of eclectic and eccentric characters and a rather unique plot with a swiftly moving narrative, this is an entertaining and engaging read bubbling over with wry humour.

A joyful, funny read with bags of action and memorable characters. I really enjoyed this. Not only does the author manage to create a puzzling mystery, but also a protagonist who is highly believe able and someone I was rooting for from the start.

Indeed, how do you solve your own murder?

Well, it starts with getting a bright young woman fight for you. Annabel, or simply Annie, is unpresumptuous and open-minded. She realizes all three friends, Frances, Rose and Emily, had a bit of a confusing time being seventeen.

So with the murder of Frances sixty years later, Annie has got her work cut out for her. Will she find out what happened to her great-aunt and perhaps even understand the dynamics between the family members, friends and acquaintances – both then and now?

Often I make a point of inclusion or diversity when it lacks in a book I read, but in this case I was happily surprised by the different flavors of the human kind being part of the community of this small town. Without this being emphasized as a theme of the book.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book.

I just read How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin and it was so good. All the cosy murder mystery vibes. I don’t often spend time thinking about mystery books when I’m not reading them but I was staying up at night running theories on who could have done it, piecing together the clues.

This is the story of Annie, who is called to her kooky great Aunt Francis’ estate. Francis is obsessed with a fortune she was given as a teenager foretelling her murder. Everyone think she is crazy but when she she is murdered, she turns her will into a game. Whoever can solve her murder wins her estate.

I loved Annie, I loved the small town setting and I loved the mystery. A true escape book, thank you Netgalley. I highly recommend this one.

A fun whodunnit mystery with lots of twists and red herrings! I did think there were a couple of plot holes that didn’t add up but regardless this was a quick and enjoyable read.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

This is an amazingly well written mystery with true Christie vibes.
The dual POV from two different time lines flow effortlessly from one to the other with our two main characters being strong and passionate woman searching for a truth and fighting their way through muderous mysteries.
I truly loved the writing style and the plot was brilliant. It had me hooked continuously because as you thought something was about to become clear you switch time lines.
A rollercoaster I didn’t want to get off. Thank you for your approval, my first read of the year and what a way to start the year. I will be keeping an eye out for this author.

How To Solve Your Own Murder started off pretty well, I loved the idea of a murder mystery which we know is coming. I liked the initial fortune reading and found it really set up the story well that you would notice little instances of the ‘signs’ popping up throughout. However I struggled to really engage in this one, the frequent time jumps seemed to confuse rather than clarify and the large amount of characters made it difficult to follow.

I liked Annie’a character and found her interesting to follow, I would liked more of Frances as an adult, as mainly the flashbacks were around her being quite young.

Overall I gave this one three stars, I enjoyed the first part but the more it went on the more I wanted to skim the book to see the ending.

Thank you Netgalley and Kirsten Perrin for the audio ARC of How to Solve your own Murder.

I really enjoyed this cosy mystery/thriller narrated by Alexandra Dowling and Jaye Jacobs. Both have lovely voices in which fit the characters personalities which helped keep the 2 timelines distinguishable. So if you prefer an audio version then its also recommended.

The story is set in 2 different timelines with a murder in each time line and both are linked. The main characters were well described and had a good sense of the village where the story takes place. The narratives have some subtle twists and turns so you do have to pay attention to the foreshadowing. The main twist and pay off at the end of How to solve your own murder was clever. I do feel though that the other characters in the book could have been fleshed out a little more, although there is enough there to get your teeth into.

I enjoyed this book.
A murder long predicted has been committed and it’s up to her great niece to solve it.
I liked the period feel of the story and the story was very Christie in tone, found myself getting gripped by this style and a sensible but not really guessable plot really helped.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I'll start by saying this book has all the best murder mystery vibes. So much mystery and intrigue, as well as some high stakes drama towards the end. I've heard it compared to Agatha Christie, The Thursday Murder Club, and Knives Out, and as a fan of all three, I knew would enjoy this story.

The narrative takes place on two different timelines: present day, and the 1960s (via journal entries from the present day murder victim herself). This meant there were basically two interlocking mysteries unfolding at once and as they both progress I found myself hooked!

The flashback journal entry chapters really helped to flesh out some of the older characters and gave a lot of insight into events from both timelines. I did get some of the characters mixed up in my head in the early chapters and keeping up with the familial relationships between the characters in 1965 and the present day was a little confusing, but if anything this reflected on the fact that the main character, Annie, doesn't really know these people.

As the story developed a lot of things started to slot into place and make a lot more sense to me (sometimes it takes me a while to remember who everyone is in a book 😅).

The ending was not too predictable, as murder mysteries often are, and I really enjoyed how the big reveal was done!

What a great story! Annie’s great aunt Frances is convinced that a fortune teller predicted her murder and spent years obsessing over it. When she dies, she sets the potential heirs to her estate the task of solving her murder. The story is set in the present day, and in the 1960’s, told through Frances’ diary.

Once I started reading, it was hard to put down. There were so many twists that every time a potential murderer was suggested, I was absolutely convinced that they had done it. There were no one-dimensional characters, no one was completely awful, morally questionable, or wonderful, which really helped to add depth to the story. It added to my conviction that everyone could have been Frances’ murderer.

Thanks go to #NetGalley and #QuercusBooks for the advance copy of the fantastic #HowToSolveYourOwnMurder, and the very satisfactory ending!

Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the arc. A crime mystery set over two time lines, it started well but the lack of pace and too much time spent in the head of Annie the protagonist became irritating and I was happy to.finish. Fans of cosy crime drama like Midsomer Murders will enjoy it.

🐦‍⬛How To Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin 🐦‍⬛

Thank you #Netgalley for this ARC of #HowToSolveYourOwnMurder which will be published on the 26th March 2024.

“When you write it all down, you can go back and find meaning you’d never noticed was there all along.”
This was a great read, so fast and had me gripped to the kindle for two sittings.

France’s has had her fortune told and she’s convinced she’ll be murdered. While everyone else thinks she’s been fooled, Frances spends her life trying to figure out who will murder her and trying to solve the mystery surrounding her friend’s disappearance until she eventually does get murdered.

We follow Annie, France’s great niece as she tries to solve the murder and the many mysteries surrounding Frances and the people in her life.

This felt like a very modern Agatha Christie and I loved it. It was a quick, fast paced read with lots of fun little reveals. It had me trying to guess the culprit right till the end and then wrapped up in a really satisfying way. I can see this being a big one next year!

4.25*

Thank you to NetGalley and Quercus Books for a digital review copy of "How to Solve Your Own Murder" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.

This was my first read by Kristen Perrin and as soon as I'd seen the premise I knew I had to read it - A dual timeline murder mystery that urges us, the reader to work out the clues and try and solve the case, right up my alley!

Reminiscent of Agatha Christie and Knives Out this is a small-town mystery with a plot that immediately intrigues. Annie Adams is called to Castle Knoll for a meeting with her Great-Aunt Frances for a changing of her will terms. Great-Aunt Frances has spent her life, since receiving a fortune teller's prophecy in the sixties that predicts her murder, trying to get ahead of the game and figure out who will be her killer. The prophecy has proved to be eerily accurate including the aforementioned murder which happens on the day Annie arrives. It is up to her now to solve the case, claim her inheritance and also possibly solve a second mystery that remains open from 1966.

This overall was a clever and twist laden whodunnit that, much like the classic Golden Age era, has an enclosed circle of suspects, secrets galore and multiple mysteries to solve. I was left guessing right up to the end as to the answers and wasn't left disappointed in the end resolution. The characters were overall engaging and I really liked the switching between timelines and using diary entries for the 1960s was an effective way of taking us to the past without distracting from the present, in fact it enhanced the present storyline considerably.

Annie is an effective amateur detective, instantly likeable and with an appropriate amount of damsel in distress attributes to make us care for her and keep urging her on to success. She starts to build relationships with a number of characters (and it's a large group which may not work for everyone) but there are a few who feel a little under developed and underutilised, however ultimately most, if not all have their place in the story to make the red herrings work and keep us engaged.

As it stands this book could easily stay as a standalone but I'm hoping that based on how I felt at the end (it definitely felt like there was a whiff of unfinished business) that we'll get a few more in the future. Cosy mystery fans and golden age mystery fans should all really enjoy this book and it comes highly recommended.