#how to solve your own murder

[maddiesbookshelves]

London book haul ✨

I had a list of books I wanted to buy and only 3 of those were on it, haha. It was Before the Coffee Gets Cold, The Jasmine Throne and I Wish You All the Best. I had spotted quite a few other books that sounded really good, but Where the Dark Stands Still, The Briar Book of the Dead and How to Solve Your Own Murder just stood out above the others

I've read I Wish You All the Best in the past (several times actually) and have a post about it, but I really wanted to own a physical copy because I love it so much. And I've also read The Briar Book of the Dead since I came back and loved it! I'm currently on How to Solve Your Own Murder, which is pretty intriguing so far

[fandomhype]

T’was fully influenced by @thesefilespod to get this!

… I did not solve it! 😂

A really enjoyable crime/mystery book. Can't wait for the second book to come out next year!

[bibliophilecats]

Read recently: How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kirsten Perrin, read by Jaye Jacobs and Alexandra Dowling

What I was looking for: A funny, cozy mystery.

What I liked: I liked that the main character was actually genre savy and not stupid. She noticed the things I noticed too and often also remarked on them, asked questions, followed up. I like it when they are not stupid or totally unobservant just to get them in trouble. The parallel stories, present and past, worked well together.

What I did not like: For one, the characters were not particularly deep or difficult. The developer, the rich snob, the strange rich kid, the steadfast lawyer. You do not need to spend a lot of time trying to figure out these characters.

This very likely can be attributed to the format, i.e. audiobook but there were just so many characters and family members/descendants of important characters from the past, I really had trouble keeping them straight (which removed a little drama from the reveal because I was confused).

Narrator: I liked the narration. It was a good decision choosing two different narrators for the two timelines.

Conclusion: I enjoyed myself and recommend the book if you are looking for a fun, entertaining mystery. However, I only recently learned that this is going to be a series and at the moment, I do not feel any need to read on. To me, this felt like a completed story.

[my-52-weeks-with-christie]

Mystery Review: How To Solve Your Own Murder

How To Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin “….All signs point toward your murder.”  Typically, the cryptic words from a fortuneteller at a village fete would rapidly evaporate from the mind, supplanted by the heat of the summer’s day, hanging with your best friends, and the laughter that inevitably follows such an overly dramatic reading. Yet, despite her friend’s teasing, sixteen-year-old…

[cattatonically]

How to Solve Your Own Murder - Kristen Perrin (Castle Knoll Files, book 1)

Synopsis

For fans of Knives Out and The Thursday Murder Club, an enormously fun mystery about a woman who spends her entire life trying to prevent her foretold murder only to be proven right sixty years later, when she is found dead in her sprawling country estate… Now it’s up to her great-niece to catch the killer.

It’s 1965 and teenage Frances Adams is at an English country fair with her two best friends. But Frances’s night takes a hairpin turn when a fortune-teller makes a bone-chilling prediction: One day, Frances will be murdered. Frances spends a lifetime trying to solve a crime that hasn’t happened yet, compiling dirt on every person who crosses her path in an effort to prevent her own demise. For decades, no one takes Frances seriously, until nearly sixty years later, when Frances is found murdered, like she always said she would be.

In the present day, Annie Adams has been summoned to a meeting at the sprawling country estate of her wealthy and reclusive great-aunt Frances. But by the time Annie arrives in the quaint English village of Castle Knoll, Frances is already dead. Annie is determined to catch the killer, but thanks to Frances’s lifelong habit of digging up secrets and lies, it seems every endearing and eccentric villager might just have a motive for her murder. Can Annie safely unravel the dark mystery at the heart of Castle Knoll, or will dredging up the past throw her into the path of a killer?

As Annie gets closer to the truth, and closer to the danger, she starts to fear she might inherit her aunt’s fate instead of her fortune.

My Thoughts

This book sucked me in from the get-go. There is certainly no skimping on the drama, and definitely no skimping on all the great cozy mystery tropes. Even setting the scene and establishing the cast of characters sucked me in. Ideas were already swirling around in my head, and we hadn’t even arrived at the murder yet. And to me, those are signs that this book is about to grab me heart and soul, and be very reluctant to let go.

I love the past meeting the present in this book. Seeing things play out from both Annie’s and her great aunt Frances’ perspectives is a nice little thrill, honestly. Especially in the beginning, having some pieces – especially characters – click together with Annie’s present adds a really lovely element of everything coming together. And I have no doubt that everything is playing out – both in the past, and the present – exactly as it should.

It really didn’t take long to realize that we would be solving two mysteries in this book – one past, and one present. And let me just say, the ante has been ramped all the way up. Just as I begin to think there really can’t be any more twists or turns, we get whomped with all things twisty and turny (and a little timey wimey). And of course, Annie’s right in the middle of all of it.

Annie not only is left responsible for solving a murder, but she also feels responsible for solving a cold case, and the mystery that was the life of her Great Aunt Frances. And the more she gets invested, the more everyone around her in the little village of Castle Knoll is a suspect in some way, shape, or form. (And the easy on the eyes detective she comes across is also a pretty nice bonus to the whole thing.)

It was really easy to get wrapped up in the mysteries, and to follow along with Annie as she put the pieces together and worked out not only who killed Great Aunt Frances, but who killed one of her best friends, too, Emily Sparrow. At one point, I stopped trying to solve the murder along with Annie, and just rode the ride. And what a ride it was!!

The more time Annie spends in Castle Knoll, the more she comes to feel like she belongs. She’s getting to know the town, and its residents, bit by bit, and she can’t help but feel drawn to the town – to a part of her family history. (And again, Mr. Handsome Detective Crane definitely adds to the appeal).

I really was thrown for a loop when Annie solved Great Aunt Frances’ murder. I absolutely hadn’t pegged the killer as the killer, but when the pieces all fell into place, it made a lot of sense. And getting to the conclusion was a very twisty, very pleasant surprise!

I absolutely loved this book. I adored it. This is the kind of book I would re-read over and over again, simply because of how much I love this setting, and these characters. There’s a small, selfish part of me hoping this is the beginning of some kind of series.

But even if this is a standalone, I will be keeping an eye on Kristen Perrin, and I plan on devouring every book she puts out. Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned recently, it’s that life is way too short not to indulge in great books, and great authors.

[angrybubbles]

"I didn't know yet how much stronger gravity gets when you see the messy pieces of a person and breathe them in, make them yours."

How To Solve Your Own Murder -Kristin Perrin

[libraryofbaxobab]

July 29, 2024:

A decades-old cryptic prediction. A reclusive life to uncover. An inheritance on the line. A death--or maybe more?--to solve.

These customary ingredients produce a proper mystery. It's got enough unusual elements to keep from being generic, but it's not trying to do too much. To be clear, I appreciate that. In this case, standard is not a bad word.

It was pretty easy for me to guess the culprit... for one mystery, that is. As the plot does thicken, there's a few more things to have fun untangling.

6.5/10 #WhatsKenyaReading

[nats-reads-reviews]

How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin 3/5 ⭐️

This book was cute - I would put in the category of a cozy, feel-good murder mystery. I like that the main character is reading through her great aunt’s notebooks from when she was a teenager, and the reader gets to read them as well, to give background knowledge. However, this was one of those murder mysteries with a lot of characters who get introduced in a short time. I tried my best to follow along and I was able to keep, but there were some moments where I was a little lost on which character was who in the story. Sometimes that happens with murder mysteries - maybe it’s par for the course for the genre but I feel characters can be better introduced. It wasn’t a great read but altogether entertaining and cozy!

[bloodmaarked]

➸ reading list

just added:

home fire, kamila shamsie

hits different, tasha ghouri + lizzie huxley-jones

someone who will love you in all your damaged glory, raphael bob-waksberg

how to solve your own murder, kristen perrin

the octopus man, jasper gibson

kim jiyoung, born 1982, cho nam-joo

brotherless night, v.v. ganeshananthan

gold rush, olivia petter

bittersweet, susan cain

beyond the door of no return, david diop

[bargainsleuthbooks]

How to Solve Your Own Murder (Castle Knoll Files #1) by Kristen Perrin #BookReview #ARCReview #NetGalley #Dutton #CozyMystery

For fans of #ThursdayMurderClub, there's a new mystery series that you have to check out! #HowToSolveYourOwnMurder is a great dual timeline murder mystery set at a country manor in a small town. #duttonbooks #bookreview #bookstagram #cozymystery

For fans of Knives Out and The Thursday Murder Club , an enormously fun mystery about a woman who spends her entire life trying to prevent her foretold murder only to be proven right sixty years later, when she is found dead in her sprawling country estate… Now it’s up to her great-niece to catch the killer.  It’s 1965 and teenage Frances Adams is at an English country fair with her two best…

[a-skirmish-of-wit-and-lit]

Book Review: How to Solve Your Own Murder (Castle Knoll Files #1) by Kristen Perrin

A young mystery writer named Annie Adams finds herself in Castle Knoll, a small English village, in a competition to solve her estranged great aunt's murder. The catch? It must be solved within the week. The conflict? There are many people involved in the game with their own stakes, their own schemes, and their own secrets. The intrigue? Frances was told nearly 60 years ago by a fortune teller that she would be murdered, causing her to become reclusive and suspicious of everyone in town for the rest of her life. She had also been trying to solve the disappearance of her friend Emily for years and years. The fun? There's a double murder plot to unravel! One set in the past, in the 1960's; the other set in the present day.

The question is: can Annie solve them both?

If you're a fan of cozy mysteries with an Agatha-like pace, then you'll find this one enticing. While the plot did feel overly crowded at times, with the lies and betrayals of less important characters taking up too much space, I enjoyed the small town antics, the inheritance questions, as well as the false leads and numerous suspects. Annie is a likable, enthusiastic character. She may not be the best at following clues or sussing out people, but she makes up for it with her inquisitive charm and her mystery writer turn of mind.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Dutton for the ARC in exchange for my review.

3.5/5 stars

**Follow me on Goodreads

[thereadingcafe]

[sandythereadingcafe]

REVIEW:

HOW TO SOLVE YOUR OWN MURDER (Castle Knoll Files 1) by Kristen Perrin at The Reading Cafe:

'a wild gripping ride that will have you unable to put the book down'

@DuttonBooks

[puhpandas]

the sense that cassie would knock into tony

[maddiesbookshelves]

📚🗓 Mid-Year Freakout Tag 2024 🗓📚

Thank you @cleopatras-library for the tag ☺️

How many books have you read so far?

10 novels, 2 graphic novels and uh, like 10 or more manga? I don't track all of them

What genres have you read?

Fantasy, historical, romance and mystery. Sometimes several of those in the same book

Best book you’ve read so far in 2024?

Probably The Briar Book Of The Dead, by A. G. Slatter if we're talking about novels only. But the graphic novel Rivages Lointains by Anaïs Flogny is just so good, I'm obsessed with it. If you can, please read it, it's French but it's been translated into English and Italian

Best sequel you’ve read so far in 2023?

The only ones I've read were either manga or the full Dr. Greta Helsing trilogy by Vivian Shaw, which I've read back to back. So either that (book 3, Grave Importance), or the manga Requiem Of The Rose King, by Aya Kanno, that I reread and finally finished after YEARS (yes the ending ended ME)

New release you haven’t read yet, but want to

There are way too many, and I keep seeing more at work, I'm gonna die of frustration. Evocation by S. T. Gibson is eyeing me very strongly because of the internet. As is The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal, from where it's sitting on my coworker's display (it only came out in February in France)

Most anticipated release for the second half of the year

I don't know honestly. The one book I was really waiting for this year was A Crane Among Wolves because I loved June Hur's previous books, and since I've read it now (it's very good btw), I'm not waiting for anything else

Update I learned something as I was writing this post: HEAVENLY TIRANT MIGHT STILL BE COMING OUT THIS YEAR???? DECEMBER 24????? MERRY FUCKING CHRISTMAS TO US???? HELLO?????? After Xiran told us the release date had been pushed back I thought for sure it would come out next year but apparently not so YEAH THAT'S MY MOST ANTICIPATED RELEASE OF THE YEAR, PERIOD

Biggest disappointment

It's a toss between How To Kill Your Family by Bella Mackie, and A Far Wilder Magic by Allison Saft, for reasons that are very different. If it wasn't for that ending, How To Kill Your Family wouldn't even be there but unfortunately. And A Far Wilder Magic just wasn't for me. I didn't expect it to be YA romantasy so I was sorely disappointed

Biggest surprise

Probably A Sign Of Affection by Suu Morishita? Don't get me wrong, I love shoujo (I know, I don't like romance novels but I love shoujo, it makes no sense, don't look at me) and I thought I would like it but I didn't expect to like it this much

Book that made you cry

I cry so often when I read/watch/listen to things that it all gets mixed up in my memories. I think I cried for Rivages Lointains, I definitely cried for Requiem Of The Rose King HAHA. I might have cried for Run Away With Me, Girl by Battan, I'm not sure. All of those are manga by the way, I don't remember if I cried reading a novel this year

Book that made you happy

The Bandit Queens made me happy because the ending was great (unlike How To Kill Your Family) which healed me a little

Most beautiful book cover of a book you’ve read so far this year

Aaaaaaa I don't know. The cover (and sprayed edges) for the French edition of A Far Wilder Magic are a big part of why I even bought it in the first place, but also A Crane Among Wolves...... And of course Aya Kanno's art is just so beautiful, all the covers for the Requiem Of The Rose King series are 👌

How are you doing with your year’s goal?

I had set a goal of 40 on goodreads/storygraph but I might have underestimated how work would impact my reading habits. But also, I'm not dead set on reaching that goal, I just want to read

What books do you need to read by the end of the year?

I'd love to read more of the books I already own because it's becoming a problem. Other than that, there's no urgent need

That was fun so if anyone wants to join in, please feel free!

[the-radiants]

I used to basically only read epic fantasy but recently I’ve been feeling something new so I’ve been trying to get into cozy mystery