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.

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Review

This mystery novel kept me guessing from start to finish. I have to admit this is a case where I didn’t guess the killer…however, the person I suspected isn’t a rose by any means!

This may be the author’s adult debut novel, but she has captured the mystery genre quite well. There is a lovely mix of characters, loveable and not, clues galore, and there are not one but two mysteries to solve.

Annie has been summoned to the village of Castle Knoll to discuss Great Aunt Frances’ will. But before that can happen, she is found dead, and the new will pits Annie against Frances’ nephew for the inheritance. If neither can solve the mystery, everything will be sold and donated. This is not a pleasant prospect for either party. So they are off to figure out who killed Frances and who will inherit.

There are so many things I enjoyed about this book. I liked how the story jumped back and forth in time. It gives us a perspective on Frances that you would never have known. It explains her obsession with a fortune that was given to her as a teen and sheds light on her group of friends. It also explains Frances’ eccentric behavior. There are an abundance of clues scattered throughout the book, and it is putting them together to determine what is fact and what is fiction. Whenever I thought I might have an idea of who was involved, something else would pop up to potentially discredit them as the killer. The reality was a surprise, but when it was laid out for the reader, it made perfect sense.

Besides solving the two murders (old and new), Annie has to uncover the truth about various villagers. I don’t want to spoil anything, so you will just have to read the book and find out for yourself.

This sleepy village in England didn’t lack for characters, citizens, or intrigue. I believe this might become a series, and I hope it does. I’d love to see what mystery Annie solves next and if there is any sort of romance that might blossom between her and Detective Crane. I also wonder if she will overcome her crippling fear of needles and blood.

We give this book 5 paws up.

About the Author

Kristen Perrin is originally from Seattle, Washington, where she spent several years working as a bookseller before moving to the UK to do a master’s and PhD. She lives with her family in Surrey, where she can be found poking around vintage bookstores, stomping in the mud with her two kids, and collecting too many plants. Her middle-grade series, Attie and the World Breakers, was published in German, Dutch, and Polish. How to Solve Your Own Murder is her adult debut.

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