How to Solve Your Own Murder

This is a fun little murder mystery! In the 60’s, a teenage Frances visits a fortune teller and hears that one day she’ll be murdered, sparking a lifelong obsession. In present day, her great-niece Annie comes for a visit, only to end up having to solve Frances’s murder in order to gain her inheritance. But solving one murder may require solving a much older one from Frances’s childhood.

I enjoyed the back and forth timeline shenanigans, as the narrative weaves between Frances’s troubles with her friends, and Annie’s present day sleuthing. We get the classic red herrings and misdirects, small town secrets and dramas, and a competition for inheritance providing some stakes.

I think I’d rate this right at 3.75 stars; it was show more a fun and easy read, but I don’t think it quite lived up to its billing as something like Knives Out. It’s definitely more Clue-esque murder mystery than nail-biting thriller. There’s suspense, but it’s not going to keep you up at night jumping at every sound. So if you’re looking for some more light-hearted mystery that’s not full of jump scares or gore, then this is just your cup of tea. show less

Annie's great-aunt Frances has summoned her to Castle Knoll to discuss changes to her will, but when Annie arrives, she, the lawyer, and other descendants find Frances dead - murdered, as she always suspected and feared, due to a fortune from her teenage years.

The story flips between past and present, from Frances' teenage diary (which Annie finds and reads) to Annie's efforts to solve Frances' murder before someone else does - for the fate of Frances' estate rests on who solves her murder. Annie is in competition with Saxon, Frances' late husband Ford's nephew, and Oliver, a property developer and son of the lawyer (who is, himself, the ex-boyfriend of one of Frances' teenage best friends).

Castle Knoll is a tangled, thorny web where show more past and present are knit closely together, and Annie, an aspiring mystery writer, has a personal stake in the case: she grew up in Ford's house in Chelsea with her mother, Laura, who she learns in the course of her investigation is not Frances' biological niece, but the daughter of Frances' friend Emily, raised by Frances' brother Peter and his wife Tansy. If Annie doesn't solve Frances' murder first, they'll lose the house she grew up in, and the place where Laura has made all her best art.

Annie realizes that Frances' recent murder is tied to the disappearance of Emily back in the 1960s; discovering how Frances solved Emily's murder will lead Annie to Frances' own killer. But who in Castle Knoll can Annie trust? Everyone from the detective to the vicar to the lawyer to the EMTs is connected somehow.

Delightfully, dizzyingly twisty and satisfying.

Quotes

But I also find it exhausting to hold on to mistrust or anger for any length of time. (Frances' diary, 129)

She suspected the whole town of having a reason to kill her, and seemed completely oblivious to the fact that her suspicions and incessant digging probably gave them those reasons to begin with. (151)

"If her paranoia drove someone to kill her, one of the most useful things I can do is try to understand the way her mind worked." (Annie, 151)

...sometimes even the best evidence can lead you to the wrong conclusions. (185)

And that's the thing with lies: They're much easier to believe when it's an idea you like. (Frances' diary, 208)

In her I saw someone who was so self-aware it was catastrophic, a tendency I share. (340)

...my own story is a living thing. It unfolds and turns and folds over itself again. When you write it all down, you can go back and find meaning you'd never noticed was there all along. (344)

But I suppose that's what happens when you solve a murder. The outrage of the crime itself doesn't go away just because you've put the pieces together. (347) show less

First sentence: "Your future contains dry bones."

Premise/plot: Frances Adams receives a fortune at a country fair that changes the lives of her and her friends in Kristen Perrin's newest mystery novel. The mystery has dual time periods. Frances' journal/diary is from 1965/1966. The present story is told from the point of view of her great-niece, Annie Adams. It seems that Frances' fortune that she would be murdered was accurate. It is up to Annie (and several others) to solve her murder and possibly inherit her estate. Frances spent most of her life--all her adult life--preparing for the day. She took NOTES and kept files and records on anybody/everybody. So Annie will have a lot of material to work from...but it might just prove show more dangerous. The person who murdered Frances might not hesitate to murder again...

My thoughts: I really LOVED this one. There were multiple crimes to solve. The characterization was substantive. So MANY characters--all of them quirky/interesting. Plenty of people might have motives for wanting Frances to mind her own business...but who would kill to protect a secret? There are red herrings. But I really enjoyed puzzling this one out. I enjoyed BOTH narratives. Definitely recommend this one. show less

The title intrigued me, and I was engaged from the first pages of this British murder mystery in two timelines: the 1965 journal of a teenage girl and the current day mystery of who killed Great Aunt Frances (the former teenage girl).

Combining the clues, characters, secrets, and twists of "Knives Out" with "Magpie Murders" had me guessing as to who was the murderer – or were there two murderers, one from the past and one in the present?

Lots of characters, possible motives, and suspects kept me turning the pages. Present day Annie Adams, who has been tasked with solving the murder of her Great Aunt Frances, is a likeable amateur sleuth, and I enjoyed how she shared her suspicions and riddle solutions with the reader so we could also show more solve the murder mystery. Unfortunately she was one of those people who ignores advice to stay safe and puts herself in danger due to her impetuousness. The book loses a star for how the author artificially creates drama through Annie’s bad judgement.

All mysteries and suspects were explained as the novel winds down, not always to my satisfaction. I’m rating this 3.5 stars and think it would be an entertaining beach read. show less

I really loved this tale told from two main points of view, Frances and her great niece, Annie. The original structure that jumps from the past to the present, straddling three generations keeps the reader engrossed and on her toes. The characters are complex, the village full of secrets, vices and unexpected virtues, and the plot has layer upon layer. As with all thrillers, the ending is rather over-the-top and Annie's plan is rather convoluted, but I kept turning the pages, eager for the denouement. Future books are also cleverly announced - I'm in for a series!

This was a very well done cozy-ish mystery with an interesting premise and cast of characters. The competition to solve the murder was a good time constraint, and the flashbacks via journal entries were well done and didn't make me wish we were staying in the present timeline. I will check out whatever comes next in this series for sure.

Annie lives with her artist mom at a home that's owned by her Great Aunt Frances, whom Annie has never met. But when Great Aunt Frances summons Annie and others, including her lawyer, to her estate for a meeting, they anticipate a change in Frances's will. What they don't expect is for Frances to be murdered, and for the fortune she received 60 years ago to apparently come true. Frances's will stipulates that Annie or the nephew, Saxon, must solve the murder before the local detective in order to be named her heir. Annie finds herself intrigued by the mystery - and all the gossipy files Frances kept on everybody - and starts investigating.

A fun mystery that is drawing some comparisons to "Knives Out", which does match its quirkiness but show more which is probably better executed. How to Solve Your Own Murder is Perrin's adult debut, and does have a few issues to work out. I never really understood the point of having the fortune and whether it was real or a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy as Frances interpreted everything through its lens. The back and forth between Frances' diaries from her teenage years in the '60s and Annie's investigation made for good pacing, and the characters were all intriguing. We're kept a little bit in the dark of all that Annie figures out so the reveal is a bit Agatha Christie-like where everything comes together at once and the murderer confesses. If you like cozy mysteries set in a small English town, this one is worth a library borrow at the very least. show less