How to Solve Your Own Murder - (Castle Knoll Files) by Kristen Perrin

One of Amazon's Top 10 Best Books of April, One of Jimmy Fallon's favorite books for Spring 2024, The Top LibraryReads pick for March 2024, A Publishers Marketplace 2024 BuzzBook, One of NPR's Books We Love

Frances Adams always said she'd be murdered. She was right.

In 1965, Frances Adams is at an English country fair where a fortune-teller makes a bone-chilling prediction: One day, Frances will be murdered. It is a prediction that sparks her life's work--trying to solve a crime that hasn't happened yet.

Nearly sixty years later, Annie Adams is 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 found murdered, just like she always said she would be. 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 danger, she starts to fear she might inherit her aunt's fate instead of her fortune.

Review Quotes

"Debut novelist Kristen Perrin has done the impossible in delivering readers a quintessential English murder mystery with a fresh, unconventional approach. Idyllic country village? Check. Amateur sleuth? Check. But a fortune teller's grim prediction coming true sixty years later? Now that makes for an enthralling tale. There's no shortage of entertaining, well-rounded characters in this charming and multilayered whodunit, a perfect shelf companion alongside reader favorites like Agatha Christie, Richard Osman, and Nita Prose."--Sarah Penner, New York Times bestselling author of The Lost Apothecary

"I so enjoyed this smart, original murder mystery. It's filled with curious characters and takes place in the most gorgeous setting - the mysterious Castle Knoll - and sucked me in from the very first pages. I think fans of Richard Osman will love this one."--Beth O'Leary, author of The Flatshare

"Grab a blanket and mug of English breakfast tea and prepare to get lost in Kristen Perrin's delightful How to Solve Your Own Murder. Perrin flawlessly links amateur sleuth, Annie, to a cast of eccentric characters, a fortune teller's dreaded prediction, a decades-old mystery, and a puzzling murder. With Agatha Christie-like vibes and perfect for fans of The Maid, this is an utterly charming whodunnit--I loved it!"--Karma Brown, #1 internationally bestselling author of Recipe for a Perfect Wife

"A quaint village in southwest England, an amateur female sleuth with the deductive skills of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot, and an eccentric murdered aunt come together in a brilliant and masterful whodunnit. For all murder mystery fans-this one's for you! Don't miss it."--Liv Constantine, internationally bestselling author of The Last Mrs. Parrish

"I loved it: warm, clever and wildly original."--Elly Griffiths, Edgar award-winning author of The Stranger Diaries

"Select a positive superlative and be confident readers will use it in describing this tale. Fans of Alice Bell, Janice Hallett, and Agatha Christie will hope to see more from Perrin, who set aside YA fiction to make her adult debut."--Booklist (starred review)

"The first in a new series, this whodunit will delight mystery lovers."--NPR

"Puzzle-filled...This is a low-stakes, non-terrifying mystery whose many puzzles fall in the sweet spot between risibly simple and prohibitively complicated. Castle Knoll's unofficial name should be Nest of Vipers. As Saxon, a sneaky, spying child who has grown up to become the town's coroner, puts it: "We're all guilty of something."--New York Times Book Review

"This debut...announces the arrival of a very bright new talent on the cosy crime scene. Perrin's first mystery has wit, style and suspense as well as a feisty heroine. A delightfully refreshing story of the plots and allegiances that riddle the tiny Dorset village, where everyone has a skeleton or two in their closet. This has a Netflix series written all over it -- it is that good."--Daily Mail

"[How to Solve Your Own Murder] is such an addictive and cleverly plotted read that builds on an gem of an idea to create a treasure trove of a story.... Perrin's writing was wickedly brilliant, insightful and utterly captivating....an ingenious, insightful and incisive read. If you're looking for a good mystery that will keep you hooked until the early hours, look no further."--The Nerd Daily

"How to Solve Your Own Murder had me hooked from beginning to end.... The clues and misdirections are brilliantly created....This book is so enjoyable that I found myself doing what I haven't done in a while--​taking it with me everywhere so I could read even just another page or two. It's a clever and carefully crafted novel that has much to recommend it."--Book Reporter

"The pace is quick, the red herrings are plentiful, and Annie's growth from timid wannabe writer to confident sleuth is beautifully rendered. Combining elements of Agatha Christie, Anthony Horowitz, and Midsomer Murders, this is a richly entertaining whodunit from a promising new talent."--Publishers Weekly

"Perrin juggles characters and clues with aplomb, sketching in the past via teen Frances' journals and immersing readers in the present through Annie's determined, good-hearted point of view. Readers will root for her as she gains hard-won confidence in this entertaining exploration of family secrets."--BookPage

"A spellbinding cozy mystery layered with so many twists and turns that readers, right up to the last page, will keep changing their minds about whodunnit and why."--Shelf Awareness

"Perfectly structured and filled with suspense, Kristen Perrin, making her adult fiction debut, delivers a fascinating and twisting whodunit packed with wit and heart that's perfect for fans of Richard Osman and Anthony Horowitz."--The Real Book Spy

"The plot has a nice sense of propulsion, the mystery definitely captures interest, and Perrin is a smooth writer."--Christian Science Monitor

"A deliciously inventive new take on the classic murder mystery. I couldn't put it down."--Bobby Palmer, author of Isaac and the Egg

"Kristen Perrin has such a bright, fresh and natural voice - I was utterly absorbed by this classic murder mystery, with a uniquely spooky twist, and whizzed through the entire story in one sitting."--Jessica Bull, author of Miss Austen Investigates

"A clever, captivating debut with an abundance of style."--Kate Wells, author of Murder on Malvern Farm

About the Author