Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - How to Solve Your Own Murder

The book was enjoyable, however, I enjoyed the flashbacks/diary entries more than the present-day portions of the book. I felt like the things that happened in the 1960s were more interesting and easier to get into than what was otherwise happening.

Frances was much more interesting than Annie who was a bit boring, and whose story you didn't get into as much. I hope in future books we learn more about Annie and I start to care more about her & her character. Laura, Annie's mom just seemed awful for most of the book.

The characters were a mix of likable and unlikable. Not just the villains were unlikable, it was more like a 30/70 split of likable and unlikable for me.

I wasn't able to easily figure out the mystery. I do look forward to the next book.

Narrators' Rating: 4 stars

I'd give Annie's narrator about 2.75 stars and Frances' narrator a 4-star rating.

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hjb_128's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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bibliomania_express's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristin Perrin is a unique take on a murder mystery that also employs a lot of classic tropes. It has the English estate and small town setting, secrets from the past, twisty family dynamics, greed, fear, passion, the amateur sleuth, the supportive best friend, and a dangerous gamble followed by a grand reveal.

I had a lot of fun with this book. Annie cannot resist a mystery, and she finds plenty to solve. I liked that she was curious and intelligent without being infalliable. Her medical fear also worked with the mystery and was consistent throughout the book. I also enjoyed her interactions with Detective Crane as they tried to solve her great-aunt Frances's murder.

This book really explores interpersonal dynamics through its present day investigation and the past timeline diary entries. It also looks at how much we can invest in something beyond ourselves, and how that can change your whole life.

I don't want to talk about the plot too much, but I love how Perrin basically weaves together two mysteries to explore friendship, family, obsession, and the ways people can or can't change. There's two closed circles of suspects (past and present) and they overlap in interesting ways.

I do wish we spent a bit more time getting to know some of the secondary characters and the village of Castle Knoll. Some of the diary entries were a bit long. On the other hand, I had suspicions but did not guess the murderer before the reveal.

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lavaly_1's review

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emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

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goldenlake's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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bookish_purrsuits's review against another edition

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funny mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

I’ve been on a cozy-ish mystery kick and I stayed up way past my bedtime reading this. Two mysteries unfold, one in 1965 told through diary entries, and one in the present day. Overall, the writing was good and the mystery well-thought out. The answer wasn’t too obvious and there were a couple of twists that I didn't expect. The cast of characters is quite large (I had to draw genealogy charts to map the two timelines) and some characters felt more 2D than others (Elva for one). However, I did really like Annie, the present day narrator, and her chats with her BFF were some of my favorite parts.

Looking forward to this becoming a series. The next book, How To Seal Your Own Fate, will be out March 2025!

Favorite quote was, “If TV has taught us anything, it’s that the murder rate in small villages is disproportionately high.”

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ms_elchert's review

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mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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