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sunny_bumblebee's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Gun violence, Infidelity, and Panic attacks/disorders
svnsn's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The main character was kind of obnoxious
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Drug use, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Murder, and Pregnancy
Minor: Bullying and Blood
alisonvh's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A murder mystery within a murder mystery? What more could a girl want?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol
melodee15's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Drug use, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, and Blood
vyhurz's review
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I don't think I've ever read a "cozy" mystery, but that's what I'd call this. I felt excited and, well, cozy reading it. It reminded me of Miss Marple or Sherlock, but in a different way. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I got it from Libby, and slowly read it over two weeks. That's actually fast for me. In the last four days, I've been speed-reading because the book was going to be returned and I couldn't renew it. I just had to know the ending!
How to Solve Your Own Murder follows Annie in the present day when she seemingly and suddenly becomes the heir to her elderly Great Aunt Frances' fortune, so she travels from her home in London to pleasant Castle Knoll. Annie has never met Frances, so this was a surprise. More of a surprise is that the day Annie is going to meet Frances, she is found murdered. All her life, Frances was obsessed with a fortune she was told as a teenager that she would be murdered, so she acted rather paranoid and rooted out secrets. Annie's involvement in solving the mystery is interspersed with entries from Frances' diary as a teenager in the 1960s, which sheds light on the mystery as well.
The story is entertaining and pulls you along. There are many characters, and I was only slightly unsure of who some were, but those were very minor ones. I think the book does a good job of swirling all these different egos, histories, motives, and fears together. The setting is enjoyable as well, and as this is becoming a series with a second book on the way, I can see many things happening in this small town.
I had two main issues with the book. One was that something would happen on the page, and then we would receive Annie's inner narrative describing what just happened. Many times it didn't elaborate or cause revelations for Annie. It was just a description, more-or-less. Obviously, it happened enough times for me to notice it. Secondly, Annie's character is fun, but she felt a little one dimensional. It felt like she was a mirror for all the interesting characters in the story even though she's the main character. She was excited right from the beginning to learn about Frances and Castle Knoll, even before the murder. Often in books, this type of setup creates an unwilling main character, so it is refreshing that Annie wanted to be there. But she had so little depth. All I really know about her is that she wants to be a writer.
I recommend this book if you like mysteries of any kind, especially if you just want a rather lighthearted read. (Well, considering it's a murder mystery...) I will read the second book as this one was so enjoyable.
tinyleafbooks.wordpress.com
How to Solve Your Own Murder follows Annie in the present day when she seemingly and suddenly becomes the heir to her elderly Great Aunt Frances' fortune, so she travels from her home in London to pleasant Castle Knoll. Annie has never met Frances, so this was a surprise. More of a surprise is that the day Annie is going to meet Frances, she is found murdered. All her life, Frances was obsessed with a fortune she was told as a teenager that she would be murdered, so she acted rather paranoid and rooted out secrets. Annie's involvement in solving the mystery is interspersed with entries from Frances' diary as a teenager in the 1960s, which sheds light on the mystery as well.
The story is entertaining and pulls you along. There are many characters, and I was only slightly unsure of who some were, but those were very minor ones. I think the book does a good job of swirling all these different egos, histories, motives, and fears together. The setting is enjoyable as well, and as this is becoming a series with a second book on the way, I can see many things happening in this small town.
I had two main issues with the book. One was that something would happen on the page, and then we would receive Annie's inner narrative describing what just happened. Many times it didn't elaborate or cause revelations for Annie. It was just a description, more-or-less. Obviously, it happened enough times for me to notice it. Secondly, Annie's character is fun, but she felt a little one dimensional. It felt like she was a mirror for all the interesting characters in the story even though she's the main character. She was excited right from the beginning to learn about Frances and Castle Knoll, even before the murder. Often in books, this type of setup creates an unwilling main character, so it is refreshing that Annie wanted to be there. But she had so little depth. All I really know about her is that she wants to be a writer.
I recommend this book if you like mysteries of any kind, especially if you just want a rather lighthearted read. (Well, considering it's a murder mystery...) I will read the second book as this one was so enjoyable.
tinyleafbooks.wordpress.com
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Gun violence
Nothing explicit happens on the page, but someone shoots a gun and someone gets punched in the face. Two dead bodies are found. The most explicit scene is a physical attack to try to overdose someone with a syringe. They do not succeed.jocelynbold's review
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Wow. What started out as a slower read for me quickly turned into a fast-paced, exciting, and also cozy whodunnit that I ended up loving. I’m truly so excited that this book is becoming a series, as I will definitely be reading the second one! I love a book with a dual timeline, connecting the two in a unique way (makes me think of the way Fiona Davis writes), and while this novel has a large cast of characters, I never found the plot difficult to follow. Major plus there.
Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for this digital review copy!
4.5/5 stars
Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for this digital review copy!
4.5/5 stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Infidelity and Pregnancy
Minor: Drug use and Vomit
clovetra's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
relaxing
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
what a sweet little story. usually with books i’m either in love with it or i absolutely despise it. and i am happy to report this was perfectly middle of the road for me. which is rare! in my mind average is still good.
i found the mc to be a bit bland. it felt as though she had no personality and was designed to be a reader surrogate, but that doesn’t really work considering annie’s role in this is connected through familial ties. i kind of feel as though she’s supposed to be a blank slate, but in the same vein she kind of can’t be due to her role in the story. i defo was rooting for her, and i liked that her prowess for mysteries was explained through her being a writer, but idk i didn’t really connect to her. like when weird shit was happening to her, i didn’t feel invested enough to be concerned for her.
the side characters felt like they had even less characterisation. i think that’s because there’s just so many moving parts in this story, and ill be real it took me longer than i’d care to admit to align frances’ diary entries to their modern-day versions. but god because there were so many characters i lost track of a character’s significance. for example, because in frances’ diary the girls kept swapping between so many boys, i kept forgetting who ford or billy or archie were. i love when a mystery book can surprise me because i usually have a good track record for figuring out culprits, but i honestly think the reason i couldn’t crack this isn’t because this book outsmarted me in terms of how things happened, but i literally was forgetting who did what and how that links to the crime(s). i’ll give the book a point for keeping me guessing, but even still when the entire mystery was explained to me, i was still a bit confused because there were just. so. many. characters. especially mfs with the same last name. i know it’s because it’s a small town but oh my god i couldn’t keep track of who was related to who and how and my god my brain couldn’t keep up.
i did have quite a lot of fun reading this though. it’s the perfect book to cuddle up with under a blanket, and for a murder mystery, is pretty lighthearted (in a good way!!!!). i don’t want to seem like a dick but this was generic in some ways, but honestly cliches are so common because they’re good. you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. and i honestly didn’t want to put this down because i wanted to see where it was going.
overall i’d say i had a swell time, but god you almost need to take notes reading this to keep track of who’s who in the past and the future as well as who’s related to someone from the past.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Gun violence, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Car accident
rach_murph17's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Great mystery that had me questioning everything for most of the book. I should have trusted my gut from the beginning about Emily’s murder but it was nice to have my mind work to deduct how and why. The growth of Annie and her confidence was great to read. Very well done and not a very simple culprit to figure out compared to other mystery novels.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Violence
lrenkate's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really enjoyed this cozy, small town mystery. I liked the main character, the chapters from her great aunt’s diary, and the historic mystery component. Exactly what I wanted as a palate cleanser.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder and Toxic friendship
Minor: Violence and Pregnancy
styxx's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Death, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Gun violence, Car accident, and Death of parent