How to Solve Your Own Murder is an excellent inter-generational murder mystery that will root itself in your brain and plant itself firmly there. It is such an addictive and cleverly plotted read that builds on an gem of an idea to create a treasure trove of a story.
Recently, I have been craving good mysteries with cosy settings, characters that steal my heart instantly and twists that make me gasp out loud. This book met all of those wishes and so many more in a story that I will recommend to anyone who will listen. In short, this was a wonderful murder mystery, packed to the brim with twists and turns.
With the boom of films like Knives Out, the type of mysteries that dig into wealth and complex familial relationships have become hot property—doubled by the popularity of Saltburn. Perrin taps into that sense of peeking behind the curtain into the lives of the extremely wealthy and that particular sense of class that pervades every aspect of British culture.
As an American expat in the UK, she gets a bird’s eye view of our class system and how it dominates life. This book is great in unpicking that glamorous façade of the upper class to reveal a dark and bloodstained truth lying beneath. In particular, I really enjoyed the throughline of the violence of that money and how it was obtained. There’s a seediness to it all, which contrasts wonderfully with the finery. It all feels entered around appearances and they are often deceiving. Also, it is a form of manipulation— becoming more key as the story progresses. The financial aspects in particular are keenly felt throughout, as the main theme is that of inheritance. This is a double edged sword though, with secrets and lies also becoming part of a legacy that weighs heavily on the shoulders of many characters. At the same time, it is infused with that classic charm of Golden Age British mysteries—it feels like you could be reading a Christie or watching Midsomer Murders from the quietly claustrophobic, picturesque and oddly charming little village. All of this makes for a brilliant, smart and highly entertaining read.
Perrin’s writing was wickedly brilliant, insightful and utterly captivating. I adored the use of timeline weaving in this book as we flip between Annie and Frances—both of whom are encountering their own mysteries and developing dynamics between characters. Their voices are distinctive and yet you can see their similarities shine through. Perrin really digs into the central theme of fate. Frances’ tarot reading defines her entire life and has ramifications that cause ripples that grow into tidal waves. It deftly plays with that eternal question of if you could know your fate, would you choose to do so? At the same time, it also adds a meta gloss to the story, akin to the knowing nods to said classic mysteries referenced earlier in this review.
The reader is keenly aware of Frances’ fate, as is Annie who is reading these diaries in real time. It adds a tragic air of inevitability to proceedings, but you best believe both timelines have plenty of surprises in store. On this note, the twists are very well done and upend the story each time. You feel the walls closing in on you as Annie’s investigation becomes ever more perilous. Because of the unique situation from Frances and a certain gauntlet thrown down early on, Annie is fighting an uphill battle in a town that does not welcome outsiders into its confidences that easily.
How to Solve Your Own Murder is 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.
How to Solve Your Own Murder is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
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.
