How to Solve Your Own Murder (Castle Knoll Files #1)

 

Frances Adams has been murdered, just as a fortune she was given as a teen foretold. She’d spent her entire life, in fact, trying to solve her own murder-to-be. Right before it happened she summoned her great-niece Annie, who she’d never met, among others for a mysterious meeting at her English estate. Instead of finally meeting her great aunt, Annie finds herself being tasked by Frances’ will to solve her murder - only there are a lot of potential suspects in Castle Knoll, and one of them doesn’t want that mystery solved!

How’s that for a premise?! I thought it was pretty darn clever, and the blurb comparing it to Knives Out and The Thursday Murder Club, both of which I loved? YES, please! Let the party begin! 

Well, I’m bummed to say … that party balloon went flat fast.

I get WHY publishers throw out popular, enticing titles to market their new books. Frankly, it works. It caught MY attention, for one! The problem is, if you’re going to hook potential readers by mentioning titles many of us know and love, you probably want to make sure the book has enough similarity to back up the claim.

This does not. Having a large cast of characters, including some related to one another, and someone trying to sleuth out a murderer does not automatically justify a comparison to either of the titles mentioned.  The singular quality that made both of those work so well for me was their HUMOR. I had FUN with them. Even the rotten characters brought a smile or smirk to my face! This played it straight, which is totally fine … just not if you’ve been led to believe it’ll have a lighter emotional tone.

While Kristen Perrin has written a perfectly good mystery in the vein of so many other Agatha Christie-style whodunnits out there, what I really hoped for and never got was that carrot dangled in front of me by the blurb promising me an “enormously fun mystery”. To be fair, everyone has a different idea of what “fun” means. I think of something that makes me smile/laugh or keeps me on the edge of my seat. This did neither.

Was it well-written? Yes. No complaints there. Did it have a clever, creative premise? Absolutely. Perrin can write, and those wanting a solid enough murder mystery to solve should still find enjoyment in trying to puzzle this one out. Series lovers will especially be happy to know that this is the beginning of a series, so if you do like it, there will be more to come. 

Where it fell flat for me was that, as much as the book highlighted Frances in both the current timeline and diary excerpts from the past, I never once felt like I got to know her or any other character mentioned. Even worse, I didn’t connect with the main protagonist Annie or understand, despite the promise of Frances’ inheritance, why she felt so invested in a woman she literally never met. Too many things didn’t have adequate explanations, making the final reveals feel lackluster and less believable than I’d have liked.

Those who enjoy a slightly more serious, dual timeline, Christie-style mystery will likely enjoy this more. I would absolutely give this author another try. She has the writing chops, even if this particular story didn’t wow me!

★★★

 

Thanks to Dutton Publishing, NetGalley and author Kristen Perrin for this digital ARC to honestly review. It’s out now.