The second book and i really think you need to read the first one beforehand.
Wonderful writing, great characters and overall a good murder/mystery.
My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my copy.

In this sequel to How To Solve Your Own Murder, Annie Adams has an encounter with fortune teller Peony Lane, the same one who told her great-aunt Frances her fortune years back. However, when Peony Lane is found dead just hours after their meeting, and someone is clearly trying to frame her, Annie has no choice but to delve right back into Castle Knoll's web of secrets, through her great-aunt's diaries and files.

I was a huge fan of the first book, so I was incredibly excited to dive back into this world, and I was not disappointed at all. Once again, we have a dual timeline, following Annie in present day, and Frances back in 1967, through her old diary entries, and it was just as fun as it was last time. It felt like being one step ahead of Annie, thanks to alternating between present and past, but also I still had no clue what was going on, and it was so fun to connect the dots as it all unravelled.

It took me a while to get back into this world and remember everything, as there is many characters to keep track of, and so many things going on, but the pieces clicked back into place very easily, and everything you needed was given to you very smoothly. The writing is so engaging, and it makes this such an unputdownable read, with all the secrets constantly hovering everyone's head and waiting to be revealed. It all connects so perfectly, and it truly feels so good to watch it all come together in a very satisfying way. Maybe it can be a little predictable, especially if you've read many mysteries, but it still remains a fun, very entertaining cozy mystery,

I really, really love this series, and I'm so excited to see where it goes next.

This is a sequel to How to Solve your Own Murder and normally I would say that a sequel works as a stand alone but in this case I would recommend reading the first one, it’s helpful and to be honest it’s a delight to read. This is not a cosy mystery nor is it a police procedural it’s a category in its own right combining personal memories (in Aunt Frances’s diaries) with clever plotting and believable if not always sympathetic characters. It is a perfect read for Agatha Christie fans and keen mystery solvers. I would totally recommend this book.

How to Seal Your Own Fate was exactly the type of cosy crime I adore with three-dimensional characters, long-buried secrets and plots that keep the pages flowing past. Kristen Perrin has delivered again.

How to Solve Your Own Murder was an excellent inter-generational murder mystery that rooted itself inside my brain. It is such an addictive and cleverly plotted read that builds on a gem of an idea to create a treasure trove of a story. This sequel brings us back to Castle Knoll for another knotty mystery to untangle. It was fantastic and surprising with many twists and turns in store. I loved the way it continued to use the dual timeline narratives so effectively, continuing that sense of a ripple effect through time. It allows both Annie and Frances to take centre stage as the protagonists, despite them never actually meeting. The past and the present intersect in interesting ways. This is another highly personal mystery and adds new depths to characters and plot points from the first book. It feels like an evolution.

A central concern of this book is the question of fate. Perrin interrogates how differently our lives could have gone with another decision and the way our destinies can seem pre-determined. Of course that is explored literally through the recurring theme of the predictions, which shaped the events of the first novel, and come to the fore again here through the complex shape of Peony Lane. There is a lovely sense of everything being slightly blurred, with a line between the supernatural and realism perfectly balanced throughout. Our actions shape our fates – something that really rings true here with consequences and stakes unfolding from each decision these characters make.

How to Seal Your Own Fate is another cleverly plotted cosy crime mystery from Kristen Perrin that I thoroughly enjoyed. If she so decides, I would enjoy another trip to Castle Knoll.

This is the second book in the Castle Knoll Files ,Written in two timelines ,Annie has been in town for a few months but the locals haven't really welcomed her .She meets up with Peony Lane the fortune teller to her late Great Aunt Francis who is found dead before she could reveal her future.. Interesting characters full of mysteries a very enjoyable cosy murder story .

Having solved her great-aunt Frances' murder and inherited her fortune, Annie is settling into her new life in Castle Knoll when she crosses paths with Peony Lane, whose prediction that Frances would be murdered not only came true but also became Frances' lifelong obsession. So when Peony tells Annie that she has a fortune to tell her, Annie is not convinced she wants to hear it. But before she can decide one way or the other, Peony is murdered and Annie's murder-solving skills are put to the test once more...

How to Seal Your Own Fate is the second book in the Castle Knoll series, and it follows on closely from the events in How to Solve Your Own Murder. The story alternates between past and present, told from the first-person perspectives of Annie and Frances. In the present Annie tries to solve the murder of Peony Lane using the two clues she left behind: a cryptic prophecy, and an instruction to investigate the life and death of Olivia Gravesdown. In the past Frances investigates the car crash that killed Olivia and her family, leaving the Gravesdown fortune in the hands of Frances' boyfriend, Ford. Through the slow unspooling of these two narratives, the reader not only discovers who killed Peony, but we also learn more about the great-aunt Annie never met and the truth behind the fortune Annie has inherited.

I really enjoyed this book. The story is full of twists and turns, but the dual-narrative structure ensures that the plot points are all made perfectly clear, and I loved returning to the series' settings and characters. I feel like there is something of the romance novel about this murder mystery series, with its charming settings and whimsical characters, which I really love. How to Seal Your Own Fate wasn't quite a five-star read for me, mainly because it relied a lot on the first book in the series and it's just been too long since I read it for me to get the most out of the references and connections. I will have to reread both books before the third in the series comes out!

How to Seal Your Own Fate sees the welcome return of amateur sleuth Annie Adams.
A few months have passed since Annie solved the mystery of her great aunt's murder. She is now living in Gravesdown Hall, but life in Castle Knoll is very different to her previous life in London. It's quieter, and lonlier. Then one day, whilst out for a walk, Annie meets Peony Lane, the fortune teller who gave Frances Gravesdown her chilling fortune. Suffice to say Annie's life is far from quiet following that encounter. 🗡
Once again the story is told across two timelines, from two POV's: the present day from Annie's POV, and the 1967 timeline from Frances' POV, through entries from her diary. 🗡
I enjoyed How to Seal Your Own Fate more than its predecessor. There were a lot of twists and turns, and try as I might, I failed to guess the killer. 🗡
How to Seal Your Own Fate is a well paced, entertaining, cosy mystery. I would however recommend that you read How to Solve Your Own Murder first, as it will provide context for events mentioned in this sequel, and because many of the characters return. 🗡
Many thanks to Quercus and Netgalley for my digital edition.

Perrin strikes again - 5*

I was a HUGE fan of How to Solve Your Own Murder so I was incredibly hyped for this book AND LET ME TELL YOU... it did not disappoint.

Reading a sequel is always a scary experience, especially if you loved the first novel, because it doesn't always go well. This, thankfully, bucks the trend. I was sceptical at first: was there any more stories to tell? Surely, the plot was finished. NOPE. I was wrong. Especially after reading the final chapter, I feel this could become a fully fledged series. The sequel sticks to the award-winning formula of the first novel - and yet things are extended further. I was hooked and engulfed this novel. There's something about Perrin's writing that is so addictive. I got to the point in the book where reading fans can only dream of - it didn't feel like reading anymore. I was just desperate for answers.

If you are fans of How to Solve Your Own Murder, then you NEED to pick this up.

My final comments are aimed at you, Kristen Perrin. Detective Crane and Annie Adams DESERVE a happy ending. Please give this to me in the third novel? Thank you.

An enjoyable read. Although the second in a series, I was halfway through before I realised that I had read the first one. It can be read as a standalone but it's worth reading the first part. It has lots of twists and turns as Annie delves into her great-aunt Frances' diaries to solve an old murder. It does feel repetitive at times as we hear Frances' version then, what Annie discovers. Still a good read. Hopefully a third is in the pipeline.

I was excited to get an advance copy of this sequel and I wasn’t disappointed. I really enjoyed being back in Castle Knoll. The present storyline interspersed with Frances’s diary entries work really well and I enjoyed the twists and turns of this murder mystery.

I really enjoyed this mystery. I had read the previous book in the series so knew a bit about Castle Knoll the village where this is set and about how the protagonist, Annie, came to Gravesdown Manor ( no spoilers, worth reading first).

This involves a dual time line of the late 1960s and the present. There is a mystery to be solved which reaches back into this past.All is told in engaging prose, and there are romances, fulfilled and tantalisingly close to being fulfilled. There is also the mysterious Peony Lane who tells fortunes which seem to come true.

As I say, enjoyable and a good read. I read an ARC provided by NetGalley and the publishers.

Annie thought that finding those two dead bodies in Gravesdown Hall would be as unpleasant as things got. She was wrong...

She's got another one...

It's the fortune teller who predicted Great Aunt Frances' murder years ago. And Annie had only seen her a few hours before...

An excellent sequel

This is a book full of characters - past and present, as well as twists and turns. Aunt Frances' diaries hold clues to secrets that continue to be uncovered in this book in the series. It is useful, although not essential, to have read the previous book to follow this easily from the beginning. The old house is once more the epicentre for events, and almost becomes a character in its own right. The intrigue is shaped around the people and the village life and there is a weave of back and forth to events of the past to see what crime was committed, how and by whom. It isn't one that can be worked out from the clues in the text and so it was an intriguing read .

It was a delight to be back in Castle Knoll with Annie Adams. Annie inherited Gravesdown Hall from her Great Aunt Frances Gravesdown. The story is told over different timelines and we see so much of the history of Castle Knoll and the residents and how they play a part in this book. It was lovely to return with Annie, Detective Crane, Archie and Beth and how they interact with each other. One Autumn day, Annie speaks with Peony Lane, now Peony is a fortune teller and the famous one, who foretold things to Aunt Frances. Unfortunately, Annie discovers her body in her home with a dagger in her back. This leads Annie to suspect there is more to this and decides to become an amateur sleuth investigating and to learn the truth. So is it fate, fortune or luck in how Annie finds out the truth behind certain happenings both past and present. All I know is, you will always find within family and friends, there are secrets and lies to uncover. It was an unputdownable read full of twists and turns with a few red herrings and it led to a dramatic conclusion.