Friday, May 2, 2025

Review & Giveaway: How to Seal Your Own Fate by Kristen Perrin

 
How to Seal Your Own Fate (Castle Knoll Files #2) by Kristen Perrin

How to Seal Your Own Fate (Castle Knoll Files #2) by Kristen Perrin
Publication Date: April 29th 2025 by Dutton
Pages: 320
Source: Publisher
Rating: 

My Thoughts:
Annie is a bit out of sorts settling into Gravesdown Hall, not quite feeling like she fits into the town of Castle Knoll. However, she’s making an effort and trying to get back to her writing.
 
Running into the infamous Peony Lane, the woman who unsettled Aunt Frances’ entire future with her fortune, is a shock. Peony has a bizarre message for Annie and then turns up murdered inside Gravesdown, initially casting some suspicions on Annie. With a renewed purpose, Annie goes about trying to find out who murdered Peony and why which has her once again delving into her Aunt Frances’ past. This time she has a bit of help from Detective Crane an ally, and possibly *fingers crossed* a romantic interest for Annie.
 
There are two timelines and POVs with Annie in the present trying to work out Peony’s murder and then Aunt Frances’ POV in 1967 partnered with Archie Foyle looking into the crash that killed Ford Gravedown’s father, brother and sister-in-law. There are rumors that it wasn’t an accident at all.
 
It’s a web of secrets to untangle with a lot of twists!  The mysteries intersect and come together by the end, and I was completely riveted! I recommend reading the previous story first, How to Solve Your Own Murder, as the stories connect. I went back and reread parts to refresh my memory and I’m glad I did!  
 
How to Seal Your Own Fate was a clever, cozy mystery that grabbed my attention from page one! The mystery was solved, but the ending hinted at more books to come, and I’m thrilled! I look forward to the next one!

5 Stars


Book Description:

Kristen Perrin is back with the second novel in her Castle Knoll series. Annie Adams is caught in a new web of murder that spans decades, returning us to the idyllic English village that holds layers of secrets.

Present Annie Adams is just settling into life in Castle Knoll when local fortune teller Peony Lane crosses her path and shares a cryptic message. When Peony Lane is found dead only hours later inside the locked Gravesdown Estate, Annie quickly realizes that someone is out to make her look guilty while silencing Peony at the same time. Annie has no choice but to delve into the dark secrets of Castle Knoll in order to find out just what Peony Lane was trying to warn her about, before the new life she’s just begun to build comes crashing down around her.

1967: A year has passed since her friend Emily disappeared, and teenage Frances Adams finds herself caught between two men. Ford Gravesdown is one of the only remaining members of a family known for its wealth and dubious uses of power. Archie Foyle is a local who can’t hold down a job and lives above the village pub. But when Frances teams up with Archie to investigate the car crash that claimed the lives of Ford's family, it quickly becomes clear that this was no accident—hints of cover-ups, lies, and betrayals abound. The question is, just how far does the blackness creep through the heart of Castle Knoll? When Frances uncovers secrets kept by both Ford and Archie, she starts to What exactly has she gotten herself into?


Dutton generously provided a Paperback copy of the first book: How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin to giveaway to one lucky reader! Giveaway is open to US Residents only. Fill out the rafflecopter for a chance to win. Good luck!




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8 comments:

  1. I like the sound of the two intertwining mysteries. Reminds me of the Truly Devious books by Maureen Johnson.

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  2. I thought about these. Excellent to know they are good ones.

    Anne - Books of My Heart

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  3. How to Solve Your Own Murder is on my TBR list; glad to know that the sequel is equally good. :D

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  4. I just finished Friends with Benefits by Marisa Kanter and enjoyed it.

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  5. This is a series I plan to get to eventually. Glad you loved book two so much!

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  6. This sounds quite intriguing, Rachel. I like the sound of both timelines. Nice review.

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  7. I could totally see myself reading this one :)

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