My latest book recommendation is 'How to Solve Your Own Murder' by Kristen Perrin. It is an intriguing murder mystery with an original twist.

How to Solve Your Own Murder

By Kristen Perrin  

(Published by Quercus Editions Ltd)

'How To Solve Your Own Murder' is published by Quercus Editions Ltd and is available in ebook, paperback, hardback and audiobook format from Amazon. It is also available in paperback and hardback from Waterstones and Foyles.

Kristen Perrin is originally from Seattle, Washington, where she spent several years working as a bookseller before moving to the UK to study for a Master's and a PhD. She lives with her family in Surrey, where she can be found poking around in vintage bookshops, stomping in the mud with her two kids, and collecting too many plants. 'How to Solve Your Own Murder' is her debut adult novel.

THE AUTHOR

PLOTLINE  

While at a fair with her two friends Rose and Emily, 16-year-old Frances Adams is told by a fortune teller that one day she will be murdered. Believing the prophecy to be true, she then spends the next 60 years gathering information on everyone around her, just in case one of them is her potential killer. Unfortunately, none of her friends or family take her seriously ... until they find her dead.

Summoned to a meeting at the office of Frances's solicitor, Annie Adams is surprised to discover she could well be the sole beneficiary of her great aunt's estate, especially as everybody expected her mother to be the chosen one. However, even from the grave, Frances is still in charge of her own murder investigation. According to Frances's will, whoever manages to find her killer will inherit her millions, which immediately involves Annie in a dangerous game of cat and mouse with her step cousin, Saxon, who believes he should be the one to inherit the estate.

To aid the investigation, Frances has left an eccentric library of her detective work accumulated over the last 60 years. All it takes is the right person to step in and use her findings to solve the murder.

MY REVIEW

Although 'How to Solve Your Own Murder' could be labelled as a cosy detective story, it is nevertheless totally engrossing as well as unusual, not least because the murder investigation has been partially done by the victim herself. All it needs is someone clever enough to interpret her notes and find the killer, and with each of the characters having their own agenda, there is no shortage of possible suspects to choose from.

The story is divided into two parts, the past and the present. As a young woman, Frances wrote a diary chronicling the important events of her life and the people she suspected. Extracts from it are then interspersed with the present day, which her niece Annie uses to aid her own investigation. However, the plot thickens when a second body is discovered, forcing Annie to consider the possibility of a second killer.

I really enjoyed all the twists and turns of this novel as the past gradually catches up with the present. The revelations at the end are surprising and the resolution satisfying. 'How to Solve Your Own Murder' is a great debut novel, and certainly worth recommending.