Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin

12 reviews

bibliomania_express's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristin Perrin is a unique take on a murder mystery that also employs a lot of classic tropes. It has the English estate and small town setting, secrets from the past, twisty family dynamics, greed, fear, passion, the amateur sleuth, the supportive best friend, and a dangerous gamble followed by a grand reveal.

I had a lot of fun with this book. Annie cannot resist a mystery, and she finds plenty to solve. I liked that she was curious and intelligent without being infalliable. Her medical fear also worked with the mystery and was consistent throughout the book. I also enjoyed her interactions with Detective Crane as they tried to solve her great-aunt Frances's murder.

This book really explores interpersonal dynamics through its present day investigation and the past timeline diary entries. It also looks at how much we can invest in something beyond ourselves, and how that can change your whole life.

I don't want to talk about the plot too much, but I love how Perrin basically weaves together two mysteries to explore friendship, family, obsession, and the ways people can or can't change. There's two closed circles of suspects (past and present) and they overlap in interesting ways.

I do wish we spent a bit more time getting to know some of the secondary characters and the village of Castle Knoll. Some of the diary entries were a bit long. On the other hand, I had suspicions but did not guess the murderer before the reveal.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship

Moderate: Death and Infidelity

Minor: Gaslighting, Gun violence, Violence, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Grief, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, and Panic attacks/disorders

beepbeep101's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Murder, Medical trauma, Death, Toxic friendship, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Gun violence, Infertility, Emotional abuse, and Pregnancy

agathajanemaud1908's review against another edition

funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

I found the first few chapters a bit clunky, but then I got wrapped up in the mystery and finished this book in three days. A bit more tension in the climax and more details and background about the main character would have made this book even better. I also found some developments/theories of the mystery hard to follow.
Looks like this is book one of a series, so I’m looking forward to more mysteries involving Great Aunt Frances’ files! There’s a lot of potential for a great series involving the village of Castle Knoll.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Drug use, Pregnancy, Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Murder, Bullying, Toxic friendship, and Grief

Moderate: Car accident, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Gun violence, Infertility, and Vomit

Minor: Abandonment

chelbelle122's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Murder, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Bullying, Death, and Violence

goldenlake's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Murder, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Death of parent, Gore, Blood, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug use, and Mental illness

Minor: Alcohol, Homophobia, Dementia, Infertility, Vomit, Grief, and Infidelity

m_a_j's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Infidelity

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Pregnancy

blakeandbooks's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

Thank you to Dutton Books and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I had a good time reading this one. Having both Annie’s present perspective and Frances’s past perspectives (via diary) was a great way to keep me invested in the story. The few twists and turns that happened were interesting but not earth-shattering: I definitely think the story felt rushed in some areas making it difficult for me to connect certain characters with others. However, I did read it fairly quickly and it wasn’t difficult to read at all. I liked the conclusion and how everything was wrapped up and solved. 

CW: murder, death, toxic friendships, infidelity, alcohol consumption

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Infidelity, Death, Murder, and Alcohol

ms_elchert's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Grief, Child death, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Death, Murder, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Classism, Pregnancy, Violence, Blood, and Alcohol

Minor: Homophobia, Car accident, Outing, and Vomit

purplepenning's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

3.5

Really wanted to love it, but my interest kept wandering, which made it difficult to keep a large cast of characters in two different timelines straight. Great premise, but maybe a tighter edit would've been more to my tastes. I was unexpectedly bored and annoyed by the 1960s bright young things timeline — teen drama often affects me that way. And the present-day story managed to be both packed with clues and yet lacking a sense of urgency to drive it. I did enjoy that it felt like a fair, classical mystery, though — I had half of it figured out before the reveal.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship

Moderate: Grief, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Gaslighting, Murder, Death, Drug abuse, Medical content, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Alcohol, Physical abuse, Violence, Car accident, Pregnancy, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Death of parent, Infertility, and Sexual content

needles, including

attempted forced injection

eperetz's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The characters and perspectives in this story were incredible. As an avid murder mystery reader, the plot kept me guessing and kept me engaged with even the smallest details. And if you wanted to turn this into a series of Annie and Crane solving the other crimes Frances uncovered over the years I would read every word. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Toxic friendship, Panic attacks/disorders, and Infidelity

Moderate: Gaslighting

Minor: Grief, Pregnancy, Body horror, Car accident, Gun violence, Alcohol, Classism, Sexual content, and Vomit