Malcolm Forbes | Star Tribune (TNS)
The cozy mystery is perfect for getting away from reality.
Sometimes we want to take a break from stories about violent crime, harsh reality, and dysfunctional police and instead read about charming villages, interesting characters, and clever, charming crime stories with unexpected twists.
Kristen Perrin, originally from Seattle and now based in the U.K., has written her first adult book about cozy crime. The intriguingly titled “How to Solve Your Own Murder” includes all the important elements of this genre. The story is about a prediction made decades ago. In 1965, 17-year-old Frances was told by a fortune-teller at a fair that she would be murdered. Instead of ignoring the prediction, Frances believed it and spent her life trying to avoid being murdered by collecting information about everyone she knows — which upset many people in the process.
In the present day, Annie, a young crime writer living in London, receives a surprising letter from Frances’ lawyer. Frances has chosen her great-niece as the sole recipient of her estate and wants her to attend a meeting. Annie is confused because she has never met her relative. Her confusion turns to shock when she arrives at Gravesdown Hall in the village of Castle Knoll and finds Frances dead.
Foul play is suspected, and at the reading of the will Frances challenges Annie from beyond the grave: In order to inherit the estate, Annie has to solve her great-aunt’s murder within a week.
Annie’s mother explains, “Frances may be eccentric, but she’s very strategic. And she likes to play games.” This game involves Annie acting as an amateur detective and racing against time to uncover the killer.
She sifts through the photos, notes, and reports that Frances has collected over the years in her “murder room,” and reads Frances’ journal to learn about the past. She creates a long list of suspects including a suspicious property developer, a gardener with a “side business,” Frances’ friends and family, as well as a vicar and a detective. Annie also tries to decipher the fortune-teller’s cryptic prediction, a riddle about a queen, a bird, and dry bones.
As Annie investigates, we join her in analyzing seemingly unimportant details (Frances’ messy bouquet of flowers, her recent car trouble) and answering lingering questions. Is Frances’ death related to her friend Emily's disappearance decades ago? And why, after 60 years, did Frances’ murderer strike now?
Perrin’s modern take on the traditional murder mystery is hindered by its unrealistic foundation and a plot that gets complex instead of detailed. Also, not all her characters’ voices sound authentic. On the positive side, the pace never slows down and the tension rises when anonymous threats and a body in a trunk make Annie realize that her life might be in jeopardy. The result is an enjoyable but flawed mystery.
How to Solve Your Own Murder
By: Kristen Perrin.
Publisher: Dutton, 360 pages, $28.
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