How to Seal Your Own Fate by Kristen Perrin

Posted April 30, 2025 in review Tags: 4 stars, cozy

How to Seal Your Own Fate by Kristen Perrin

Series: Castle Knoll Files #2
Genres: Mystery
Setting: Castle Knoll
Source: ARC, NetGalley

Goodreads

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 day: 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 wonder: What exactly has she gotten herself into?

How to Seal Your Own Fate

How to Seal Your Own Fate is a dual timeline mystery with a very well developed protagonist, Annie. She is trying to solve a current mystery that is making her seem like a suspect and it leads back to her great aunt’s Frances’ mystery. Dual timelines are hit or miss for me-they can be overly confusing. But, Perrin does a great job of not muddying the waters here! Its a really well written mystery that will keep you guessing and its all woven together neatly. It is well paced once it gets going-I thought it was a little slow at first.

This is technically book 2 in the series, but I didn’t read book 1 and I didn’t have any issues, so don’t be afraid to jump in here.