How to Seal Your Own Fate by Kristen Perrin – a Review
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Description:
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?
Review:
How to Seal Your Own Fate by Kristen Perrin is the 2nd book in her Castle Knoll Files series. Annie Adams, our amateur sleuth/heroine, is caught up in another sinister mystery. Annie has been living at Castle Knoll for a few months; after she solved the murder of her great-aunt Frances. Annie looks into all the paper work from her aunt, learning through POV’s in the past, as well as her discovering the truths in the present. Annie inherited the entire Gravesdown Hall and the surrounding properties. Most of the same characters are present in this 2nd book, with many years having passed.
Annie runs into Peony Lane (fortune teller) that her aunt used to follow. Peony has a few secrets she wants Annie to investigate, about an old accident years ago. A few hours later, Peony is found murdered inside the Gravesdown Estate, and Annie begins to realize that someone is trying to make her look like the guilty person. Even though she was with her friend, Jenny having tea outside. Annie knows she needs to start digging for information, especially from Frances papers and diaries.
In the past (1967), a teenage Frances will team up with Archie, to investigate a car crash that killed 3 members of the Gravesdown family; it quickly becomes clear that this was no accident, with lies and betrayals. Dark secrets are revealed, as the deeper Frances digs, everything becomes tangled. Frances finds herself attracted to two men, Ford Gravesdown and Archie Foyle. Ford is the only member of his family left, with him known for his wealth and power. Archie was always out of work, occasionally working in the pub.
How to Seal Your Own Fate was a captivating, cozy, intriguing, murder mystery, with a quite a few suspects, who were involved from the past. The story did start slow early on, but the second half was a wild and intense thriller. Annie worked closely with her friend, Jenny, as well as her Detective friend,
How to Seal Your Own Fate turns into a wild gripping ride that will have you unable to put the book down. The plot was extremely well done, with a number of surprising twists. This was a very exciting masterpiece of a thriller, that was very well written by Kristen Perrin. You need to read this book from start to finish.
Reviewed by Barb
Copy provided by Publisher
