Well, I spotted this at the library and did not realize it is the second book of a series. That said, it’s a good twisting mystery with a fun-loving amateur sleuth (and I could piece together most of the backstory). It reminds me a bit of Susan Juby’s Helen Thorpe series.
Annie Adams is settling into her new, rural England home that she’s inherited from her recently deceased aunt. Backstory: Annie’s aunt was murdered and Annie figured out the murder, which is how she inherited the house, which was contested by another descendant.
You know the drill. Quaint English village sees its weird share of murders. Young woman at a loss finds herself at the centre of the drama. There’s a love interest.
In this version, Annie encounters a fortune teller, Peony Lane, who holds secrets to a mysterious car crash in 1967 and Annie’s aunt’s involvement. But Peony Lane ends up dead in Annie’s house, which kicks off a series of unfortunate events that help unravel secrets from the past. And luckily enough, the love interest is the local cop.
If you like cozy mysteries, then I’d start with the first book in the Castle Knoll series.
How to Seal Your Own Fate is published by Penguin Random House Canada.