How to Seal Your Own Fate (Castle Knoll Files #2)

by Kristen Perrin

If you’re trying to stop believing that death is coming for you, January is not the month to hold your hand and convince you otherwise. January is sharp, icy edges and dead earth, and it will remind you over and over again that in certain conditions, nothing survives.

Actually, I’ve had several experiences while in his orbit that I wouldn’t exactly call first-rate. The discovery of at least one dead body and being nearly poisoned by hemlock both come to mind. Not that I’m looking to spend quality time with Detective Crane, but still. I’d much rather he knew me from a slightly more normal perspective.

Maybe I should lean in and become as ludicrous as my great aunt before me. I smile to myself, because I find I don’t really mind being the person who drops potential murder weapons at Crane’s feet like a sinister Labrador. Not when I’m the one ultimately solving the crimes.

Evening is falling at Gravesdown Hall, and Jenny, Detective Crane, and I are sitting on the floor in the main library, the fire roaring again. When you have a fireplace like this, every evening it’s unlit feels like an unfinished sentence.