A Good Girl's Guide to Murder (A Good Girl's Guide To Murder, #1)

by Holly Jackson

The New York Times No.1 bestselling YA crime thriller that everyone is talking about. Now a major BBC series!

‘A taut, compulsively readable, elegantly plotted thriller', Guardian

The case is closed. Five years ago, schoolgirl Andie Bell was murdered by Sal Singh. The police know he did it. Everyone in town knows he did it.

But having grown up in the same small town that was consumed by the crime, Pippa Fitz-Amobi isn't so sure. When she chooses the case as the topic for her final project, she starts to uncover secrets that someone in town desperately wants to stay hidden. And if the real killer is still out there, how far will they go to keep Pip from the truth … ?

Perfect for fans of One of Us Is Lying, Gone Girl, We Were Liars and Riverdale

Holly Jackson started writing stories from a young age, completing her first (poor) attempt at a novel aged fifteen. She lives in London and aside from reading and writing, she enjoys playing video games and watching true crime documentaries so she can pretend to be a detective. A Good Girl's Guide to Murder is her first novel. You can follow Holly on Twitter and Instagram @HoJay92

• ISBN13: 9781405293181
• Publish Date: 2 May 2019
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Egmont UK Ltd
• Imprint: Electric Monkey
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 448
• Language: English
• URL: http://harpercollins.co.uk

Reviews

[lessthelonely]

This book had quite a pair of shoes to feel for me. I don't know how to feel on whether or not it did do that.

I found this to be a little bit more tightly paced than my few other references for YA thrillers - namely, "The Inheritance Games" series by Jennifer Lynn-Barnes. I enjoyed that, even if this book felt like it took a bitt of a slow start for the plot to actually start moving - I'd say the 1st part is how long the book needs to actually find its footing and for the enticing parts to start coming.

What do I feel like this book suffers from? Having a secondary plot that is a little more interesting and shocking than the book's main plot itself - the main mystery surrounds the dissappearance and supposed murder of Andie Bell, but as suspects get introduced, a more intriguing plot seems to happen, even if the Andie Bell one is also interesting.

By the time the first big moments of the book happen - which is when this secondary plot gets mostly solved -, I found myself thinking "Oh, that's it?", because the secondary plot, though incredibly YA thriller-like, felt more interesting and intriguing than the others, and I started thinking about what could've been if that plot was, in fact, the main plot.

I also totally caught on to the foreshadowing, and predicted the first big reveal regarding the main story. It was glaringly obvious, in my opinion, and, in a way, purposefully so, so the actual climax was a little bit more surprising. I must admit it didn't really make me that interested. I just felt like.. Oh, so that was what happened. OK.

At the same time, this book tries to create suspense by basically threatening the main character's life and family, a bit. I found it incredibly dull, sorry to say. I can understand risking a character's pet and stuff like that, but it felt cheap and I wasn't that invested in those parts. It wasn't as much of a gag as the book seems to think it was.

I might read the following installments, as this was satisfying enough, but I can't help thinking there was something missing in this whole book.

[Berls]

This was a COYER book club pick that I likely would not have managed to read on my own. I've drifted away from YA in recent years but I found Pippa to be a refreshing YA character and I enjoyed watching her work tireless to solve the mystery of Andie Bell's death.

As a YA character, she wasn't annoying - she was responsible and caring towards her family and friends. But she was still truly YA, making some reckless and naive decisions that I think is pretty characteristic of the young.

The mystery was very solid - I was making guesses up to the very end. There were some unexpected twists and turns that, had I been paying proper attention, I could have seen coming. To me, that is the sign of a solid mystery.

I feel I must give a trigger warning that also could be a bit of a spoiler. So if you don't want a spoiler skip this: A pet dies and not of natural causes. It is a devastating moment, though not at all graphic.

I listened to this and very much enjoyed the full cast narration. I always find performances like this - with distinct voices for each character and sound effects - to be a real treat. You can truly get lost in the story as if you were right there with the characters. I highly recommend listening. I plan to read book 2 at some point.

I really liked this. I thought I would - I'm really enjoying all the true crime inspired cold case type mysteries lately. And it was good.

Pippa was smart and determined and I enjoyed her quirky pun filled sense of humour. She was mostly safety conscious until towards the end when she started to make some really dumb decisions (breaking and entering, following suspects at night alone, blackmailing the possibly dangerous drug dealer, etc).

I liked the progression of the investigation and how Pippa worked to uncover the evidence. Particularly at the start when she was busy compiling the details from the news reports. I also really liked the focus on how the media and the town at large condemned Sal without ever looking at the facts and regardless of the lack of conviction - or charges for the matter. Especially their condemnation of Ravi and his family. The mystery itself was interesting and I was drawn into the drama and speculation of who was guilty and what happened.

I loved her relationship with Ravi. The romance was incidental rather than a main plot line. Pip and Ravi were mainly friends for the majority of the book and whatever happens between them in terms of defining their relationship happens off screen. It was a refreshing change of pace for a young adult read.

It wasn't perfect but it was pretty good. I'll definitely be picking up the next one in the series. Solid 4 stars.

[chrisoatham]

What can I say? This book had everything for me and more. I felt this story. One of the best books I’ve read. Amazing. 5*.

[pagingserenity]

Oh wow this was such a good mystery! I loved Pip and the ending was so satisfying. There were bits where the secondhand embarrassment and "no! Don't do that!" invoked by horror movies was just too strong though.

[kiracanread]

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder is one of the only YA thriller/mystery books I've had the chance to read, and it did not disappoint. I'm dying to get my hands on the sequel!

[whisperingchapters]

3.5 stars

[Nessa Luna]

Ok, this book kept me up way past my bedtime. I was just so invested in the story, when I got more than halfway through I found it difficult to put down. There were still a couple of things I didn't like, some of the things Pip did I didn't agree with. I had thought the conclusion was too convenient but then it hit me in the face. But why WHY WHY DID THE DOG DIE. I KNOW IT WAS AN ACCIDENT AND HE WAS SUPPOSED TO COME BACK ALRIGHT BUT WHY HOLLY WHY

[girlinthepages]

There's nothing like reading a book that completely pulls you out of a reading slump, and A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson did the trick for me while in a anxiety induced quarantine reading slump that lasted throughout most of March. I enjoy the thriller genre but rarely find them to be 5 star reads for me, however this story managed to satisfy and surprise me, and even though I "guessed" some of the mystery (which can be a little disappointing) there were still several twists I did not see coming!

Following protagonist Pippa, a high school senior in New England, A Good Girl's Guide to Murder has a very similar vibe in some ways to the first season of the podcast Serial, which I know has been many people's first foray into true crime (including mine!) While the "case" that's at the center of the plot shares many similarities with the case featured in Serial, I was glad to find that the story had its own unique elements too. Pippa is researching a five year old suicide-homicide that happened in her otherwise sleepy suburb, and while her teacher warns her not to breach any ethical boundaries (including contacting the families of the victims), Pip is relentless in her quest for the truth. While at times it seemed a bit far fetched (Pip does some very brave/stupid things sometimes to progress the plot), it was also fascinating because in this day in age there are folks who are super into true crime who have taken it upon themselves to research cold cases and potentially make discoveries that law enforcement may have missed. I really enjoyed how the narrative was broken up with Pip's case log entries, her diagrams, maps, emails, notes, etc. It made the mystery feel more immersive and helped the story move along at a fast paced clip.

The mystery itself was extremely well written. There were a lot of great clues and even red herrings peppered throughout, and as a reader I felt satisfied with the ratio of things I was able to pick up on and guess correctly and things that surprised me. I enjoyed that Pip teamed up with Ravi, the little brother of the supposed "murderer," and that the narrative touched on the stigma that his family has had to endure the past five years as everyone has believed his older brother killed an "innocent" girl. I also enjoyed how the narrative painted many characters in shades of grey, and there were really no suspects who were all good or all bad, but who were nuanced and varied in their motives, behaviors and reasoning for doing things.

Even though the story was a mystery/thriller, it also still had strong contemporary elements and I feel like I got to know Pip and her family and friends pretty well, which was refreshing as often times in mystery stories it can feel as though the protagonist is a merely just a vessel for the plot. I enjoyed Pip's supportive and warm family, her love for her dog, her devotion to her friendships, and her dedication to her schoolwork.

The pacing of this story was really phenomenal, and there wasn't ever a moment where I felt it stall or felt that it was too rushed- it had the perfect balance of sleuthing balanced out with situations a teen would also be dealing with (like college applications). I read the entire story in just 2-3 sittings which was honestly quite a shock considering I had been in a month long slump at the time!

Overall: A really excellent mystery that will keep readers engaged and enthralled! I'm interested to see how the author turns this into a series!

Blog | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads This review was originally posted on Girl in the Pages

[katie]

Wow.


In case you're wondering, yes, I was wrong. And I've never been so glad for it.