A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

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

Reviewed by lessthelonely on

4 of 5 stars

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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.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 5 July, 2023: Finished reading
  • 5 July, 2023: Reviewed