A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder
by Holly Jackson
Summary
Everyone in Fairview knows the story.
Pretty and popular high school senior Andie Bell was murdered by her boyfriend, Sal Singh, who then killed himself. It was all anyone could talk about. And five years later, Pip sees how the tragedy still haunts her town.
But she can’t shake the feeling that there was more to what happened that day. She knew Sal when she was a child, and he was always so kind to her. How could he possibly have been a killer?
Now a senior herself, Pip decides to reexamine the closed case for her final project, at first just to cast doubt on the original investigation. But soon she discovers a trail of dark secrets that might actually prove Sal innocent . . . and the line between past and present begins to blur. Someone in Fairview doesn’t want Pip digging around for answers, and now her own life might be in danger.
My Review
UPDATE: I revisited this story through the audiobook and absolutely loved it. The full cast of narrators brought each character to life, and the added sound effects made the experience wonderfully immersive. I enjoyed it just as much the second time around and highly recommend giving the audiobook a listen!
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This was the first YA mystery/thriller that I’ve ever read. I thought it was a really good investigative mystery. I wouldn’t call this a thriller because there really weren’t any dangerous moments or suspenseful scenes. But trying to unravel this mystery with Pip was fun. It was also interesting how they formatted some of the pages of the book to look like her senior project. There were interviews, journal entries, maps, and notes. We see Pip become obsessed with this project, and she gets herself in deeper and deeper.
However, I still question how a teenager would have solved this case and not the police. I guess on some level, you have to suspend your belief in reality because this is a work of fiction. Some ideas were too far-fetched and not believable. But that’s not to say that it wasn’t logical how she figured things out, because we see everything unfold and learn about people and situations when the main character does. Maybe I was just thinking about it too hard.
I also didn’t care for the small amounts of wokeness thrown in here and there, which felt like an afterthought and unnecessary. It felt really forced and induced eye-rolling while reading it.
Pip was my favorite character. She has a unique personality that is easy to like. I follow the author on Instagram and saw her posts that the BBC is making this book into a series, and the actress that they got to play Pip, Emma Myers, will be the perfect fit. I can totally see her as Pip.
During the story, Pip becomes friends with Sal’s younger brother, Ravi, who decides to help her get his brother’s name vindicated and restore his family’s reputation in town. I really enjoyed watching them become friends and get closer. I could see younger people reading this and shipping the two characters. They were a cute couple, and I hope we see more of them together in the sequels.
Overall, it was an exciting, captivating, and fun ride. It had a lot of great twists and turns, and I did not see the big reveal coming at all. I was really surprised by the ending. Definitely recommend! I can’t wait to continue in this trilogy.
I’ve also heard that the audiobook is really good, so I may listen to it as a refresher before picking up book two.