Title: A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder
Author: Holly Jackson
Year: 2019
Genre: Young Adult, Murder-Mystery, Thriller
When Pippa Fitz-Amobi chooses to investigate the murder of schoolgirl Andie Bell five years ago she may put herself and her family in danger in this thriller series from Holly Jackson.
The book was selected for my Zoom book club, although I had heard about the book on Bookstagram and it has always intrigued me with the title so I was very excited to read it.
Pippa, known as Pip, is writing her EPQ and applying for universities and she decides that she wants to write about the murder of schoolgirl Andie Bell five years earlier. The murder took place in Pip’s hometown of Little Kilton and at the time her boyfriend Sal Singh, was deemed to be the murderer after he killed himself and sent a text saying it was him.
Yet, Pip isn’t so sure, Sal was very friendly to Pip’s close friend Cara and her older sister Naomi and he even defended her from bullies shortly before Andie’s disappearance. As Pip starts to investigate she starts to find quite a few people in her small town may have had a reason to kill Andie and that the killer may even be still out there and may do anything to keep Pip quiet.
Overall I found this book to be a very entertaining murder-mystery. Pip is a fantastic character created by Holly Jackson and I warmed to her straight away – probably as she is quite bookish and a bit of a nerd which I found really endearing and relatable. She also has quite a feisty streak which makes for some very funny and entertaining moments, such as when she confronts the shop worker who is rude to Sal’s younger brother, Ravi.
The story is presented in various different styles, with Pippa’s EPQ serving as an internal monologue as she ponders the mystery, as well as transcriptions and prose to describe what happens, this style of writing helps the book to flow and keeps things interesting for the reader, the EPQ serving as a way to get into Pip’s psyche and really helps you understand her as a character.
The mystery around Andie’s disappearance is intriguing and Holly Jackson adds plenty of curve-balls and new information which keeps you guessing throughout the story, there is also some exciting action sections as Pip and Ravi get in all sorts of escapades as they get closer to the truth which is very suspenseful and terrifying.
Ravi is also a great supporting character and the two make for a great duo as they investigate and there is a touch of will-they-won’t-they chemistry to their friendship which will definitely keep young adult fans interested.
The mystery also has quite dark themes for a book that is considered to be young adult, including issues around drug-taking and abuse, r*pe and consent, the influence of social media on young people. I do like that Jackson hasn’t shied away from these topics as they do affect teenagers today and they are a lot more world aware than most people realise and it makes the book quite gritty so that even adults will enjoy it.
Also when the mystery is resolved I was very surprised by the resolution and satisfied with the ending which I won’t ruin here.
Overall I would highly recommend giving this book a try and I also look forward to reading the rest of the books in the series, as well as watching the TV series adaptation which is due to be released sometime in 2024 a the time of writing. If you have read the series, let me know down below what your thoughts were.
