A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder Book Review

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
Series: A Good Girl's Guide to Murder #1
Published by Electric Monkey on May 2, 2019
Pages: 433
Goodreads

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 murder, Pippa Fitz-Amobi isn't so sure. When she chooses the case as the topic for her final year 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?

When I say I fell head over heels in love with A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, I am not exaggerating. I think the biggest selling point was the audiobook and if you’re looking to read this one then definitely check that out. It has a full cast and it is brilliantly put together with each of the different media types having a different sound. I thoroughly enjoyed the listening experience, and would recommend it to everyone.

Characters in A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder follows Pippa as she works through the murder of Andie Bell for a school project. I listened to this one at the same time as Truly Devious and Pippa was everything I wanted Stevie to be. The way this was presented gave a real insight not only into the characters investigating the murder but also into the victims and the family. I adored Pippa and how pragmatic she was, the logical way she looked into the murder and the way everything was organised, she was my favourite character. I just loved her perspective and the relationships she had with her friends and then the friendship she built with the Singh family.

I also enjoyed the different characters and the stories and secrets they were all hiding. They were all well-rounded and although there were stereotypes at play they didn’t overtake the story. I was excited to read about each of them and there wasn’t one that I wanted to skip. The best bit was that the plot was made better by each of their stories and none of them felt like filler. It was brilliantly done.

Bad Bits in A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder

I don’t honestly know if there were any bad bits in this book. I did think the ending was wrapped up a little too neatly, plus the romance was a little cheesy. However none of this impacted my overall enjoyment of the book and story, it was just something I wished was a little different.

Good Bits

There are so many, and I don’t even know where to start. The big part for me was the presentation of the facts, it would have been a completely different experience if this had read like a normal novel. The use of different media and sources was brilliant. It broke the story and plot up, keeping things interesting but without becoming over the top and dramatic. I adored the audiobook for this, the different character’s voices and the way the sound changed depending on what was talked about was phenomenal.

I also thought the mystery itself was really well plotted and put together. You don’t see the ending coming but it doesn’t feel like too much of a stretch to see why it was the way it was. I really think in terms of YA crime you can’t get much better than this book.

What now?

I haven’t picked the sequel up, and I’m not sure I’m going to. I don’t know where the story could end up going but I don’t want to ruin my experience. There is something special about this book and I’m not sure the sequel could ever live up to that.

Have you read this one? What did you think? Was the sequel worth the read? Let me know!