Reviews with content warning for Emotional abuse - Good Girl, Bad Blood

A sequel that completely lives up to the first. Pip has become a character I truly love reading about very much. The thing I love about these books, is that it is just the right amount level of mystery and guessing. It never fails to keep you on the edge of your seat. I find myself becoming Pip myself, thinking back to past chapters, wondering who was lying, who’s suspicious etc. it never gets old.

This story was a great way to continue Pip’s journey as a lil detective. I can’t wait to start the next book, I never want her journey to end.

Spoilers ahead:

I had a weird feeling since the beginning of the book about the new neighbors, but when they told Pip about the watch being stolen, and Charlie giving her that lil pep talk after the verdict of Max, I put my suspicions behind…crazy turn out. I was suspect of Arthur Reynolds almost the whole time due to the last book throwing that twist with Cara’s father.

I remember Stanley showing up at the graveyard and I did actually think he was Layla Mead. Or that Luke Easton was…which reminds me, did Pip ever give him his $900?

Ravi and Pips relationship is so fricking cute and I’m SOOO happy that the author established their connection. It’s so sweet.

Jamie’s whole story was a lil weird. It is crazy to think mans would just kill for someone he doesn’t even know in real life. He needs some major therapy.

I loved how this one was just like the first. So many twist and turns and questions until the very end.

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juliethebookcat's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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linesiunderline's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I will follow Pip wherever she goes. What a great character, complex and flawed and full of life. There’s much about this second outing that will please fans of the first book - fun format, a wide cast of characters / suspects, great dynamic between Pip and Ravi, and some serious sleuthing.

Perhaps it isn’t quite as twisty, and somehow for me, didn’t give me the same cozy vibe I had when reading the first book. I wasn’t turning the pages as compulsively. Still, it was cleverly done and complex. It was a solid second in the series and left me more than eager for the final installment.

This series is BEGGING to be made into a TV show. Just sayin’

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susiep87's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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booksiread_'s review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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spearly's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Pip tried not to look. She averted her eyes, but there was something about the house that dragged them right back. It could never be just a normal house, not after everything it had seen. It felt almost otherworldly, as though death clung to the air around it, making it shimmer in a way a house shouldn’t, with its crooked roofline and stippled bricks swallowed by ivy.

Sequel syndrome who? Good Girl, Bad Blood keeps pace with the thrilling first novel in the series, A Good Girl's Guide to Murder. This time, Pip investigates the case of her friend's brother, Jamie, who has gone missing. The police won't do anything about it, so, despite her promise to hang up her detective hat, Pip sets off to find him herself.

I'll admit, this was a little slow to start, and didn't pull me in quite like A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, but once the mystery really picked up, I was hooked. The stakes were high. The clock was ticking. Is this a missing person? A violent crime? Who is seducing all the white, brown haired men in town?

This book did not go where I thought it would. And for that, I was very, VERY happy. I managed to guess the killed (sort of) form book one, and initially thought I'd figured this mystery out before Pip, too, but I did not! Yay!

What started out as a missing persons case turned into something much more sinister. Readers got a nice curveball at the end there, with an

almost entirely different case, dating back decades. It still related to the present day mystery, and it was interwoven very well, but the target and big bad threw me for a total loop

.

I loved Pip even more in this book! She is so fiery, so persistent, so brave. I love how Jackson didn't ignore the obvious traumas that Pip is now living with after the events of book one,

especially in relation to Max, the assaults and r*pes, and the preceding court case

. I, like Pip, know that life isn't far. I know the justice system fails. Her anger sparked mine, stroked mine, and I wanted to scream with her. I wanted to break windows and cry and, honestly, throw a few punches.

It was almost unexpected. I think if there's one thing I wish from this series, it's that it was told entirely in first person. I would love to be inside Pip's head, so see how her brain puts together clues, how she deals with the anguish and fury over uncovering the secrets of people she's known nearly all her life. I think it could make the series even stronger.

The side characters are so fleshed out! I don't see that a lot in YA. Even

Stanley

, who I literally HATED in book one, found a way to make my heart break. His story was so difficult for me to parse through, because I truly see both sides of the story. No spoilers.

I'm honestly shocked this came out this month. I had no idea. And now I have to wait for the 3rd one? What fresh hell is this?

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