Reviews with content warning for Drug use - A Good Girl's Guide to Murder

Didn’t know about this book prior to the announcement of BBC’s tv series adaptation and wanted to read the source material before deciding on watching it. Plus, just personally enjoy mystery crime genre: books, video essays, podcasts.

Our heroine Pippa (Pip) Fitz-Amobi has decided to cover Andrea (Andie) Bell’s murder case for her high school senior capstone project. Five years ago in the quiet town of Fairview, the news of popular student, Andie Bell, going missing was concluded as a murder committed by her then-boyfriend, Sal Singh, who sent a text message confession before committing suicide. Driven by a gut feeling that the story can’t be as simple as it seems — especially given what she remembered about Sal, Pip begins interrogating those who knew both parties and winds up gaining an unexpected partner-in-crime - Sal’s younger brother, Ravi Singh. What starts out as an intuition becomes an obsession as she delves deeper into and unveils details that the initial investigation missed. However, while she is gathering evidence and attempting to piece together the puzzle, she receives anonymous warnings and threats to stop her reinvestigation that places herself and her loved ones in danger.

The plot is pretty fast-paced but easy to follow. Feels like playing a whodunnit guessing game alongside Pip as she discovers new findings and more secrets with her precocious detective skills🕵️‍♀️. The writing style is pretty interesting too, interspersing first-person pov of the Pip’s project logs (journal entries that contain her reflections, transcriptions/texts of people she talks to, diagrams she makes about her suspects) within the overall third-person pov narrative. And we get sucked into this sort of double life she lives: an amateur detective and regular high school teenager. The quality time she’s spending and conversations she’s having with her family and friends and the playful flirting with Ravi are nice pauses between all the heaviness and mental strain brought on by the case.

But let me tell you, I was particularly stressed for her college apps, especially when she put off writing her personal essay for the case. Every time that happened, I was holding my head like “what are you doing girl?! do not ruin your chances to go to your dream school for this side quest!” i know time is of the essence with investigations, but priorities! It can at least wait until your essay is done since the senior project deadline was not anytime soon and did not even involve solving the case anyway. After all, it’s already waited five years. what’s another week or so? And with her being an overachiever (submitting homework early, doing all extra credit), I would’ve thought she’d want to have her essay written in case the anonymous villain did inflict any real harm (although logically I know Pip wouldn’t die). Perhaps this was to portray how unhealthily absorbed she was becoming - eventually even skipping school and taking several life-endangering risks just to get closer to the truth. But I digress…

The ending was really well done - plot twist after plot twist involving both those on and off her suspect list. I really appreciate how it wasn’t so straightforward who was to blame and can’t point a finger at any one person (would actually require aiming fingers from both hands lol). There were a lot of people who failed these kids and played a part in everything that happened, so it was quite depressing and heartbreaking how things transpired the way they did (best put it: “shades of desperation”) but that just reflects how complex things are in reality.

[SPOILERS]

started suspecting (Mr.) Elliot Ward as the “secret older guy” after Pip found that note in her locker and they bumped into each other (which he jokingly called “an assassination attempt” hm… interesting choice of words 🤔), then asked if she was being bullied after seeing the folded note (how would he know what’s written was threatening?)
when Elliot Ward was confessing to Pip, was viscerally disgusted by how he tried to justify all of his actions in a sorry attempt to gain pity 😒 about:
- his sexual relationship with Andie (a minor btw), saying it felt nice to receive attention 🤮 after the loneliness and grief from his wife dying. did he not remember that this girl was his daughter’s age?! how can he not set boundaries as a teacher?
- killing Sal because he needed a suspect in case Andie died from the head injury he inflicted on her and framing it as a choice between either Sal or his daughters going fatherless
every step of Ward’s precalculated murder plan was sick and twisted
- approaching Sal under the guise of comforting him as a reputable, caring teacher
- giving him pills to make him “feel better” (and the fact that it was Sal’s father’s pills 😢)
- persuading him to kill himself so “police will no longer consider you a strong suspect”
- then resorting to coercing him to overdose and ultimately finishing it off with a plastic bag
- the most gruesome details were of Sal’s last moments: Ward holding Sal’s hand until his last breath and describing the Yale campus so he “can die happy and peacefully” 🤢. not him trying to come off as an empathetic murderer — in itself an oxymoron and a fxcking joke bc who the fxck wants their murderer by their side as they’re dying?! 😨🤬
really thought Andie was still alive and hiding somewhere bc her abusive home situation sounded like something she wanted to run away from. so was shocked when finding out Ward had actually been hiding an Andie look-a-like
- this is where it gets complicated bc the fact that he convinced himself that girl was Andie and was “taking care of her” as a coping mechanism for his guilt does demonstrate remorse
- and given that he immediately admitted everything once Pip confronted him and showed no resistance when the police arrived to arrest him shows he had always been ready to surrender
surprised Becca was never on Pip’s list of suspects bc she was practically a blaring alarm when she was first introduced 🚨. the fact that she:
- had a somewhat hostile relationship with Andie, albeit the wedge was created and driven deeper bc of their parents (thought maybe she was jealous of her older sister?)
- started to try to look more like her sister after she died (a sign of guilt? trying to replace her?)
- was the last person to see her sister before they caught the footage of Andie’s car (bc Becca can drive it too)
can understand why Pip tried to take pity on Becca after figuring out it was her because Becca was a victim of her family’s toxic home environment and Max Hastings’ drugging and r*pe
was quite out of character for Pip to drink Becca’s tea bc thought she would at least suspect Becca would spike it after seeing her “get a tissue” and knowing Becca killed her sister 🤦🏻‍♀️
despised Max Hastings deeply. just about everything was wrong with the guy.
- spiking drinks at those calamity parties and then r*ping Becca
- keeping a nude pic of his best friend’s girlfriend
- convincing his friends to hop in his car while drunk driving and causing that hit-and-run
- how did Sal and Naomi become friends with him in the first place and why did they continue to be his friend?
learning about how Andie Bell made other people’s lives miserable, it was no wonder she made a lot of enemies and the suspect list was so long. her:
- seducing Ward to get into Yale then threatening him when he demanded to stop
- cyber bullying Nat da Silva thus causing irreparable trauma
- selling drugs to underage kids
- apathetic reaction to Becca being r*ped and then hurling those insults at her
truly the only one who remained good in all of this was Sal, with everyone betraying his trust and taking his kindness for granted
- he wanted Andie, his then-girlfriend, to stop dealing drugs for her own good
- all of his closest friends lying and taking back his alibi on the night of the murder bc they were being blackmailed about their hit-and-run (which they should have been charged anyway)
- one of those friends, Max Hastings, was secretly enabling Andie by purchasing drugs from her
- a teacher he respected and helped him get into Yale (not that that necessarily represents kindness) manipulated and killed him when he was in a vulnerable state due to Andie’s disappearance

Content Warnings

mightyfrenchbookworm's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes

3.75

Vu la durée que ça m'a pris pour le livre je sais que ce n'est pas un 5 ⭐ page turner. C'était une bonne intrigue. Je n'avais pas l'impression que les indices lui tombaient entre les mains ultra facilement ou que c'était complètement impossible pour une ado. J'ai apprécié le fait qu'elle continuait d'aller à l'école et qu'elle préparait ses examens. Bref, la vie continue. Le meilleur selon moi était l'absence de romance entre les 2 protagonistes. Ça aurait vraiment été de trop. Globalement correct mais rien pour écrire à sa mère.

Content Warnings

splurglofl's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced

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

4.5

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raekoch's review against another edition

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mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

Loved it! I predicted wrong though! I thought it was going to go a different way at the end but definitely recommend.

Content Warnings

witcherswife's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Title and Author: “A good girl’s guide to murder” by Holly Jackson. The book has a UK and a US version. I have read the UK version.
- Genre: YA Crime Thriller
- Main Theme: Small-town murder mystery
- Setting:Little Kilton, UK; 2017
- Brief Overview: Pippa Fitz-Amobi, an A-grade senior at Little Kilton Grammar School, chooses a five-year-old murder case for her final year project. The case involves Andie Bell, allegedly murdered by her boyfriend, Sal Singh. While the town and police believe Sal guilty, Pippa is convinced of his innocence. She teams up with Ravi, Sal's younger brother, who is certain his sibling is blameless. Determined to uncover the truth, Pippa pursues every lead, knocks on every door, and compiles a list of suspects. Despite receiving threats from the apparent killer, she persists. She constantly puts her life at risk but she won't rest until she proves Sal's innocence and brings closure to the Singh family.

Personal Reflection (Contains Spoilers):

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It’s a gripping tale that keeps you hooked throughout, although at times I felt the pace was a bit slow. I loved playing detective alongside Pippa, with her list of persons of interest, and I found myself adding my own suspects too! The book kept my brain engaged the whole time. Pip is not just another nerd—she’s funny, smart, determined, and very meticulous. As she says, “Who do you think I am, an amateur?” I also loved the Pip-Ravi duo and their banter, though the transition from friendship to romance felt a bit off and lacked depth. It didn’t feel like a smooth progression, and I wasn’t sure if they were officially in a relationship by the end. I mean, Ravi kissed her at the end, so they are practically dating, right? To me, they still felt more like partners than a romantic couple.

Pip has a large friend group, but most of them are irrelevant except for Cara. One thing that bothered me was how one of the guys in her group seemed to have a crush on her, but that was never pursued or brought up again, which seemed odd. The story could have done without the large group of friends, except for Cara, for obvious reasons. What purpose do these characters serve? Absolutely nothing. Introducing so many characters only confuses the readers, and I had to make a mental tree to keep track of who was connected to whom.

Pip’s fearlessness is admirable, but it often lands her in dangerous situations. I hated how she would deliberately put herself at risk with potential murderers, especially when she followed Howie and then called Ravi to barge into his house. The leverage she had over Howie seemed almost comical. He’s a drug dealer—you don’t just walk into a criminal’s house, threaten them, and come out alive. The fact that Howie let her go made me question whether he was poorly written or just a very dumb drug dealer.

The book’s structure was interesting. Part 1 was fast-paced and engaging, with plenty of leads and possibilities. I loved the diary entries and little diagrams scattered throughout. However, Part 2 felt slower and a bit repetitive—they were going in circles, and it could have been shorter in my opinion. Part 3 picked up the pace again, but the ending felt rushed. I was surprised by the twists, especially the revelation about Becca, although I had my suspicions. The family dynamics gave clues: one sister is praised for her looks, while the other is criticized. I thought Becca and Daniel might have been involved together in the murder, but I was wrong. Daniel was brought up far too many times, along with Stanley, and their connection with Howie was left unresolved. Even Nat’s involvement felt incomplete, but since I haven’t read the other books, this might be a setup for future instalments, which is clever in a way. It leaves questions unanswered, making me eager to read more.

One thing that felt unrealistic was how a 17-year-old girl and a 20-year-old boy were able to solve one of the town’s most mysterious cases without being seriously questioned by anyone—except the killer, who periodically sent threats. Ravi’s parents, for instance, should have been questioning him, and they should have been introduced earlier in the story, not just at the end when everything was already resolved. Also, Pip was handed a lot of information very easily. How is it that everyone agreed to be interviewed, even people she stalked on Facebook and had no prior connections with? It felt unrealistic, but since this book is written for a young adult audience, I’ll give it a pass.

What I can’t overlook is how Andie was portrayed as a horrible person throughout the book, making it difficult to sympathize with her or feel bad about her murder. I felt worse for Becca, and the fact that her storyline was rushed left me unsatisfied with the ending. Additionally, Cara and Naomi suffered major losses due to Pip’s investigation, yet there wasn’t much focus on how it impacted them or how Cara and Pip repaired their friendship. Cara was massively overlooked, even though she was a very important character. She lost her mother at a young age and then had to face the possibility of losing her sister and ultimately her father. That’s deep trauma that deserved more exploration. Considering Cara was supposed to be Pip’s best friend, her part should not have been rushed.

The overall writing and pacing of the novel were good, and I loved how it touched on various social issues like racism, bullying, drug use, drink spiking, and sexual assault. The mystery was well-maintained throughout, and I enjoyed how Pip’s mind worked as she pieced things together.

Would I read it again?: I’m not sure. But since it has been adapted into a Netflix series, I’m definitely eager to watch it and compare the two.

Who would I recommend this to?: Teens and young adults who are relatively new to mystery thrillers will likely enjoy it. However, readers who binge-read thrillers for fun might have read more compelling works and might not find it as appealing.

Rating: 3.5/5

Content Warnings

chronic_listener's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? Yes

4.75

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beth_s98's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

I really enjoyed this book! The mystery was well paced, and the clues were all scattered in in a way that was believable. There were of course some red herrings, but all the twists made sense. I highly recommend!

There are two different versions of this book - one published in the UK (the original) and one published in the US. While the differences aren’t huge, I do think some of the changes do affect the character of the story. I was reading along with a copy of the original text, and I felt the culture of being set in the UK made a lot of sense with some of the situations that happen.

Content Warnings

kjordan96's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

This was an easy read and it was fairly enjoyable. The mystery was fun and I did not guess the ending. I did find it quite unbelievable how everyone just seemed to give Pip all the information she needed - very unlikely suspects are just spilling all this information to a teenager.

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