Reviews tagging 'Rape'

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

1798 reviews

thespycrowreads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

I managed to read this book in just two and a half days—I couldn’t put it down! The story goes: Pretty and popular high school senior Andie Bell was murdered by her boyfriend, Sal Singh, who then supposedly killed himself. It was all anyone could talk about. Five years later, Pip sees how the tragedy still haunts her town, but she can't shake the feeling that there’s more to the story. She sets out to prove to the town that Sal Singh did not, in fact, kill Andie Bell, and that Sal most likely didn’t take his own life either. First of all, even though I’m almost sixteen and picture books aren’t really my thing anymore, I do appreciate books with visuals. This one, in particular, gave me an immersive experience and a clear vision of the story. The mystery is spot on, unfolding like the layers of an onion—plot after plot, twist after twist. My only complaint would be that the plot can feel a bit convoluted at times, with many characters and details to keep track of. If you’re not paying close attention, it’s easy to get lost in the web of lies and deceit. There’s also a hint of predictability in certain parts—probably because I’m more of a seasoned reader who enjoys this type of twisted mystery novel. The final twist is shocking, but some might see parts of it coming. By the time I was 100 pages in, I could already tell that Holly Jackson had poured her magic into this story. It must have taken her years of planning to master such a beautifully woven crime story. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is a strong debut with a compelling mystery and a likable protagonist. It’s engaging and offers enough surprises to keep readers hooked. It’s not perfect—there are some pacing and complexity issues—but it’s definitely a must-read for fans of YA mysteries and thrillers. The series has great potential, and I’m excited to see where Pip’s story goes next! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Rape

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

alisa_v's review against another edition

adventurous 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

5.0

This book is a medium-paced murder mystery that slowly unravels many secrets of Pip's (main character's) town.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Rape, Sexual assault, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Bullying, Self harm, Suicide, Trafficking, and Death of parent

gabriellegoldenhour's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.0

I truly don’t understand how this book has so many 5-star ratings but I’m just hoping it encourages them to read more in the genre to actually find the 5-star ones. 🩵 this book was VERY Y.A. (didn’t know that before I got it) full of privilege and ignorance. So perfectly teen. I wanted to read it before watching the series but I feel like the series will probably be better than the book? Idk but also

WHY DID YOU HAVE TO DO BARNEY LIKE THAT?!?! 😩😩😩

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Racism, Rape, Car accident, Death of parent, and Murder

lauragoose's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

This book is very YA in that there are inappropriate age gap relationships all over the place, wild child logic, and fairly predictable plot points. I didn't guess the final two twists ahead of time so I'll give the book credit for that. It made me chuckle a few times, and I felt genuinely sad for characters many times. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, and Death of parent

Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Drug use, Fatphobia, Self harm, and Injury/Injury detail

sheebsbooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

fairyofprocrastination's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful 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? Yes

4.0

Look I don't write any reviews generally,  but this was great and I had so much fun.  Maybe I am a little too old for YA thrillers (YA in general these days, I guess) as a 24 year old, but this was pretty good and I had fun reading this!

Also like Pip needs to understand that while solving a murder mystery,  she herself has broken a shit ton of laws herself and it doesn't look good (also what's this protecting people and stuff I read about Naomi, if she was in a H&R then she was guilty, and it's not like she knows that she needs a job to survive!)

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault

Minor: Animal death

kaithitt's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Emotional abuse, and Kidnapping

Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, and Alcohol

laurareads_bcn's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

Really liked the book, it kept me attached all along and wanting to find out the end. I did guess the killer, but not exactly 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Car accident and Death of parent

natalienicholas's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense 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

4.75

I thought this was just going to be an easy peasy young adult read for my holiday... but boy was I wrong. The suspense really hooked me and it was way more intense than I thought it would be! Glad I read it, it turned out to be smart, scary, and almost fully believable. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Murder

Moderate: Rape

Minor: Drug use and Alcohol

nstyner's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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? No

5.0

MY GIRL PIPPA!!!! I loved this book sooo much. It was fun, thrilling, and definitely a page-turner. I felt like I was in the story with Pip solving this murder mystery. This story and the characters had me HOOKED! I can't wait to get into the other two books in the series!!!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Rape, and Murder