A review by kelly_e
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

dark mysterious 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? No

3.75

Title: A Good Girl's Guide to Murder
Author: Holly Jackson
Series: A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #1)
Genre: Young Adult Mystery
Rating: 3.75 
Pub Date: May 2 2019

T H R E E • W O R D S

Mysterious • Quick • Entertaining

📖 S Y N O P S I S

The whole town of Fairview believes Sal Singh killed his girlfriend Andie Bell, and then himself, five years earlier. Pippa doesn't, and she decides to reexamine the local closed case for her senior project. As she begins digging, it becomes evident someone clearly doesn't want her trudging up the past. But who?

💭 T H O U G H T S

Young adult is typically not my thing, but I must say I enjoyed the quick-paced A Good Girl's Guide to Murder. From the very beginning, it was a page turner, where I wanted to figure out whodunit. The formatting, makes this book truly unique, and I felt as though I was helping to solve the case. Holly Jackson does a good job at constructing a plotline without making the culprit obvious, but at times the plot also seemed unrealistic (typical in YA), so I kept reminding myself to push beyond. It is also repetitive at different points and the cast of characters is large, that I sometimes got confused about the suspects. I could see this being turned into a movie, and feel as though it was written in a way where it easily could be. Pip is a strong and brave character determined to seek justice, and her relationship with Ravi took a backseat to solving the crime. In conclusion, I liked it but I didn't love it. I think I'll be reading the sequel at some point, but am also not rushing out to pick it up.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• Fans of Pretty Little Liars
• Infrequent readers
• those who enjoy a good whodunit

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"But sometimes remembering isn't for yourself; sometimes you do it just to make someone else smile."

"If a villain can be made, then be can be unmade." 

"'And though this story does have its monsters, I've found that it is not one that can be so easily divided into the good and the bad. In the end this was a story about people and their different shades of desperation, crashing up against each other. But there was one person who was good until the very end. And his name was Sal Singh.'"

Expand filter menu Content Warnings