A review by nolemdaer
Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson

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

4.0

Got sucked in AGAIN! So many bad sleeping choices due to engrossing stories . . . .Holly Jackson just makes this series so readable with the short chapters, fast pace, and new twists every chapter. I really enjoyed how this sequel built off the first one and portrayed the main character Pip as very traumatized and scarred from her previous experience as a detective, even if the whole "I'm not doing that again; I've changed; I'm not that person" definitely felt too fast and furious. Girl, you were definitely traumatized and obsessive and unhealthy when you were detective-ing, but you're not Vin Diesel coming back into the fight after years of retirement. The way the whole town (or at least several adults) see her as some kind of superhero genius when she was just determined and clever seemed a bit unrealistic, but the Reynoldses were kind of desperate, so I guess it makes sense.

The dark descent of Pip's psyche was intriguing and the ending was genuinely heart-rending. Got my heart pounding and me flipping light switches on as fast as I could. Just a really exciting mystery - I don't feel super connected to the characters per se, but the story made me emotional and I enjoy watching them work, so I just really like the books! It's an odd feeling to like the story without being super attached, but I see why this was such a wildly popular series.
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