A review by chezler24
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

adventurous 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

3.5

For a twisting and turning mystery targeted toward a YA audience, this one works! The methodical process and reasons behind Pippa's research project worked for me. The capstone entries were a nice way to tidy up some findings and connections between chapters; however, some entries seemed a tad unprofessional for a school project. You do have to suspend some disbelief because Pippa is able to garner a lot of information somewhat easily and manages to get in and out of pretty dangerous situations mostly unscathed. The main character is pretty charming though and you grow to appreciate her drive. The one aspect that I wasn't thrilled about was the romance aspect between Pippa and Ravi. I can be a pretty hard sell when it comes to romance storylines, and I wish Pippa and Ravi stayed friends. Ravi is a great guy, but I think the main thing that didn't feel right is that he's 20 while she's 17 AND still in high school. The age gap isn't egregious and the romance isn't overly done in the book, but the fact of the one-in-high-school/one-out-of-high-school divide for me is enough for me to not really want that avenue to be explored. (We did have two of those relationships in the book. One was more waaaay more egregious.) I really was in it solely for the murder and mystery aspect which was the majority of what was delivered.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings