Title: A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder
Author: Holly Jackson
Genre: YA Mystery
Publication Date: 2nd May 2019
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is one of a trend of young-adult mystery books making waves in the genre recently. Well, within the last year or two. From my reading perspective it seemed Karen McManus’ ‘One of Us is Lying’ paved the way to create an interest for readers unaccustomed to hyped mystery-themed novels in the young-adult genre.
With this in mind, Holly Jackson’s A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder was expected to be ‘just another YA mystery’. The cute cover, the hype and positive reviews had me swayed to add this to my TBR however. I read this in Buddy Read form with Willow from Willow Writes and Reads.
The story, set in a small town, follows the character Pippa as she explores the murder and mystery behind the death of Andie Bell by her assumed murderer, Sal Singh. Pippa’s curiosity, skepticism and tenacity (sometimes to a dangerous level) gave this story the spark it needed. What could have been an unadventurous tour through this small town’s history was instead written with a light amount of suspense and a deep thread of intrigue.
Pippa’s character development, seen through a loss of naïveté, explored the concept of ‘how well do you know the people closest to you?’. It was chilling to read at times – purely because it seemed steeped in reality. How much do we know about those we love?
Pippa befriending the younger brother of Andie’s supposed killer, Ravi Singh, was an unconventional twist that I hadn’t expected in this story. This happened early on, so it isn’t really a spoiler, but the change it made to the pace and nature of Pippa’s investigation was remarkable. Instead of merely investigating the circumstances behind Andie Bell’s death, Pippa decided to try and prove Sal’s innocence. A tall order in a town convinced he’s the murderer.
Jackson took something so simple – an easily explained tragic murder from the past – and heated it up to the point where I couldn’t put this book down. As we followed Pippa’s investigation, with inclusion of interviews and commentary, I found myself completely stumped as to predicting the ending of this book. With multiple red herrings and an abundance of suspects, Jackson managed to leave me in suspense until the very end. And even then – once I thought I had it figured out – double whammy. She surprised again.
Jackson’s exploration of small-town racism and the fatal impact that can have on others’ lives – such as Sal Singh’s suicide – was a prominent theme throughout. I’m glad this topic was covered as it highlighted the negative impact actions like these can have on others through no fault of their own, such as the scathing treatment toward the Singh’s after Sal’s death.
If you’re after a book that has all of the mystery of an adult novel, without some of the danger, then you’re in the right place. I read this in paperback format but think an audiobook version would be fantastic with all of the interviews involved. I’ll be continuing with the series in Good Girl, Bad Blood soon!
5 Stars
Oh, that sounds awesome! I will be looking into the audiobook since indeed, this genre. especially books containing interviews, are almost always better in audio format
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Yes I think an audio read of this would be even better than reading the paperback. There are just so many elements in this book that would be splendid to read in that format. Hope you enjoy it! 🙂
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I’ve seen this book floating around the blogisphere but haven’t actually read any reviews! It sounds like such an interesting read – I’m especially keen to see how the author addresses the issue of small town racism. You know I’m a big fan of plot twists (and I almost never see them coming 😂) so I’m looking forward to that!
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I think you’ll really like this one Ngoc! It kept me on the edge of my seat and I couldn’t accurately predict any of it 😀 The small town racism issue is quite prominent in the book and well addressed. This book’s definitely worth a read 🙂
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Oooohhhh I reckon I’ll pick it up with the weather gets a bit more gloomy (for someone who’s a BIG chicken I sure love any opportunity to amp up the creep factor 😂) Can’t wait to discuss it with you!
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I defiantly need to read this! Sounds great. Awesome review 🙂
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Thank you 🙂 I hope you enjoy this one when you give it a try!
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Great review! I read this and got scared a few times. 😂 I even stayed up to read it in one sitting because it was just so good.
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Haha, I’m a wimp too. There was that one camping scene that had me a bit freaked out… 🙈🙈 I’m glad you enjoyed it too!
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Amazing review! I like this theme and concept and mystery and investigations sounds intriguing.
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It was a very interesting and easy to read book Yesha 🙂 I enjoyed it. Thanks!
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It was a fantastic read! I’m so honored that I was able to read it with you! I still need to get my review written.
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I’m glad we decided to give this book a try! I really enjoyed it 🙂 I’m looking forward to the rest of our buddy reads too!
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Same here!
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Sounds fantastic, Jen! I’ve been eyeing this book for quite some time now. Maybe it’s finally THE time to pick it up? I love reading thrillers and mustery novels during summer months!
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I think you’ll really enjoy this one Alex 🙂 It’s perfect for a summer read. Can’t wait to read your thoughts on it!
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Great Review Jen!! Have a hold on the audiobook but it’s going to be a long wait!!
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Thanks Mani 🙂 The audiobook would be well worth the wait – hope you enjoy it 🙂
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I really enjoyed this book, especially the audiobook version, and can’t wait for the sequel to become available as audiobook too.
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I’m glad you enjoyed it too, Corina 🙂 I’m starting the paperback version soon as I can’t wait (I have terrible patience ahah) but I might reread it in audio version afterwards 🙂
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Go for it! Because it doesn’t look like the audiobook is coming anytime soon. 😕
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Great review! I really want to try this one out!
(www.evelynreads.com)
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Thanks Evelyn! I hope you enjoy it 🙂
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Oh wow, had not heard of this one but I appreciate the themes it explores, especially in a YA book. Sounds like an amazing read.
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It was a really fun read 🙂
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Great review, Jen! I have seen this book every where and I don’t think I’ve seen anyone rate it badly. It sounds like a great YA thriller/mystery and I’m excited to get to it (don’t know why I haven’t yet but it’s definitely going to happen this year) 😀
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It was a fun read that didn’t have the same predictability or level of angst as some of the others in this genre. I hope you really enjoy it Dini – I’m looking forward to reading your thoughts on it 🙂
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Wow, 5 stars! This book being unputdownable definitely catches my attention. Always tracking and looking for books like that for slump curing purposes lol.
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Oh you’re back! We’ve missed you Kitty Marie 🙂 Hope you’re safe and well. I really enjoyed A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. Hope you do too 🙂 -Jen
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Thanks Jen! I’ve missed you and Nen too, it’s great to be back. 🙂
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