By Comet Ziemer
Everyone knows the stories of murder mystery books. The main character has to solve the crime while their life is in danger from knowing too much. Because of that, A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder may seem like just another crime book. However, once you open the book and turn the pages, you realize that this book is different from the rest.
A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder is a murder mystery and crime solving book written by Holly Jackson. Jackson is a British author who published the book on May 2, 2019. Since it’s release, Jackson has released 2 other books in the series and has become a #1 New York Times bestselling author.
The story follows 17 year old Pip Fitz-Amobi, a straight A student who has to do a large research project for her senior year English class. Her topic? The unsolved disappearance and murder case of Andie Bell and Sal Singh. This case has tormented her small town of Fairview for 4 years.
While the case is technically unsolved, most of the public and the police believe that it was Sal who killed Andie, but Pip believes otherwise. Pip thinks that Sal is innocent, and she can prove it. With help from Sal’s younger brother, Ravi, the two interview members of the town search houses, and discover that Andie wasn’t the “Kind Pretty Popular” girl that she painted herself to be. As Pip keeps on digging, she finds that there is someone in town trying to stop her, and her life might be in danger.
A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder is a smart and thrilling story about obsession, scapegoating, lies, the fight for truth, and the importance of always reading between the lines. The reader follows Pip throughout this story as she battles the demons of the past and the present. The reader attempts to solve the mystery along with Pip, and it becomes impossible to put down the book. As each question is answered, a new one appears.
This book feels so real as you read it. The characters make it seem like the reader is in the story with them. Each character has some sort of tragedy to them, that each of them will overcome during the story. The answer never feels obvious and always leaves you wondering what will happen next.
The thing that I like the most about this book is that it doesn’t have any unneeded side plots. I often turn away from books that have unneeded side stories and plots that disrupt the main story. Or when the book will focus on different characters to aim away from the main character.
A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder focuses on Pip and the case, which causes you to stay interested the whole time. As the story progresses and the case gets deeper, we see Pip’s near descent into madness to learn the truth. The line between good and bad begins to become blurred and you start to think that even the one responsible for the crime might have a good reason for doing it. When the criminal is revealed, you can’t help but feel sorry. The motivations and reasoning feel so true and human. It branches from loss, love, regret, pain, hatred, and pure humanity. When you learn the motivations and the reasoning behind it, you have to think of who is right and who is wrong.
Overall, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is a beautifully crafted story that many young adults can get lost in for hours. It is a wonderful way to get new readers or retired readers back into books.
beniciapaw.com 